Eye dominance and ability to compose a photo

[snusmumriken]

What is equally interesting to me that I never thought of before, is what advantage is there for a species to have dominant tendencies rather than having equal abilities?

Apparently most animal species show no bias at the population level towards right- or left-handedness (unlike predominantly right-handed humans). Individuals of at least some species (eg squirrels) do show a life-long bias to one side or the other (I say this from professional experience).

However, it's a mistake to think that every observable trait necessarily confers an evolutionary advantage - it's very often some other effect of the same mutation (a so-called 'pleiotropic' character), or some character that is genetically linked and therefore inherited together, that creates an evolutionary advantage and allows the trait you observe to persist. In the case of humans, the ability to use a right-handed camera and compose a photograph obviously confers huge evolutionary superiority!

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Apparently most animal species show no bias at the population level towards right- or left-handedness (unlike predominantly right-handed humans). Individuals of at least some species (eg squirrels) do show a life-long bias to one side or the other (I say this from professional experience).

However, it's a mistake to think that every observable trait necessarily confers an evolutionary advantage - it's very often some other effect of the same mutation (a so-called 'pleiotropic' character), or some character that is genetically linked and therefore inherited together, that creates an evolutionary advantage and allows the trait you observe to persist. In the case of humans, the ability to use a right-handed camera and compose a photograph obviously confers huge evolutionary superiority!

There's also an economic advantage. Camera manufacturers don't have to produce left-handed cameras. That simplifies their production line. And if everybody did things the right way we wouldn't have people like the Brits driving on the wrong side of the road.

 

[original2view]

True, the left and right brain operates slightly different

 

[Vaughn]

But what I got from the diagram and discussion is with vision, both sides of the brain work hard to help produce a 3D image from the imputs from both eyes. So sight involves both sides -- Both tech and art.