Can Your Mouse Be Used By Either Hand?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
September 19, 2010 8:21pm CST
I suppose I'm one of the lucky ones in the fact that I am ambidextrous. I write with my left hand but do most things with my right (steady!) including operating my cordless mouse.
If I wanted to (and I do, sometimes) I could use the same mouse in my left hand and still operate it OK. Can you do this?
I used to look at peoples' workstations in Lancashire County Council and analyze them and one lady had a Microsoft mouse (designed for a right-handed person) in her left hand. It looked really odd and when I asked if she wanted a universal mouse she declined.
"There's nowt so queer as folk!" as they say in Lancashire. The word "folk" is pronounced "fork" to get the diction right, in case you want to impress all your friends!
I used to look at peoples' workstations in Lancashire County Council and analyze them and one lady had a Microsoft mouse (designed for a right-handed person) in her left hand. It looked really odd and when I asked if she wanted a universal mouse she declined.
"There's nowt so queer as folk!" as they say in Lancashire. The word "folk" is pronounced "fork" to get the diction right, in case you want to impress all your friends!3 people like this
15 responses
@lacieice (2060)
• United States
20 Sep 10
I learned to use my mouse with my left hand. I had to when I fell and broke my right shoulder a few years ago, and had it in a sling for several weeks. It was either learn to use my left hand or give up the computer for a while. I chose to learn to use the other hand.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Wow, you're definitely ambidextrous! I've never known that before with the scissors, how interesting! I use the scissors with my right hand, even though I am left-handed.
I guess we are both extremely clever!
@lacieice (2060)
• United States
20 Sep 10
Oops...wanted to add something. I am right handed. I write, and do most everything with my right hand. except use scissors. I have no idea why this is, and one other thing is even wierder. I used to be a hairdresser, and although I cut with my left hand, I cut hair with my right. Go figure.
1 person likes this
@eurekafemme (5876)
• Philippines
20 Sep 10
I am a lefty but I can do other things with my right hand steadily and using the mouse is one of those things. I learned to use my right hand doing other light things because I need to do a lot of things in just one sitting. Like i am holding my baby with my left hand while tinkering the keyboard and navigating the mouse with my right.And because I am doing it so often that I am being so used to it that it doesn't make any difference or difficulties when either hand is being used.:)
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Wow, you're clever, holding a baby in one arm and using your computer with the other. I couldn't do that!
@allamgirl (2140)
• Philippines
20 Sep 10
wow. i wanted to be ambidextrous for a while some time ago. :) i wondered if it was something you could learn. i'd settle for writing with my left hand though. i've never tried using a mouse with my left one.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
There are two sportsmen who have learned to use their other hand or foot. The first is Rafael Nadal, apparently he is naturally right-handed but - due to the better way left-handers can play tennis, he has learned to use his left hand to play. Very clever!
Bobby Charlton used to score goals for fun with his left foot (usually from a long way out) but has said publicly that he learned how to do this..it's not natural.
So, yes, I think being ambidextrous CAN be learned.
@minx267 (15527)
• Hartford, Connecticut
20 Sep 10
I'm fairly ambidextrous.. with many things. Although I am mostly right-handed. I used to practice righting with my left hand all the time when I was a kid. And writing upside down.. I can drive better with my left hand than with my right..
I think I could manage a mouse with my left- although I haven't tried it much (except when my right hand is aching...) I don't think I would have a big problem.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Yes, I use my left hand to use my mouse whenever my right hand gets tired, which isn't that often because I'm not doing anything repetitive.
I often shout at the screen whenever I see soccer players run round in circles so that the ball stays at their right foot.
"USE BOTH FEET, YOU'RE GETTING PAID MILLIONS!" is one of the many insults I shout at the screen.
If it was good enough for George Best it should be well within the capabilities of the players earning far more than he did, to be able to use both feet in the modern game!
If it was good enough for George Best it should be well within the capabilities of the players earning far more than he did, to be able to use both feet in the modern game!
