Life is not easy for left-handers around the world. Almost throughout the entire history of mankind, due to the numerous prejudices that existed against left-handers, these people were perceived differently from others - they were considered either unclean or sorcerers. In the Middle Ages, if a person wrote with his left hand, this meant that he would certainly be accused of being possessed by the devil, and in general the devil himself in those days was considered left-handed. Since then, the world has changed, including our attitude towards left-handers, although the tendency to use the left hand in everyday life is undoubtedly associated with something negative. Desks, desks and spiral notepads are designed in such a way that left-handers constantly have problems; these people are almost deprived of the ability to use scissors. And, as studies have shown, it is possible that the life expectancy of left-handed people is shorter than that of right-handed people.

Human prejudices against left-handers seem all the more unfair because they are born that way. By the way, scientists have long suggested that left-handedness in people is determined by one single gene. Unfortunately, they cannot yet say exactly where this gene is located.

Now, in a paper published this week in the genetics journal PLOS Genetics, a team of scientists describes a system of genes that are associated with which hand is dominant in a person. Moreover, the authors of the article associate such dominance with the development of asymmetry of the trunk and brain.

In their earlier studies, scientists noticed that in patients suffering from dyslexia, that is, an inability to read, the dominant hand depends on the PCSK6 gene. Since each gene has two varieties, called alleles, each gene also has two possibilities for mutation. The scientists found that reading-impaired patients with more pronounced variation in the PCSK6 gene, that is, in which there was a mutation in one or both alleles, were more likely to be right-handed.

This was of particular interest to scientists because they knew that PCSK6 is the gene that is directly associated with the development of left-right asymmetry in the human body. But scientists weren't entirely sure why this only showed up in patients with dyslexia, since dyslexia and which hand is dominant are not related. Consequently, scientists had to expand the scope of the study and include in the experiment more than 2.6 thousand people who do not suffer from dyslexia.

As the study showed, the dominant hand in the majority of people is determined not only by the PCSK6 gene. Other genes responsible for the development of right-left asymmetry in the human body also have a significant influence on the choice of the dominant hand. Just as with the PCSK6 gene, the influence of these genes on dominant hand selection depends on the number of mutations that have occurred in the alleles. Each gene is capable of mutation, and according to scientists, the more mutations a person has in one direction (towards left-handedness or right-handedness), the more likely it is that the corresponding hand will be dominant in him.

This hypothesis allows us to give a completely logical answer to the main question: if the dominance of one of the hands is determined by genes, and if the dominant trait, that is, the main feature of a person, is right-handedness, why then has left-handedness not disappeared from our genetic piggy bank? In reality, as scientists suggest, the predominance of one of the hands is not just “dominant” or “recessive”, but a more subtle, kind of elusive trait, so the entire set of genes can play an important role here.

And, most surprisingly, all of these genes are associated with the development of right-left asymmetry in the human body and brain, which is strong evidence that physical symmetry and dominance of one of the hands are related. The destruction of one of these genes can lead to a serious violation of physical symmetry, such as situs inversus - transposition of internal organs. This is a rare congenital condition in which major internal organs have a mirror image compared to their normal position (for example, the heart is on the right). In laboratory mice, as a result of destruction of the PCSK6 gene, a serious disruption of the arrangement of internal organs occurred.

And if physical asymmetry is associated with dominance of one of the hands, then in people born with transposition of internal organs, in comparison with the majority of people, dominance of one of the hands should be more often observed. However, according to research results, this does not happen - people who have situs inversus also differ in the opposite way from most people in hand dominance. In this regard, scientists theoretically assume that although these genes undoubtedly influence the dominance of one of the hands, there are probably other mechanisms in the human body that, in the presence of serious violations of physical symmetry, compensate for right-handedness or left-handedness.

In other animals, such as polar bears or chimpanzees, one of the paws or arms is also dominant. Chimpanzees prefer to use one hand when using tools or when eating, and among the entire population the number of right- and left-handed animals is approximately the same. Humans are the only species in which the division into right-handers and left-handers is most clearly expressed - among the entire population of the planet they are, respectively, 90% and 10%.

