Two handed writing

[Beechwood]

Over Christmas, we got around to talking about how badly wired our brains might be and did the classic thing of sitting down, put your right leg out and draw a clockwise circle in the air with your foot.  Then you put your right arm out and draw a number 6 in the air, what happens to your leg?

 

I was reminded of the time when I went into a pen shop and the owner was in shock, the previous customer had asked to try two pens, picked up one in each hand and wrote perfectly at the same time.

[mizgeorge]

I had a friend who did this as a bit of a party trick - two pens, started in the centre of the page and wrote a perfect mirror image of whatever was asked of her. Apparently she'd always been able to do it without really thinking about it.

 

She had beautiful handwriting in both directions as well!

[inkstainedruth]

My husband, who is dyslexic, also used to be ambidextrous.  He didn't really become "righthanded" till breaking his left wrist in I think 3rd grade, and drove his teachers crazy because he'd pick up a pencil with whichever hand was closer to it, and also switch hands when he'd get tired.  I don't think he did mirror writing (although his handwriting is so awful it might be hard to tell sometimes... ).

Me?  I'm so right-handed that I'm ALSO right-footed.  But I'm left-eyed....  Go figure.  I do prefer pouring left handed (which drove my mother absolutely bonkers) but I want the thing I'm pouring INTO being in my dominant hand.  And for my old desktop computer, I taught myself to use the mouse lefthanded, so I wouldn't tire my hand and wrist out.  But I haven't really been able to do that with the trackpad on the laptop....

I took some quiz a few years ago on a FB link about whether you were more left or right brained (right brain being more logic-oriented and left brain being more creative-oriented). And I was about 55-45 (although I don't remember which side was the higher percentage now).  Interestingly enough, a friend of mine, who is a doctor had a similar result to mine (she does knitting and other fiber arts, and does calligraphy and illumination; she's also another alto in the amateur choir we're in). 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Fox Point]

Last time I tried I struggled with writing discontinuous/every other word or letter with different hands, but I could write the same word with different hands in either the same or opposite directions simultaneously with just a twist of thinking, setting one hand to automatic or copying and focussing on the word with the other. I do think that the Latin alphabet is designed for right handlers writing right, and so it flows equally well for lefties when writing left. For callig I chose to learn pointed pen left and edged pen right. I think I count as switchhanded, though, as I am still left-dominant and things come more easily with that hand. Handedness is fun!

[mizgeorge]

39 minutes ago, Fox Point said:

Last time I tried I struggled with writing discontinuous/every other word or letter with different hands, but I could write the same word with different hands in either the same or opposite directions simultaneously with just a twist of thinking, setting one hand to automatic or copying and focussing on the word with the other. I do think that the Latin alphabet is designed for right handlers writing right, and so it flows equally well for lefties when writing left. For callig I chose to learn pointed pen left and edged pen right. I think I count as switchhanded, though, as I am still left-dominant and things come more easily with that hand. Handedness is fun!

What a gift! 

[Fox Point]

Haha! Have you tried it? You know how the letters can become semi-automatic when writing joined cursive? Try writing backwards in cursive and use the connections to determine which direction a letter goes. You’ll start finding moments of relaxation because of course the one following goes that way, you didn’t even need to think about it! Setting one hand to copy the other is like that, a bit of a trick and about 7% absent attention - not too much or the determining hand stops and everything stops!

 

When I tried the discontinuous writing you had to set one word then the other to auto and it was much harder, both swapping the words, dealing with words of different lengths (same no. of letters helps a lot) and trying to make an overall jazzy (those differing word lengths, syncope is your friend) rhythm for swapping hand dominance. Exhausting, but I can see how it would simplify with practice. 

[Beechwood]

With huge concentration I can write vertically and inverted but sitting next to an Israeli colleague I was fascinated to see her writing  right to left.

[inkstainedruth]

That's not all that surprising, since that's how Hebrew is normally written; we had to go to a memorial/prayer service for someone once and I was not used to the prayerbook being written back to front (even for the English translation to the Hebrew text).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth