Comments on: Give That Boy a Hand http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/ Chatter, memories and rants. Don't stop me if you've heard this one before. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:30:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Pete http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Pete Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:29:47 +0000 http://iwassaying.net/?p=70#comment-181 During my brief (one year) career as a high school English teacher I would occasionally wake up a sleepy class by writing something on the board with my left hand, then, instead of moving, pass the chalk to my right hand and continue writing. Usually the left-handed writing was indistinguishable from the right-handed writing. This must mean that handwriting is really centered in the brain, rather than the hand. During my brief (one year) career as a high school English teacher I would occasionally wake up a sleepy class by writing something on the board with my left hand, then, instead of moving, pass the chalk to my right hand and continue writing.

Usually the left-handed writing was indistinguishable from the right-handed writing. This must mean that handwriting is really centered in the brain, rather than the hand.

]]> By: Anne http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/comment-page-1/#comment-180 Anne Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:39:24 +0000 http://iwassaying.net/?p=70#comment-180 I'm left-handed too, and I did learn how to write at school! Fourth grade teacher picked out all the lefties in the class and had us come for after school lessons in how to write. We learned to hold our pens so that we did not smear the ink as we went along, holding our hands beneath the lines we were writing. We still end up pushing the pen rather than pulling, which makes it next to impossible to use a fountain pen. Although I found a couple of fountain pens that worked for a leftie. When I was learning to be a technical writer, half the Tech Pubs department was left-handed. My manager, also left-handed, had a mug that said: "Hire the left-handed... It's fun to watch them try to write!" Due to tendinitis I had to switch to mousing with my left hand for a while, but I found the switch relatively easy. Now I would call myself ambidextrous with respect to the mouse. I'm left-handed in most but not all things. I knit right-handed and play banjo right-handed. I can't throw worth a darn, but I can't throw at all left-handed. I'm right-eyed. I’m left-handed too, and I did learn how to write at school! Fourth grade teacher picked out all the lefties in the class and had us come for after school lessons in how to write. We learned to hold our pens so that we did not smear the ink as we went along, holding our hands beneath the lines we were writing. We still end up pushing the pen rather than pulling, which makes it next to impossible to use a fountain pen. Although I found a couple of fountain pens that worked for a leftie.

When I was learning to be a technical writer, half the Tech Pubs department was left-handed. My manager, also left-handed, had a mug that said:

“Hire the left-handed…
It’s fun to watch them try to write!”

Due to tendinitis I had to switch to mousing with my left hand for a while, but I found the switch relatively easy. Now I would call myself ambidextrous with respect to the mouse.

I’m left-handed in most but not all things. I knit right-handed and play banjo right-handed. I can’t throw worth a darn, but I can’t throw at all left-handed. I’m right-eyed.

]]> By: Pete http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/comment-page-1/#comment-178 Pete Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:06:37 +0000 http://iwassaying.net/?p=70#comment-178 Carol,<br /> <br />You describe what I think of as the separation of fine and gross motor skills. Like your friend, your niece and Bill Gates, I am basically left-handed, but right-armed.<br /><br /> I checked out your site, by the way, and enjoyed it a lot. And that's no "left-handed compliment." ;-)<br /><br /> Pete Carol,

You describe what I think of as the separation of fine and gross motor skills. Like your friend, your niece and Bill Gates, I am basically left-handed, but right-armed.

I checked out your site, by the way, and enjoyed it a lot. And that’s no “left-handed compliment.” ;-)

Pete

]]> By: CaroleS http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/comment-page-1/#comment-177 CaroleS Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:48:35 +0000 http://iwassaying.net/?p=70#comment-177 I am left handed, left footed, left eyed, left eared. So I do just about everything 'sinistrally', from writing to mousing, to playing tennis, to holding a phone. The only thing I do right handed is wear my watch on my left wrist. And that's probably because, when I had my first watch, my mother strapped it on my left wrist for me. But it seems that lots of left handers do use their right hand for many tasks. For instance, I discovered the other day that my hairdresser cuts paper with scissors in his left hand but holds the scissors in his right hand to cut hair. A friend I saw over the weekend writes left handed but does virtually everything else right handed. Just like my niece and just like Bill Gates. And Martina Navratilova does everything with her left hand (including playing tennis) except write. Carole from www.thelefthandedsite.com I am left handed, left footed, left eyed, left eared. So I do just about everything ’sinistrally’, from writing to mousing, to playing tennis, to holding a phone. The only thing I do right handed is wear my watch on my left wrist. And that’s probably because, when I had my first watch, my mother strapped it on my left wrist for me.

But it seems that lots of left handers do use their right hand for many tasks. For instance, I discovered the other day that my hairdresser cuts paper with scissors in his left hand but holds the scissors in his right hand to cut hair.

A friend I saw over the weekend writes left handed but does virtually everything else right handed. Just like my niece and just like Bill Gates. And Martina Navratilova does everything with her left hand (including playing tennis) except write.

Carole from http://www.thelefthandedsite.com

]]> By: Elizabeth http://iwassaying.net/2008/04/19/give-that-boy-a-hand/comment-page-1/#comment-176 Elizabeth Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:27:35 +0000 http://iwassaying.net/?p=70#comment-176 I love that pool made it onto your list of "sports." We're related, all right. I love that pool made it onto your list of “sports.” We’re related, all right.

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