One of the prevailing hypotheses that explains this division is related to another human characteristic - the ability to speak. Speech abilities are distributed between both hemispheres of the brain, by the way, in the same way as hand dominance, so there are assumptions that hand dominance, like the ability to speak, is divided into unique blocks and distributed across different hemispheres. In most cases, the parts of the brain that control speech are in the left hemisphere, and such people tend to be right-handed. And for those few people whose speech abilities are controlled by areas of the brain in the right hemisphere, as a rule, the left hand dominates.

However, William Brandler, a doctoral student at the University of Oxford and lead author of the paper, is not sure that this theory has much validity, since there is no scientific evidence yet of a relationship between speech ability and hand dominance. Brandler is much more interested in how premutations and combinations of genetic mutations have led to the fact that most people are born right-handed. “Once we understand the genetic component of one-handed dominance, we can understand the evolutionary roots of such dominance,” he says. “And when we fully understand what genes were involved, we may be able to understand how and why people are born left-handed or right-handed.”

And the scientist is also convinced that even though the dominance of one of the hands was influenced by living conditions (for example, the eternal hostility of two-thirds of the planet's population towards left-handers), the main reason why people prefer to use one or the other hand, has a genetic basis. “People think that it’s all about the environment, but we also need to think about why people were originally born right-handed, why this tendency prevails, and why has it been observed throughout history and everywhere? Why are there no communities of people in which everyone is born left-handed? - Brandler argues. - Which hand is dominant is largely determined by genes, hundreds of different variants of mutations, and each of these mutations can direct you in one direction or another, and it is the type of mutation that determines which hand will prevail, and also on your environment, from the many factors that influence you.”

But until large numbers of people are studied—hundreds of thousands of people, according to Brandler—it will be impossible to create a complete genetic map of which genes control hand dominance and understand why the number of left- and right-handed people differs so much. “It will take some time to do this, but it will happen eventually,” Brandler said. “There has been a real revolution in genetics, so that in a few years we will really be able to understand the genetic basis of all these complex human characteristics.”

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively from foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

The topic of patriotism was often raised in works of Russian literature of the late 19th century. But only in the story “Lefty” is it connected with the idea of ​​the need to take care of talents that ennoble the face of Russia in the eyes of other countries.

History of creation

The story “Lefty” first began to be published in the magazine “Rus” Nos. 49, 50 and 51 in October 1881 under the title “The Tale of the Tula Lefty and the Steel Flea (Workshop Legend).” The idea for Leskov’s creation of the work was the popular joke that the British made a flea, and the Russians “shod it and sent it back.” According to the testimony of the writer’s son, his father spent the summer of 1878 in Sestroretsk, visiting a gunsmith. There, in a conversation with Colonel N.E. Bolonin, one of the employees of the local arms factory, he found out the origin of the joke.

In the preface, the author wrote that he was only retelling a legend known among gunsmiths. This well-known technique, once used by Gogol and Pushkin to give special authenticity to the narrative, in this case did Leskov a disservice. Critics and the reading public literally took the writer’s words, and subsequently he had to specifically explain that he was, after all, the author, and not a reteller of the work.

Description of the work

Leskov's story would most accurately be called a story in terms of genre: it presents a large time layer of the narrative, there is a development of the plot, its beginning and conclusion. The writer called his work a story, apparently in order to emphasize the special “storyteller” form of narration used in it.

(The Emperor examines the savvy flea with difficulty and interest)

The story begins in 1815 with the trip of Emperor Alexander I with General Platov to England. There, the Russian Tsar is presented with a gift from local craftsmen - a miniature steel flea that can “drive with its antennae” and “switch with its legs.” The gift was intended to show the superiority of English masters over Russians. After the death of Alexander I, his successor Nicholas I became interested in the gift and demanded to find craftsmen who would be “no worse than anyone.” So in Tula, Platov called three masters, among them Lefty, who managed to shoe a flea and put the name of the master on each horseshoe. The left-handed man did not leave his name, because he forged nails, and “no small scope can take it there.”

