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January 9, 2010 8:42 AM Subscribe
How rare is it to be able to write in longhand backwards?
Is it as rare as having perfect pitch? ("Whoa! That's rare.")
Is it like having near-perfect pitch? ("Hmm, must be nice.")
Or is it an utterly mundane "skill"? (*yawn*)
I can write backwards quite flowingly and easily, and when held up to a mirror it looks fine.
The question about diary encryption made me wonder about this.
I can write backwards quite flowingly and easily, and when held up to a mirror it looks fine.
The question about diary encryption made me wonder about this.
I can write backwards, although quite slowly. If I practice it for a page or so, I already get much faster. I assume it's a mundane skill, although (as with everything else), some people learn it more easily than others.
posted by The Toad at 9:07 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by The Toad at 9:07 AM on January 9, 2010
I'm a righty and I used to write quickly and smoothly backwards with my left hand. Just tried and I'm still pretty good at it. It's neat, but still fairly *yawn*.
Now, tying cherry stems in knots with your tongue? That's pretty rad.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:23 AM on January 9, 2010
Now, tying cherry stems in knots with your tongue? That's pretty rad.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:23 AM on January 9, 2010
I can write backwards in longhand and cursive just fine with both of my hands. My cursive penmanship is actually more "classically proper" (good loops, kerning, and appropriate slant) with my right hand when I write backwards (I'm predominantly left handed). I used to complete sentences using writing utensils in both hands simultaneously, again either forwards or backwards.
I'm not sure I'd say that writing in this fashion, or even my ambidexterity were akin to a trait like perfect pitch. I grew up in lazy primary schools that couldn't be bothered to teach a lefty how to write properly (and you got rapped hard on the knuckles with a ruler if you tried). I still hesitate when tying my shoes.
I've always felt it was just a stupid-human-trick/conversation piece and would probably classify it as a skill (even though I don't recall really having to practice to master it, if I don't write in this fashion for a while it is a bit sloppy at start). I used to keep my journals backwards, but after a while of writing/reading in this fashion my brain just seems to parse it as "normal." Once I accidentally sent a roommate to the grocery store with a backwards list and he complained about having to flip it and hold it up to the light to decipher it.
posted by ktrey at 9:26 AM on January 9, 2010
I'm not sure I'd say that writing in this fashion, or even my ambidexterity were akin to a trait like perfect pitch. I grew up in lazy primary schools that couldn't be bothered to teach a lefty how to write properly (and you got rapped hard on the knuckles with a ruler if you tried). I still hesitate when tying my shoes.
I've always felt it was just a stupid-human-trick/conversation piece and would probably classify it as a skill (even though I don't recall really having to practice to master it, if I don't write in this fashion for a while it is a bit sloppy at start). I used to keep my journals backwards, but after a while of writing/reading in this fashion my brain just seems to parse it as "normal." Once I accidentally sent a roommate to the grocery store with a backwards list and he complained about having to flip it and hold it up to the light to decipher it.
posted by ktrey at 9:26 AM on January 9, 2010
I am left-handed and can do this with my right hand. It's kind of cool.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:33 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:33 AM on January 9, 2010
I'm left handed and can write backwards, forwards and in mirror image with both hands simultaneously. I don't it's any kind of rare gift though. Interestingly, and I've always wanted to ask a neurologist about this, my visual memories are often mirror images -- so say, for example, if I think about a record album cover or the way an intersection looks, when I see it in person I realize I've been recalling the mirror image all along.
posted by Toecutter at 9:53 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by Toecutter at 9:53 AM on January 9, 2010
Heh -- I didn't mean for that to sound one-ups-man-y :)
posted by Toecutter at 9:54 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by Toecutter at 9:54 AM on January 9, 2010
It's not uncommon for lefties and I remember reading something about why ages ago--it has something to do with the fact that cursive letters are constructed to be written comfortably a certain way and that only works for left-handers who do it backwards, so some left-handed children pick it up automatically. Or something along those lines. (Yeah, okay, not especially helpful.)
