Our two hands love to work with each other, but 90 percent of us tend to be right-hand dominant. Only 10 percent have left-hand dominance.

This difference reflects the specialized functions of our brains’ right and left hemispheres, a specialization that is termed “lateralization” by neuroscientists.

If you are left-handed, the right side of your brain is considered dominant; if you’re a righty, your left brain is dominant.

Why does it matter? Depending on which side of your brain is dominant, your may be more or less intuitive, more or less visual, more or less likely to be detail-oriented.

RIGHTIES VS. LEFTIFES

If you’re more right-brained (and thus, a lefty), you might well be more intuitive. You are apt to look at the big picture first and then the details. You also process visual art and three-dimensional images easily. This helps you with things like driving and drawing.

Being left-handed also means you probably love to fiddle with emotional expression, often through music. The right hemisphere of the brain fuels the creative side, and it provides you with a more holistic way of thinking.

If you are right-handed (left brain dominant), you probably like to keep lists and look at the small details before you can see the big picture. You also tend to be more analytical and logical.

To learn more about how personality traits can reflect left- or right-handedness, take the quiz below that accompanies this column.

THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE

The left hemisphere houses the brain’s language and verbal skills. Yet being right-handed does not necessarily give you stronger language skills.

That’s because language also requires imagination and creativity, which are functions of the right brain, which is dominant in lefties.

Still, most researchers agree that handedness is linked to our speech and language. Most people proc-ess speech in their left cerebral hemisphere, which controls the right side of the body—and most people write with their right hands.

Interestingly, most left-handed people still process speech in the left hemisphere—despite being right-brain dominant.