(But the guns at court were cleaned the old fashioned way.)

Lefty was sent to England with a “savvy nymphosoria” so that they would understand that “this is not surprising to us.” The British were amazed by the jewelry work and invited the master to stay and showed him everything they had learned. Lefty could do everything himself. He was struck only by the condition of the gun barrels - they were not cleaned with crushed bricks, so the shooting accuracy from such guns was high. Lefty began to get ready to go home, he urgently needed to tell the Emperor about the guns, otherwise “God bless the war, they are not suitable for shooting.” Out of melancholy, Lefty drank all the way with his English friend “half-skipper”, fell ill and upon arrival in Russia found himself near death. But until the last minute of his life he tried to convey to the generals the secret of cleaning guns. And if Lefty’s words had been brought to the attention of the Emperor, then, as he writes,

Main characters

Among the heroes of the story there are fictional and real personalities who existed in history, among them: two Russian emperors, Alexander I and Nicholas I, ataman of the Don Army M.I. Platov, prince, Russian intelligence agent A.I. Chernyshev, Doctor of Medicine M.D. Solsky (in the story - Martyn-Solsky), Count K.V. Nesselrode (in the story - Kiselvrode).

(Left-handed "nameless" master at work)

The main character is a gunsmith, left-handed. He has no name, only a craftsman's peculiarity - he worked with his left hand. Leskov's Lefty had a prototype - Alexey Mikhailovich Surnin, who worked as a gunsmith, studied in England and, after returning, passed on the secrets of the business to Russian craftsmen. It is no coincidence that the author did not give the hero his own name, leaving the common noun - Lefty is one of the types of righteous people depicted in various works, with their self-denial and sacrifice. The hero's personality has clearly defined national traits, but the type is rendered universal and international.

It is not for nothing that the hero’s only friend, about whom the story is told, is a representative of a different nationality. This is a sailor from the English ship Polskipper, who did his “comrade” Lefty a disservice. To dispel the longing of his Russian friend for his homeland, Polskipper made a bet with him that he would outdrink Lefty. A large amount of vodka drunk became the cause of the illness and then the death of the yearning hero.

Lefty's patriotism is contrasted with the false commitment to the interests of the Fatherland of the other heroes of the story. Emperor Alexander I is embarrassed in front of the British when Platov points out to him that Russian craftsmen can do things just as well. Nicholas I's sense of patriotism is mixed with personal vanity. And the brightest “patriot” in Platov’s story is such only abroad, and upon arriving home, he becomes a cruel and rude serf owner. He does not trust Russian craftsmen and is afraid that they will spoil the English work and replace the diamond.

Analysis of the work

(Flea, savvy Lefty)

The work is distinguished by its genre and narrative originality. It resembles the genre of a Russian fairy tale, based on a legend. There is a lot of fantasy and fabulousness in it. There are also direct references to the plots of Russian fairy tales. So, the emperor first hides the gift in a nut, which he then puts in a golden snuff box, and the latter, in turn, hides in a travel box, almost the same way as the fabulous Kashchei hides a needle. In Russian fairy tales, tsars are traditionally described with irony, just as in Leskov's story both emperors are presented.

The idea of ​​the story is the fate and place in the state of a talented master. The entire work is permeated with the idea that talent in Russia is defenseless and not in demand. It is in the interests of the state to support it, but it brutally destroys talent, as if it were a useless, ubiquitous weed.

Another ideological theme of the work was the contrast of the real patriotism of the national hero with the vanity of characters from the upper strata of society and the rulers of the country themselves. Lefty loves his fatherland selflessly and passionately. Representatives of the nobility are looking for a reason to be proud, but do not give themselves the trouble to make life in the country better. This consumerist attitude leads to the fact that at the end of the work the state loses another talent, which was sacrificed to the vanity of first the general, then the emperor.

