question: Why aren't all humans ambidextrous?
comment: There is actually a debate among experts as to whether there even is such a thing as ambidexterity. I heard one expert talking about it who said that he's tested hundreds of people claiming to be ambidextrous and found that most of them were cross-handing instead. He has yet to find a single true ambidextrous person. It IS possible for people to train themselves to be ambidextrous, but whether a person can be a natural ambidextrous person is a matter for debate. Instead, few people, like myself, are cross handed. That is, I am left handed when I do some things and right handed when I do others. I have no control over which hand is dominant in a given situation, but it is consistent and neverchanges. I can only write left-handed but can only throw right handed, for example. The fact is, the human brain is wired in such a way that this is difficult. It's simply easier for the brain to process one side being dominant and the other being secondary rather than trying to be able to make both hands do either things for every given situation. That's like 4 timest he processing needed, at a guess. That's a lot of brain resources dedicated to that if you do that for every single action.
passages: Section::::Sports.:Hockey.
   Section::::Knitting.
   Section::::Sports.:Racing.
   Section::::Sports.:Golf.
   Section::::Sports.:Figure skating.
   Section::::Controversy and future directions.
   Ambidexterity can also be hampered by employee desire to receive organizational rewards. If organizations base their evaluation and reward systems on the completion of routine tasks, employees will be more likely to conform to standardized procedures. To avoid hindering ambidexterity, organizations should be sure to reward innovative thinking as well as completion of routine tasks.
   Boundary conditions were also addressed on choosing between structural and contextual ambidexterity. For example, spatial separation was suggested as an appropriate solution for environments characterized by long periods of stability, disrupted by rare events of discontinuous change. Research also found that firms operating in dynamic competitive environments rely on contextual ambidexterity rather than developing spatially separated units (Jansen, van den Bosch, & Volberda, 2005).
  
  Section::::Levels of ambidexterity.
   Section::::Firearms.
  
  Many modern small arms employ ambidextrous design to accommodate both the right- and left-handed operator. This is advantageous for marketing the firearm to military or law enforcement units because the firearms are distributed in a large scale. Ambidextrous firearms allows for an identical manual of arms regardless of which hand is being used as primary, which streamlines training (eliminates need to have separate training drill for left handed shooting).
   Section::::Ambidextrous leadership.
   The brain's ability to adapt toward active functions allows humans to specialize in specific processes based on relative use and activity. For example, a right-handed person may perform any movement poorly with his/her left hand but continuous practice with the less dominant hand can cause one to become ambidextrous. Another example is if someone was born with a neurological disorder such as major depressive disorder or had a stroke that resulted in a disorder, then they are capable of retrieving much of their lost function through practice, which in turn "rewires" the brain to mitigate neurological dysfunction.
  
  Section::::History.
   Section::::Structural and behavioral mechanisms that lead to organizational ambidexterity.
   Many right-handed people shoot rifles left-handed because they have a left dominant eye, and the opposite also applies. Generally, it is easier to adapt handedness than to retrain eye-gunsight tracking. Regardless, with training, eye dominance can be overridden. 
  
  "Old West" gunfighter Dallas Stoudenmire carried two pistols, and was noted for being equally accurate with either hand.
  
  Section::::Medicine and surgery.
   Section::::Sports.:Football codes.
  
  Section::::Sports.:Football codes.:Association football.
   Ambidexterity is when a person has approximately equal skill with both hands and/or both sides of the body. True ambidexterity is very rare. Although a small number of people can write competently with both hands and use both sides of their body well, even these people usually show preference for one side of their body over the other. However, this preference is not necessarily consistent for all activities. Some people may for example use their right hand for writing, and their left hand for playing racket sports and eating ("see also:" cross-dominance).
   A degree of ambidexterity is required in surgery because surgeons must be able to tie with their left and right hands in either single or double knots. This is usually due to factors like the positioning of the surgeon, whether they have an assistant and the angle required to throw and secure the knot.
  
  Ambidexterity is also useful after surgery on a dominant hand or arm, as it allows the patient to use their non-dominant hand with equal facility as the limb which is recovering from surgery.
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Brain asymmetry
  
  BULLET::::- Cross-dominance
  
  BULLET::::- Dual brain theory
  
  BULLET::::- Handedness
   Section::::Ambidextrous organizational designs and organizational ambidexterity.
   Only about one percent of people are naturally ambidextrous. In more modern times, it is common to find some people considered ambidextrous who were originally left-handed and who learned to be ambidextrous, either deliberately or as a result of training in schools or in jobs where right-handed habits are often emphasized or required. Since many everyday devices (such as can openers and scissors) are asymmetrical and designed for right-handed people, many left-handers learn to use them right-handedly due to the rarity or lack of left-handed models. Thus, left-handed people are more likely to develop motor skills in their non-dominant hand than right-handed people.
   The traditional martial arts tend to feature a larger number of practitioners who have intentionally developed ambidexterity to a high degree, compared to athletes in combat sports. This is because unlike sports, which have structured rules and common player preferences, traditional martial arts are intended for situations such as self-defense, in which a wider array of physical challenges may occur.
   Section::::Antecedents of organizational ambidexterity.
   Market orientation was also proved to moderate the relationship between exploitation/ exploration and performance. Market orientation was defined as "the capability to generate, disseminate, and respond to intelligence pertaining to current and future customers" (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990). A longitudinal study by Kyriakopoulos and Moorman (2004) showed that market orientation positively moderates the impact of pursuing high levels of exploitative and exploratory marketing strategies on new product performance; however, firms that pursue an ambidextrous orientation without strong market orientation display a significant reduction in new product financial performance.
   Section::::Sports.:Volleyball.
  
  A volleyball player has to be ambidextrous to control the ball to either direction and performing basic digs. On the other hand, the setter has to be proficient in performing dump sets with either hand to throw off blockers. Wing spikers that can spike with either hand can alter trajectories to throw off receivers' timing.
  
  Section::::In art.
   The role of leaders (or managers) is always highlighted towards building an ambidextrous organization. Several recommendations have been made to organizations on how to achieve contextual ambidexterity, including using of meta-routines and job-enrichment schemes, building trust with supervisees, being supportive, using complex behavioral repertoires, and the creation of a shared vision.
   BULLET::::- "Ambidexterity", equal ability to use both hands, is exceptionally rare, although it can be learned. A completely ambidextrous person is able to do any task equally well with either hand. Those who learn it still tend to favor their originally dominant hand.
  
  Section::::Causes.
   Companies such as Apple, General Radio, Nordstrom and British Airways have all had continued success throughout the years because of their capacity for ambidexterity. From 1981 to 1986, British Airways experienced increased profits and customer satisfaction. The top executives of British Airways credited the formation of a more ambidextrous culture and leadership with the company's improved performance.
  
  Section::::Related moderators between organizational ambidexterity and organizational outcomes.
  
raw_presuppositions: All humans should be ambidextrous
raw_corrections: Being ambidextrous may not even be naturally possible and must be learned.