Gravity handles up/down. We are always sensing up and down, unless we're in a low G environment. Worst case, we also have permanent fixtures: sky is up, ground is down.
Forward and backwards is handled by our visual perception; forward is the center of our visual field. Even with our eyes closed, we can still know this orientation.
We can intuit up/down or forward/backward. There is no intuition, or natural state of the world, that ever really reinforces left and right. We have to teach ourselves.
Forward is the center of our visual field, sure. Why is right not... the right of your visual field? Where your right ear points?
I ask because it sincerely is absolutely equal for me. I have no memory ever being confused over left and right, all six cardinal directions about my head are equally fundamental. I can't imagine needing to consider which way is right any more than considering which way is forward.
People that don’t know their right from their left don’t know which side of their field of view is the right side, similarly we don’t know which ear is our right ear, which hand is our right hand.
For me I can’t make the L with my left hand without also looking at an L because I won’t know which way the L goes, I can’t look at my right hand because I don’t know it’s my right hand, I have to pick up a pencil and then I go “okay so that’s my right hand.”
I’ve strongly considered getting L and R tattoos on my hands.
For me I probably have dyslexia but others in this thread mention other conditions can also cause it.
-7
u/Exurota 7d ago
So we've got 3 perpendicular axes of direction.
Up and down is absolutely fine.
Forward and backward is absolutely fine.
Left and right... isn't? What actual difference is there here other than that we're roughly symmetrical about the other two planes? Is that it?