The story “Lefty” gave literature the image of another righteous man, now on the martyr’s path of serving the Russian state. The originality of the language of the work, its aphorism, brightness and accuracy of wording made it possible to parse the story into quotes that were widely circulated among the people.

A simple Tula artisan, Lefty, is not distinguished by any special characteristics. The man lives in his hometown, takes care of his elderly parents and spends a lot of time doing what he loves. And even having the opportunity to radically change his own life, the hero does not betray the simple joys of life.

History of creation

In 1881, a story entitled “The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea” was published on the pages of the magazine “Rus”, the main idea of ​​which was stated in the preface:

“It depicts the struggle of our masters with the English masters, from which ours emerged victorious and the English were completely shamed and humiliated. Here, some secret reason for military failures in Crimea is revealed. I wrote down this legend in Sestroretsk.”

Readers and critics took the last phrase literally, and the author of the story was accused of simply retelling a forgotten fairy tale. In fact, the story about Lefty was written by Leskov himself.

Illustration for the book "Lefty"

A possible prototype for the main character was the artisan Alexey Mikhailovich Surnin. The man lived for two years in England, where he was trained at a factory. After returning, Surnin trained Russian craftsmen and developed new tools for working with metals.

Over time, the name of the main character acquired a household name, and researchers and biographers recognized Leskov as the sole author of the patriotic “legend.”

Plot

A man nicknamed Lefty lived in the city of Tula and became famous for his own metal foundry work. The hero’s appearance, as well as his skill, was outstanding:

“...there is a birthmark on the cheek, and the hair on the temples was torn out during training...”

It was to Leftsha and his two comrades that the Don Cossack Platov turned with a royal commission. Nikolai Pavlovich, who ascended the throne after, discovered in his brother’s belongings a metal flea, which the tsar brought from England.

Wanting to prove that no less skilled craftsmen were working in Russia, the monarch sent an old military man in search of the best craftsmen. The men were ordered to make such a wonder out of metal that it would amaze the English.

Having received orders from Platov, the best Tula craftsmen locked themselves in Lefty's house and spent several days at work. When the Don Cossack returned, he did not show due respect to the efforts of the masters. Platov, deciding that the men had tricked him, threw Lefty into the carriage and took the hero to the monarch.

Illustration for the book "Lefty"

At an audience with the Tsar, the Cossack admitted that he had not fulfilled his instructions and had brought one of the deceivers from Tula. I decided to personally talk with the would-be master. Once in the royal chambers, Lefty, who was not used to talking with such high-ranking officials, explained to the sovereign the masters’ idea in popular terms.

The men shoed the flea and engraved their own names on the horseshoes. Only Lefty's name was not listed there. The hero did the most delicate work - forging nails for horseshoes.

The Russian court recognized without a doubt that the master had golden hands. To wipe the noses of the British, the sovereign decides to send the savvy flea back and, along with an unusual gift, send Lefty abroad. Thus, an incredible turn took place in the biography of a simple Tula blacksmith.

Having washed the village peasant and given the hero a more presentable appearance, Platov sends Lefty abroad. In London, where the Russian delegation soon arrived, the skilled craftsman was considered an unprecedented miracle.

Local blacksmiths and other artisans asked the brave hero questions about his education and experience. The left-hander admitted without hesitation that he did not even know the basics of arithmetic. Impressed by the talents of a simple Russian peasant, the British tried to lure the master to their side.

But Lefty, loyal to his homeland and yearning for his parents who remained in Tula, refused the offer to move to England. The only thing the master agreed to was to stay in London to inspect local factories and factories.

The British showed Lefty the latest craft miracles, but none of the new products impressed the hero. But the old guns aroused unreasonable interest among Tula residents. After carefully examining the pistols, Lefty asked to go home.

Since the man did not know foreign languages, it was decided to send the artisan by sea. Quite quickly, Lefty found himself a friend - an English half-skipper who spoke Russian. The hero was consumed with impatience all the way to Russia. Something he saw in England interested Lefty so much that the man counted the minutes until his audience with the sovereign.