I don't ordinarily do it well. But, I have been doing some practice writing with my right hand, and sometimes after I've been doing a lot of it, I'll find myself doing mirror-writing with my left if I start on a fresh page, and I'll have to stop and think, wait, which direction is this supposed to go?
posted by larkspur at 10:13 AM on January 9, 2010
I don't ordinarily do it well. But, I have been doing some practice writing with my right hand, and sometimes after I've been doing a lot of it, I'll find myself doing mirror-writing with my left if I start on a fresh page, and I'll have to stop and think, wait, which direction is this supposed to go?
posted by larkspur at 10:13 AM on January 9, 2010
Another lefty/ambi here who can easily write backwards with both, but not as fast or flowing as forwards and certainly not simultaneously. I'd say your ability (flowingly and easily) is at least a few steps above muh-oH.
posted by ourroute at 10:18 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by ourroute at 10:18 AM on January 9, 2010
Now, tying cherry stems in knots with your tongue? That's pretty rad.
There's a trick to it, imagine the knot as a triangular opening with the tip of the stem folding into it with a hinge-like action. Crimp four equally spaced dents, three in one direction, the fourth rotated 90 degrees around the stem. Then assemble the knot by folding it together. Or do what I later found out is the norm: substitute a tied stem by slight of hand.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:23 AM on January 9, 2010
There's a trick to it, imagine the knot as a triangular opening with the tip of the stem folding into it with a hinge-like action. Crimp four equally spaced dents, three in one direction, the fourth rotated 90 degrees around the stem. Then assemble the knot by folding it together. Or do what I later found out is the norm: substitute a tied stem by slight of hand.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:23 AM on January 9, 2010
StickyCarpet: I just happen to be a 12th-level Cherry Stem-tying Grandmaster!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:32 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 10:32 AM on January 9, 2010
Boston Terrrier - just curious - do you start each word from the left or from the right?
posted by gt2 at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by gt2 at 10:42 AM on January 9, 2010
I'm right handed and i can write backwards with my right hand. I haven't tried it much with my left hand, but I can write forwards with my left hand.
I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue though.
posted by patheral at 10:49 AM on January 9, 2010
I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue though.
posted by patheral at 10:49 AM on January 9, 2010
Just tried it:
Right hand, very well but slowly and with some thinking ahead (uh oh...here comes the r...remember to start with the point...) Left hand not so well. But then I tried writing forward with left hand and it was even worse.
Which makes a lot of sense. In Yoga class we write numbers 9 to 0 with the leg in the air, toes pointed. Right foot, fine...left foot easier to write the numbers backwards.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:51 AM on January 9, 2010
Right hand, very well but slowly and with some thinking ahead (uh oh...here comes the r...remember to start with the point...) Left hand not so well. But then I tried writing forward with left hand and it was even worse.
Which makes a lot of sense. In Yoga class we write numbers 9 to 0 with the leg in the air, toes pointed. Right foot, fine...left foot easier to write the numbers backwards.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:51 AM on January 9, 2010
I had never tried it until just now. I'm ambidexterous, and I think my backwards handwriting looks just a little better than a kid learning letters. I was surprised that my keening is just barely better with my right hand on some letters, but between most letters, it's the same.
Now, I knit backwards and forwards and that usually gets a pretty impressed response from non knitters. Knitters don't present a unified response. I have to admit that I'm perhaps overly impressed that I don't have to turn my knitting around, so I'm an evangelist about it because I expect everyone to be as lazy as I am.
posted by bilabial at 11:10 AM on January 9, 2010
Now, I knit backwards and forwards and that usually gets a pretty impressed response from non knitters. Knitters don't present a unified response. I have to admit that I'm perhaps overly impressed that I don't have to turn my knitting around, so I'm an evangelist about it because I expect everyone to be as lazy as I am.
