Recent research suggests up to one-sixth of the world’s population struggle to distinguish between left and right.
Are you one of them?
Back in boot camp,
I dreaded hearing “Turn left.”
Joan Doe: I woke up annoyed the other day because I’d asked my partner to put some new tea in the left cupboard, and he put it on the right.
John Smith: I… don’t think I put it in the wrong place…
Sharp Eye: Well, it may not be his fault. A recent study at Germany’s Ruhr University in Bochum found that about one in six people worldwide cannot tell their left from their right.
Bob Doe: Like me! I’ve never been able to figure out the difference between left and right. Back in the army, I could do everything except turn left and right. I’d always be facing the wrong direction when everyone else had finished turning. I was like a spinning top.
John Smith: Me too! Once, the instructor yelled “Turn left” and “March,” and I was at the end of the line. I turned the wrong way, but nobody noticed. So I kept marching in the wrong direction for ages until everyone else started shouting for me to stop. I made quite a spectacle of myself.
Joan Doe: My biggest fear was driving with John Smith giving directions. He’d point to the left and shout “Quick, turn right,” sending me into a frenzy.
Bob Doe: It’s common among people who can’t distinguish left from right. Research has shown that it is much more difficult to distinguish between “left” and “right” than “up” and “down” because “up” and “down” can be easily determined by the environment, whereas “left” and “right” must be distinguished from our own perspective.
North, South, East, and West:
The pinnacle of orientation
Joan Doe: I’m usually okay with left and right, but I get confused when people start talking about directions like east, south, west, and north.
John Smith: I was in Beijing recently and asked for directions. This guy told me to “go east, then turn south.” I got completely lost and ended up asking him again which way east was. The look on his face was priceless. I think he was wondering what was wrong with me.
Bob Doe: I think distinguishing between north, south, east, and west is the ultimate test of orientation. It’s so hard!
Sharp Eye: That’s mainly because of the environment. Generally speaking, the terrain in the north is relatively flat, and cities and streets are laid out in a more ordered manner. Southern cities, however, are often mountainous and feature more water bodies. As a result, their layout is less standardized. That’s why there’s even an article on Zhihu titled “Why Southern Chinese Can’t Distinguish North, South, East, and West” that attempts to explain this phenomenon.
John Smith: I think Wuhan is okay. East Lake is in the east, right? And the Yangtze River flows from west to east, so that should help you figure out which way is east.
Joan Doe: Do you think the Yangtze River never changes direction? Let me ask you this: between Nan’an Mouth and Yangluo, which direction is east?
John Smith: I… don’t know. I guess my method was flawed. I’ll stick to trying to figure out left and right for now.
How to fix the problem
Bob Doe: Not being able to distinguish left from right can be frustrating, especially when someone tells you to go left or right and you end up being half a beat behind everyone else.
John Smith: And I often get teased by Joan Doe about it. I wonder if there’s any way to solve this problem.
Sharp Eye: Of course there are more solutions than problems. First, it’s important to accept that not being able to distinguish left from right is not a defect. Be confident and don’t let it get to you. Second, try to find ways to help yourself make the distinction, such as using landmarks as references. A tall building, a school, or a bridge can all be helpful in this regard. In reality, most people who have difficulty differentiating between left and right simply cannot do so quickly. They only need to spend a few extra seconds thinking about it, and they’ll be fine.
Joan Doe: That actually sounds pretty manageable. John Smith, you just need to remember which hand you use to hold chopsticks. The side you use is your right side.
John Smith: What if I tell you I can hold chopsticks with my left hand too? Could that be why I have trouble distinguishing between left and right because both my left and right hands are equally skilled?
Everyone: Haha, that’s certainly a possibility.
(By Chen Lingyan, reporter for the楚天都市报極目新聞. Illustrations by Liu Yang.)
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