Phenomenon of Ambidextrous Individuals Still Startles Scientists

Sergey Lebedkov from Saint Petersburg is a unique person who can say words backwards. He is not the only one who has this unusual talent. These people do not know how they could apply their phenomenal talents. Some of them have to hide their skills from other people.

Photo: Phenomenon of Ambidextrous Individuals Still Startles Scientists

A lawyer who preferred to stay anonymous called the editor and complained that his career was about to be ruined. He said during his freshman year he was very nervous during an exam and did not notice he was answering questions backwards. The professor was shocked, and his peers were laughing at him and asked to repeat what he had said.

“I am praying I don’t start speaking backwards in a court so people would not think I am crazy. My skill is my enemy. I think God is testing me so I don’t say too much defending the guilty.”

Evgeny Kachura, 23, became famous in his small town in the Stavropol region thanks to his talent. He is the only person in the area who could speak and sing backwards. He started speaking this way when he was a kid.

“I would walk in the streets and read words backwards, entertaining my friends. Then I started saying sentences backwards and now it comes easy to me.”

Science does not know much about these people. Speech pathologists think that only one person in 10 million can speak backwards. There are more people who can write looking in the mirror – one person in 100,000. Some of our readers from different regions have “Leonardo’s handwriting”.

“I could do it since I learnt to hold a pen. In school we were taught to write with our right hand, and being ambidextrous, I learnt to write with my left hand too, but backwards. I can write backwards simultaneously with both hands,” says Guzel Santgalina.

Most people consciously developed the skill. Alexander Russkin from Moscow discovered it out of the blue:

“I was at work and the phone rang. I was holding the phone with my right hand and had to write with my left hand. It came naturally and I was very happy about it because it would make work much easier. A test conducted at worked showed that both parts of my brain were equally active. Maybe that’s the reason I am ambidextrous.”

Scientists from Moscow Brain Research Institute could not support or contest this conclusion. They said the science does not know the reasons behind the ability to speak backwards because it has not been properly researched and does not fit into any of the existing theories.

Every right-handed person can learn to write looking in a mirror with some training, but it will not come as easy as for ambidextrous people. Speaking backwards is difficult, but it develops cognitive ability and creative imagination. Equal activity of both parts of the brain is does not cause psychological problems. However, children may develop neurotic disorders when forced to write with their right hands instead of left. Ambidextrous children should not be re - taught . Many US schools teach children to write with both hands. Some nations believe it is much more convenient to write from right to left. People who have an ability to speak backwards can easily master languages like Arabic, Hebrew and some ancient Indian languages.

- Leonardo da Vinci could work with his both hands. He used to draw with his right hand and write with his left one.

- Jimmy Hendricks. The rock musician could play right-handed guitar with his left hand turning it upside down. He used to place the strings backwards so they would be positioned the same way as on a regular guitar.

Tatyana Visel, neuropsychologist, professor with Moscow psychiatry research institute:

“The ability to speak backwards indicates unusually well developed right part of the brain. This skill can be developed with regular training. The right part of our brain is responsible for the movement in the left part of our body, while the left part is responsible for the movement of the right limbs. Most people have dominating left part of the brain responsible for speech and writing. Our society adapted everything for this type of people.

At some point the right part of the brain may become “mature” and start participating in speech. This makes people capable of writing looking in the mirror or speaking backwards. Some people are born with the ability to use their both hands equally. These are ambidextrous people . Some people suddenly develop this ability. This can be caused by strong emotions or stress . Creative activity, i.e. something emotional, sensitive, esthetic can also form this skill. People involved in dancing, music, painting at some point of their lives may start speaking backwards or writing with their left hand. People had different part of their brains active in various period of civilization development. Women give birth to ambidextrous kids increasingly more, and contemporary people often address their intuition as they are unable to deal with life issues with logic alone. This virtually means the beginning of new civilization.

Express Gazeta