To pass the time, the half-skipper and the artisan decided to hold a competition. The men wanted to check who would outdrink whom. And by the time they went ashore, both characters were so drunk that they could not speak.

Already in Russia, the Englishman was immediately taken to the embassy, ​​and Lefty, who had forgotten his documents back in Tula, was thrown out on the street. The fatally drunk artisan suffered for a long time on the cold road until the unfortunate man was picked up and taken to the hospital.

The hero was robbed and dropped many times while he was being taken to a hospital that accepts patients without documents. By the time the adventures of Lefty became known to high-ranking officials, the Tula artisan had died. The only thing the hero managed to say to the healer before his death:

“Tell the sovereign that the British don’t clean their guns with bricks: let them not clean ours either, otherwise, God bless war, they’re not good for shooting.”

But no one listened to the advice of the experienced master.

Screen adaptations and productions

On the territory of the USSR, Leskov's story was perceived as a work for children. It is not surprising that the first film adaptation of the work is an animated film. In 1964, the premiere of the cartoon “Lefty” took place. The text of the story is read by the actor.

In 1986, based on Leskov’s story, the film “Lefty” was shot. The filming process took a long time, and the largest scenes were filmed in the Great Palace of Gatchina. The role of the artisan was played by Nikolai Stotsky.

In 2013, the story about a skilled craftsman served as the basis for an opera work. The music for “Lefty” was composed by. The main character's part was written specifically for a tenor.

Quotes

“Burn yourself, but we have no time.”

“If the sovereign wishes to see me, I must go; and if I don’t have a tugament with me, then it’s not my fault and I’ll tell you why this happened.”

“This is the only way our work can be noticed: then everything will be surprising.”

“We are poor people and due to our poverty we do not have a small scope, but our eyes are so focused.”

(The Tale of the Tula slanting left-hander and the steel flea)

Chapter one

When Emperor Alexander Pavlovich graduated from the Vienna Council, he wanted to travel around Europe and see wonders in different states. He traveled to all countries and everywhere, through his affectionateness, he always had the most internecine conversations with all sorts of people, and everyone surprised him with something and wanted to bend him to their side, but with him was the Don Cossack Platov, who did not like this inclination and, missing his the household kept beckoning the sovereign home. And as soon as Platov notices that the sovereign is very interested in something foreign, then all those accompanying him are silent, and Platov will now say: so and so, and we have our own at home, no worse, and will take him away with something. The British knew this and, upon the arrival of the sovereign, they came up with various tricks in order to captivate him with his foreignness and distract him from the Russians, and in many cases they achieved this, especially in large meetings where Platov could not fully speak French; but he was little interested in this, because he was a married man and considered all French conversations to be trifles that were not worth imagining. And when the British began to invite the sovereign to all their prisons, weapons factories and soap-saw factories, in order to show their advantage over us in all things and to be famous for it, Platov said to himself: - Well, it’s a sabbath here. Until now I have endured, but I can’t go on. Whether I can speak or not, I won’t betray my people. And as soon as he said this word to himself, the sovereign said to him: - So and so, tomorrow you and I are going to look at their weapons cabinet. There,” he says, “there are such natures of perfection that once you look at them, you will no longer argue that we Russians are no good with our meaning.” Platov did not answer the sovereign, he just lowered his hornbeam nose into a shaggy cloak, but came to his apartment, ordered the orderly to bring a flask of Caucasian vodka-kislarka from the cellar, shook a good glass, prayed to God on the road fold, covered himself with the cloak and snored so that In the entire English house, no one was allowed to sleep. I thought: morning is wiser than night.

People with a dominant left hand, in other words, left-handed people, have always been born. In ancient centuries, left-handers were considered sorcerers and witches, because they often had extraordinary abilities. And such people were burned at the stake. In Ancient Rus', left-handers were not allowed to testify in court. It was believed that the devil was left-handed.