@abj163 (1037)
• India
20 Sep 10
i can use mouse with both my hands...i am a right handd person and do almost all thing by right hand....i use mouse by right hand too....but when i do have a meal while surfing the internet i just use my left hand for mouse and eat by right hand....firstly it was difficult but now i am comfortable with that........
happy mylotting
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
So it seems you have learned to become ambidextrous to suit your needs? How clever!
@vokial_voc (172)
• Indonesia
20 Sep 10
when i was working as computer teacher in education center place, sometimes i use my left hand and right hand to operate two computer in the same times, it is not hard to use mouse with left hand, cause it only had 2 buttons and one wheel buttons
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Are you ambidextrous with anything else? Such as scissors, that type of thing?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
I really don't know how I became ambidextrous. I guess I was born that way. I don't consciously remember having to learn using my right hand for practically everything else apart from writing..but it does come in handy, I must admit.
@jbrooks0127 (2324)
• United States
20 Sep 10
I am 100 percent right handed so NO I could not use a mouse effectively with my left hand. I suppose that if you are good with both hands there is no reason why it would not work. Keeping track of which botton to push is the only real trick to it.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Yes, I do know what you mean. It is tricky but can be done, which is the main thing. Fortunately, my right hand rarely becomes tired using the mouse so I guess I'm lucky.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
21 Sep 10
People get set in their ways, and don't want to change how they do things, sometimes even when the change would be an "improvement".
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
I suppose they do but I'm not one of those..although, having said that, I was probably born ambidextrous, if there is such a thing!
@Lore2009 (7378)
• United States
21 Sep 10
I was going to say my mouse is only for right hand, but I'm not so sure anymore, maybe you can program it to work for left handers too.. it's not uncomfortable when I hold it with my left. Cameras are biased for right handers only... arn't they? Do you have a hard time with cameras?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Mmm, come to think of it, if I wasn't ambidextrous I would definitely have a hard time using my camera as it is geared towards right-handed use..which is how I use it..luckily for me!
Thanks for bringing that up, I'd not thought of it before.
Thanks for bringing that up, I'd not thought of it before.
@trruk1 (1028)
• United States
20 Sep 10
I have limited use of my left hand, so a mouse for a lefty is not an option. You can change it, by going to your mouse properties and switching it, so the index finger on your left hand does the same thing as the index finger on your right hand does with a right-handed mouse. Or you can just buy a left-handed mouse. Why you would do that when you can just change over the one you have, I do not know.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
I very rarely use my mouse in my left hand, I'm just letting you know that I can.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
6 Oct 10
It's great you can do that my friend!
"Needs must" as they say!
@MagicalBubbles (5103)
• Canada
20 Sep 10
Lucky you to be able to use both hands.
Im right handed and I found out how hard it is to use my left hand when I hurt my right hand. Thats when you find out how clumsy you can be!!
Parents should try to encourage babies to use both hands but maybe it would be a wise thing.......Im just thinking out loud here!!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
I suppose I'm lucky as it became natural for me to do things with my right hand (apart from write). It was my friends that noticed it first when I was about 10 or 11. I did feel quite smug about it because they were always beating me at running (well, everything, really) so to have "one over on them" was great at the time!!
@kyle19 (42)
•
20 Sep 10
Maybe I could use it, but not very well. I do use my left hand sometimes if I'm eating or something and I manage it alright, but I'm really more comfortable with my right hand. I'm right-handed and it would be especially really difficult to write with my left hand as well. Maybe it's just that I need to get used to it though!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
21 Sep 10
Well, I can drink my cup of tea using either hand which is great when I'm on the internet because I can use my left hand for my cup of tea and my right for the mouse.
Gotta keep my strength up somehow!
Welcome to MyLot!
@bardgirl (362)
• United States
12 Oct 10
When you write with your left hand you tend to have to learn how to do things with your right. I was usually the only one in school that was left handed so I had to use the same scissors as everyone else and I even use the mouse with my right. I haven't tried using a mouse with my left but I'd probably be able to pick it up easier than I did with my right since it was a challenge at first.