posted by bilabial at 11:10 AM on January 9, 2010
I can write backwards with my right hand, I am right handed, and I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue. Ho hum.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:10 AM on January 9, 2010
posted by elsietheeel at 11:10 AM on January 9, 2010
Anecdata: I'm an ambi/lefty (I write with my left hand but do literally everything else with my right hand). I never really bothered to develop the skill of mirror writing. Your question got me curious, so I sat down and started to try to mirror write with my left hand. In about two minutes, I went from not even being able to visualize the letters backwards to smoothly flowing, rapid writing.
gt2, don't know about Boston Terrier but I started each word from the right (so, opposite of the norm).
As for the science of lefties and mirror writing, Wiki has an interesting take on it (but it's tagged with 'citation needed'). Here's one study's take on it: "It has been reported that left-handed subjects are better able to write in mirror-reversed script than right-handers (Tankle & Heilman, 1983)... Using a digitizing tablet, we examined normal- and mirror-writing performance of left-handers, right-handers, and left-handed subjects who habitually write with their right hand. Our results support the finding of Tankle and Heilman (1983) that left-handers perform better in mirror-writing tasks."
(O. Tucha, S. Aschenbrenner, K. W. Lange. Mirror Writing and Handedness. Brain and Language 73, Iss 3. July 2000. 432-441. DOI: 10.1006/brln.2000.2316).
This slightly sketchy citation may have more information on the percentage of people who mirror write (though you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not that makes it an awesome skill or a rare one):
"Mirror writing is the ability to write from right to left, reversing each letter so that when held to a mirror the script appears normal. There is no information on the prevalence of this trait but a suggestion was received that it may be hereditary. A newspaper survey was carried out to discover the approximate prevalence and whether a hereditary factor is involved.
The results indicated a prevalence of 1 in 6500. There is strong evidence that the trait is hereditary and is associated with non-right-handedness'. It is hypothesised that mirror writers may comprise a very small group of people who not only have bilateral language centres but also have an interconnecting pathway between these centres via the corpus callosum."
(I Mathewson. Mirror writing ability is genetic and probably transmitted as a sex-linked dominant trait: it is hypothesised that mirror writers have bilateral language centres with a callosal interconnection. Medical Hypotheses, 62, Iss 5. May 2004. 733-739. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2003.12.039.)
posted by librarylis at 11:11 AM on January 9, 2010
gt2, don't know about Boston Terrier but I started each word from the right (so, opposite of the norm).
As for the science of lefties and mirror writing, Wiki has an interesting take on it (but it's tagged with 'citation needed'). Here's one study's take on it: "It has been reported that left-handed subjects are better able to write in mirror-reversed script than right-handers (Tankle & Heilman, 1983)... Using a digitizing tablet, we examined normal- and mirror-writing performance of left-handers, right-handers, and left-handed subjects who habitually write with their right hand. Our results support the finding of Tankle and Heilman (1983) that left-handers perform better in mirror-writing tasks."
(O. Tucha, S. Aschenbrenner, K. W. Lange. Mirror Writing and Handedness. Brain and Language 73, Iss 3. July 2000. 432-441. DOI: 10.1006/brln.2000.2316).
This slightly sketchy citation may have more information on the percentage of people who mirror write (though you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not that makes it an awesome skill or a rare one):
"Mirror writing is the ability to write from right to left, reversing each letter so that when held to a mirror the script appears normal. There is no information on the prevalence of this trait but a suggestion was received that it may be hereditary. A newspaper survey was carried out to discover the approximate prevalence and whether a hereditary factor is involved.
The results indicated a prevalence of 1 in 6500. There is strong evidence that the trait is hereditary and is associated with non-right-handedness'. It is hypothesised that mirror writers may comprise a very small group of people who not only have bilateral language centres but also have an interconnecting pathway between these centres via the corpus callosum."