Fortunately, times have changed, and it has long been known that magic does not play any role here. A left-handed person is already born. Nature created us asymmetrical. Our brain itself chooses which hand will be dominant. If the right hemisphere of the brain is more developed, then the left hand becomes active, and on the contrary, if the left hemisphere is more developed, then the right hand will be the main hand.

We have selected 5 of the most interesting facts from the life of left-handers:

- Left-handed people are very gifted people who have extraordinary abilities or have some outstanding talent. For example, scientist Albert Einstein, Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, writer Leo Tolstoy, artist Pablo Picasso, actress Marilyn Monroe - they were all left-handed. But still, modern psychologists believe that a person’s genius does not depend on which hand is dominant. But the thinking of left-handers and right-handers is different. And this remains a fact.

- Left-handed people are more creative, active, they do not sit still, they absorb information whole. But here they may have problems with logic. Left-handed people are able to grasp information on the fly, they see the whole problem, right-handed people need to sort everything out. If a purely left-handed person has difficulties with mathematical problems, then it will be easier for him to explain the material using images. Right-handers, on the contrary, prefer logic. They make good analysts and excellent strategists.

- Statistics indicate that There are many left-handed people among successful athletes. Tennis player Rafael Nadal, football player Pele. Left-handed tennis player Martina Navratilova held the title of world number one for nine years. This was an absolute record.

Statistics show that 40 percent of gold medals are won by left-handed athletes.

There are not so many pure left-handers in the world. In the animal world the opposite is true. There are more lefties there. For example, monkeys and polar bears have a stronger left paw. But, as an exception, right-footed animals are also found in the fauna world, although much less frequently.

The other side of the coin is that left-handers are more likely to suffer from schizophrenia and alcoholism. However, scientists from different countries disagree about this extraordinary fact.

In order to determine who your child is, you can conduct a simple test. First, let's determine the main hand - to do this, ask the child to clasp his hands together. Whichever finger is on top - that hand will be the leading one. You can also fold your hands in front of you in the Napoleon pose (clasp your hands together in front of your chest); if the right hand is on top, then it is the child’s main one. Now let's try to determine the leading ear. Ask your child to listen to the ticking of a wristwatch. Whichever ear he reaches for them will be the dominant one. In order to determine the active eye, you need to make a small round hole in a piece of paper and ask the child to look into it. Whichever eye looks into this hole will be the main one. Finally, you can check the child's leg. Just ask him to cross his legs. The leg that is on top will be the leading one.

If the child did everything with his left hand, then you have a pure left-hander, of whom there are no more than 10 percent on our planet. And about 45 percent are pure right-handers. If, when performing the test, “left” and “right” are mixed up, then it means that your child is a hidden left-hander; there are about 50 percent of such people. There are also ambidextrous people. There are very few of them. These are people in whom both hands function equally well and the dominant one does not stand out. Such people have the ability to use both hemispheres at once. Ambidextrous children learn new information better, are more intelligent, and adapt more easily to new conditions. When raising such a child, you need to take into account that if both hemispheres of the brain are under heavy load, then the child may experience neurasthenia, he will become very tired, and headaches may occur.

To avoid this, you need to try to reduce the load on the left hemisphere, which is responsible for intellectual development and logic, and instead develop more of the right hemisphere, which is responsible for creativity. For example, instead of additional math classes, take your child to drawing, dancing, or enroll your child in a music school. Then the child’s brain will not experience excessive stress.

But our world is more suitable for right-handed people, since they are still the majority. For example, if you take a store. In all supermarkets, movement around the sales floor goes counterclockwise. This was invented to make it easier for right-handed shoppers to add items to their cart. The more goods are taken, the faster store sales grow.

Marketing move. Sports stadiums are built on the same principle. Athletes run counterclockwise around the stadium so that when turning, the active right leg can protect the runner from falling. The turnstiles in the subway are adapted for right-handed people, as is the hand hole in the sewing machine. For left-handed people we were able to find only stationery supplies - scissors, sharpeners, rulers with a mirror scale. For now, lefties have to deal with the rest themselves.