Think you know whether you're right or left handed? People sometimes aren't aware of their true handedness.

Find out where your dexterity lies with this survey, based on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. Please indicate which hand you prefer for each of the following activities.

Task	Preference	Left	Right
Writing	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Drawing	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Throwing	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Using scissors	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Brushing teeth	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Using a knife (without a fork)	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Using a spoon	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Using a broom (upper hand is dominant)	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Striking a match	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Opening a jar	<Choose one> Right hand strongly preferred Right hand preferred No preference Left hand preferred Left hand strongly preferred
Total		0	0

Your Handedness Score

-1.0 Pure left hander

-0.5 Mixed left hander

0.0    Neutral

+0.5 Mixed right hander

+1.0 Pure right hander

Your handedness score is calculated from the left and right point totals above, using this formula: (Right - Left) / (Right + Left). Scores range from -1.0 for a pure left hander to +1.0 for a pure right hander. A score of 0 indicates that one's preferences are evenly split between both hands.

Someone is considered strongly handed if they use the same hand for all ten tasks. Someone is considered mixed handed or cross dominant if they use the other hand for even one of these tasks (except for scissors, which are often designed for right handers).

Ambidexterity is an exceedingly rare type of cross dominance, where one can perform all tasks equally well with either hand. Note that even a handedness score of exactly 0 does not necessarily indicate ambidexterity, because the person may still have a strong hand preference for some or all tasks. Most people who are considered ambidextrous are probably highly cross dominant, rather than truly ambidextrous.

The U.S. population breaks down like this:

Strongly right handed: 55 percent
Mixed right handed: 35 percent
Mixed left handed: 7-8 percent
Strongly left handed: 2-3 percent

What do you think about all this? Let's talk about mixed handedness! Tell me your score, and get a link on the handedness results page.

For way more on mixed handedness and what it can do for you, check out my ebooks Ambidextrous (for right-handers) and Ambisinistrous (for left-handers).