An interesting anecdote that comes to mind is playing old computer games with arrow keys, which used my right hand. I got pretty proficient with this.
Over the years, I (and I imagine many others) switched over to WASD to play newer games with mouse + keyboard, but this meant using the left hand for "arrow keys"
Now I can directly compare how proficient I am with WASD vs Arrow Keys and the result surprised me. I was way worse with arrow keys (right hand) even though back when WASD was becoming a thing I'd rebind WASD to arrow keys because it felt too weird! I would've never imagined back then that WASD could ever feel as natural as arrow keys.
Makes me wonder how much of handedness is truly innate vs learned.
Left-handed individuals living in a predominantly right-handed world possess the capacity to adapt and utilize their right hand effectively. While most right-handed individuals do not exhibit this ability unless they experience an extraordinary event, such as an injury to their right hand, left-handed individuals are compelled to learn how to use their right hand in a right-handed world.
As a left-handed individual who employs a trackpad or mouse with their right hand, stick shifts are also possible, at least in the United States. Furthermore, left-handed individuals can switch-handed, bat from either side, and use both hands equally in a fight. This adaptability may be the reason why left-handedness remains prevalent in combat sports, including swordplay, tennis, boxing, and even wrestling. In certain combat situations, the initial blows are crucial for survival, especially in the past.
I remember in elementary school being amused by the idea of handedness so I decided to practice writing with my left hand as well. I'm not great at it but even to this day I can write legibly with my left hand from that little bit of practice as a child.
Anyone can get much better at using their non-dominant hand (if they have one) with just a bit of practice. The effect is much much stronger when you do so as a child.
I’m left handed and never understood left handed mice at all. I write with my left and swing and kick left handed, but all gaming stuff has always been the same way anyone else does. I’m pretty sure up down left right switching to wasd is a function of that setup being more comfortable with the mouse to the right of the keyboard, correct?
For this sort of motor skill, it’s definitely learned. For stringed instruments, for example, it’s the left hand which has the more finely managed manipulation than the right (it’s interesting to note that only guitar-family instruments are commonly made in left-handed versions, although some of that may come down to logistics of string ensembles where having one left-handed violin in the violin section would cause a bit of chaos with colliding bows that is less of an issue with guitar ensembles where there are fewer musicians and they’re less tightly packed in the performance space). Likewise, the fingering on woodwind instruments doesn’t really favor one hand over the other. In contrast, brass instruments are decidedly right-handed (I suppose one might be able to manage a trumpet left-handed, but I’ve never tried. I don’t think other brass instruments could be fingered with the left hand at all.
Something super simple and revealing is try pressing on the brakes with your left foot.
I'm right-handed, I'm pretty sure of that. But it's also an observed fact that if there's something I'm not used to to yet then it doesn't really matter which hand I start doing whatever it is with, if it's the right hand that'll be the preferred hand for that activity in the future, or if it's the left hand then that'll be the one. Things I do "both ways" I can do.. both ways.