Can You Tell If A Person Is Left-Handed By Their Handwriting?

[markh]

Article from Wall Street Journal - Can you tell if a person is left-handed by their handwriting?

 

http://on.wsj.com/1DMeOb9

 

A professional graphologist describes one clue to help decipher who is left-handed

Left-handed people, about 10% of the population, are the subject of many legends: They reputedly are more creative and suffer more accidental injuries than right-handed people. But when it comes to one of the most common activities our hands perform—handwriting—it isn’t easy to tell the lefties from the righties.

[more...... see link]

Edited February 25, 2015 by markh

[fountainpenlady]

I am unsure whether what is described as a myth, might in fact not hold some validity, in my opinion.

Believe left-handed people actually are dominant in their right brain. Left-side of your brain is analytical; right side is known to control the creative and artistic side. Not sure about the rest of the premises. As a left hand person, tend to tilt journal or paper right, overcompensate, so there is no lean towards the left in what is written.

Notice, I tend to take time writing initially, and have certain distinct markers to my writing. Yet, politically, I do lean left, though given the alternative, my words have tendency to dance off the page from time to time outside perimeters often.

[PS104]

Sure.

If the ink is smeared they're left-handers

[Crewel]

Only with the most obvious of clues, a general left slant to the writing.

[markh]

Only with the most obvious of clues, a general left slant to the writing.

 

Well, the article says otherwise. That's what made it interesting......

 

.

[Algester]

how is really simple use a chinese brush and write in chinese ... and then use the normal methods of cross examinations I kept failing chinese calligraphy because of it

[fountainpenlady]

Sure.

If the ink is smeared they're left-handers

Which when I think about it, plenty of fountain pen enthusiasts have smeared fingers and are right handed, what does that say about them? We, as left handed people could simply be having a sloppy day.

[rogerb]

If you look at a lefty's FP writing under a magnifier, you can often see the tiny ink spatters resulting from the writer's pushing the tip of the nib into the paper, rather than pulling it across..

 

The vertical slant tells us nothing about right or left-handedness.

 

Graphologists might say it says more about the writer's tendency to extroversion or introversion .... but psychologists say that's a load of tosh!

[fountainpenlady]

If you look at a lefty's FP writing under a magnifier, you can often see the tiny ink spatters resulting from the writer's pushing the tip of the nib into the paper, rather than pulling it across..

 

The vertical slant tells us nothing about right or left-handedness.

 

Graphologists might say it says more about the writer's tendency to extroversion or introversion .... but psychologists say that's a load of tosh!

I agree with the psychologists. Seeing one now, she does not agree after agreeing to work with me.

Edited February 25, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[tmenyc]

We left-handers are nice people who take great pleasure in holding our pens in the hand that most people consider to be too ill-coordinated to write with. Many of us are even able to use a fountain pen back-handed, in a highly advanced over-writing style that is much prized among native populations. We are easily identifiable because of our flexibility and advanced coping abilities, including our ability to use scissors with our right hands, which no right-hander has ever successfully accomplished with his/her left hand.

 

Tim

[torstar]

I am unsure whether what is described as a myth, might in fact not hold some validity, in my opinion.

Believe left-handed people actually are dominant in their right brain. Left-side of your brain is analytical; right side is known to control the creative and artistic side. Not sure about the rest of the premises. As a left hand person, tend to tilt journal or paper right, overcompensate, so there is no lean towards the left in what is written.

Notice, I tend to take time writing initially, and have certain distinct markers to my writing. Yet, politically, I do lean left, though given the alternative, my words have tendency to dance off the page from time to time outside perimeters often.

 

As a southpaw with dominant right brain thinking, it is strange to find accounting colleagues who are left handed and left brained.

 

Best to avoid them as much as possible.

[fountainpenlady]

tmenyc,

 

I so agree with your assessment of south Paws. Have you ever seen a left handed person turn their paper or whatever they are writing on upside down almost and write? Continue to feel fortunate I did not grow up perhaps one generation before me. I have heard horror stories from fellow left handed people, who had their left hand repeatedly hit with rulers; forced to write with their right hand by such extreme measures; truly would be considered abuse today. When I was in grade school, I vaguely recall a teacher or two who turned my notebook straight to point north and south. Being a left handed, independent thinker, back then, politely turned my book back the way it was prior to being disturbed. I did not bother to retaliate by using any other gestures with my left or right hand to show my opposition. back then anyway.

[fountainpenlady]

 

As a southpaw with dominant right brain thinking, it is strange to find accounting colleagues who are left handed and left brained.

 

Best to avoid them as much as possible.

Yes, with a passion!

[tmenyc]

FPL -- Paul Simon said it best..."I've been Ayn Randed, nearly branded Communist 'cause I'm left-handed. That's the hand I use...well, never mind..."

 

Tim

[Rocket1]

Maybe some people could post pictures of their handwriting and we could guess if they are lefties?

[fountainpenlady]

Maybe some people could post pictures of their handwriting and we could guess if they are lefties?

[fountainpenlady]

Edited February 26, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[DonLeone]

Graphology is a pseudo-science, like iridology, studying the iris to see which illnesses you have, feeling knobs on your head to see which illnesses or personality you have and astrology which is figuring out personality traits based on what some dude a long time ago figured were connect-the-dot pictures in the sky that have magical properties.

 

Back in the day, some psych people showed up in school and had everyone's handwriting checked but I never heard of the results. There was some controversy over methods and whether that particular group of people was justified in their supposed ability to find out who was crazy or not based on graphology and Rorschach (or however you spell it) tests. Probably why I never got to see any results from the tests.

 

There are some traits that may or may not be deducible from handwriting. I recently saw stuff about exposure to testosterone while in the womb which results in a longer or shorter ring finger and better or worse handwriting. Handwriting deterioration from fast writing or notetaking indicating long student career so maybe someone might be a doctor if their handwriting is barely legible. They basically train themselves to be bad handwriters.

 

From my own thorough research I've concluded that the mere use of a fountain pen correlates with gigantic amounts of intelligence and physical attractiveness.

[sidthecat]

My slant tends to the vertical when I'm taking notes, but in a relaxed position and writing in a journal my slant is decidedly rightward. This is a fair example:

[mhm802]

lovely hand -- but what is that GORGEOUS blue ink?