(I Mathewson. Mirror writing ability is genetic and probably transmitted as a sex-linked dominant trait: it is hypothesised that mirror writers have bilateral language centres with a callosal interconnection. Medical Hypotheses, 62, Iss 5. May 2004. 733-739. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2003.12.039.)
posted by librarylis at 11:11 AM on January 9, 2010
All US Navy Air Traffic Controllers who serve aboard a ship must eventually learn how to write backwards. The newest carriers may not have this requirement now, but these status boards were still in use through 2004 as far as I know.
They write on a see-through status board the information of various aircraft who are airborne around the carrier. That way people on the other side of the board can easily read the status updates.
I managed to find a picture...
posted by matty at 11:42 AM on January 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
They write on a see-through status board the information of various aircraft who are airborne around the carrier. That way people on the other side of the board can easily read the status updates.
I managed to find a picture...
posted by matty at 11:42 AM on January 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
I can write backwards as easily as forwards. I can also write upside down, and when I was in shcool my handwriting was much much better if I wrote upside down.
I always assumed I could do this because I had such a hard time learning cursive, so I spent many hours practicing the different parts of the letters (k starts with a rocking chair! c starts with a wave!) until they were just pictures. Certainly the other kids in my Horrible Handwriting class were able to do the same thing.
I'd be interested to hear if other people who can write backwards easily also had trouble learning to write.
posted by smoakes at 12:08 PM on January 9, 2010
I always assumed I could do this because I had such a hard time learning cursive, so I spent many hours practicing the different parts of the letters (k starts with a rocking chair! c starts with a wave!) until they were just pictures. Certainly the other kids in my Horrible Handwriting class were able to do the same thing.
I'd be interested to hear if other people who can write backwards easily also had trouble learning to write.
posted by smoakes at 12:08 PM on January 9, 2010
Yep, I can write backwards, upside down and backwards, and in mirror image simultaneously. No problems learning to write. Just bored a lot in high school.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 12:51 PM on January 9, 2010
posted by LittleMissCranky at 12:51 PM on January 9, 2010
All US Navy Air Traffic Controllers who serve aboard a ship must eventually learn how to write backwards. The newest carriers may not have this requirement now, but these status boards were still in use through 2004 as far as I know.
My grandfather broke his arm as a kid and taught himself to write with his left hand. That allowed him (the mysteries of the brain!) to be able to write backwards with his right, and that's exactly what he did during his time in the Navy.
posted by gjc at 1:11 PM on January 9, 2010
My grandfather broke his arm as a kid and taught himself to write with his left hand. That allowed him (the mysteries of the brain!) to be able to write backwards with his right, and that's exactly what he did during his time in the Navy.
posted by gjc at 1:11 PM on January 9, 2010
I managed to find a picture...
Is it just me, or does he appear to be writing on the other side of the board (i.e., the side from which the words appear to be legible)? Thus wouldn't he be writing in the normal fashion? Odd.
posted by axiom at 3:24 PM on January 9, 2010
Is it just me, or does he appear to be writing on the other side of the board (i.e., the side from which the words appear to be legible)? Thus wouldn't he be writing in the normal fashion? Odd.
posted by axiom at 3:24 PM on January 9, 2010
axiom: yes, in the pic he's writing on the 'legible' side. First you learn how to fill in the correct information, then when you understand what you're writing about, you go to the 'back' side and learn how to write backwards.
At least that's how we learned how to do it. I went to that ATC school in the picture back in 95, then served aboard the USS Constellation - where you write backwards. Fun stuff!
posted by matty at 3:46 PM on January 9, 2010
At least that's how we learned how to do it. I went to that ATC school in the picture back in 95, then served aboard the USS Constellation - where you write backwards. Fun stuff!
posted by matty at 3:46 PM on January 9, 2010
My oldest daughter revealed last summer that she can pronouce everything she hears, backwards, as fast as we can say it. She's ten. It's bizarre-o.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:30 AM on January 11, 2010
posted by wenestvedt at 11:30 AM on January 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:57 AM on January 9, 2010