We all live in a world that is fast getting dependence on everything with a prefix- "e". With the advent of Internet and related computing technologies, the world has for sure changed upside down. We had emails now when earlier communication was through snail mail. People can write SMS and share any information as quickly as a press of a button. We now have social networking sites helping to connect people even they meeting physically. There has been a sea change in the way we perceive life now as against may be almost a decade ago.
Of all the side effects of these changes one has been that people have move away from pen and any form of writing instruments like paper, pencil etc. You ask an average person, when they last attempted to write- it will require some thinking t figure out the answer. It is ironical given that as a kids we start our major learning by holding a pencil.
I was recently reading a Harvard Business School study , and it said something like this-
From the book What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack:
In the book What They Don't Teach You in the Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack tells a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In that year, the students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
This study from a credible source is a proof enough that if we were to leave all the handwriting, we rather do it at our own peril. This is atleast true while doing your goal setting, as the study proves.
Is your own handwriting a powerful medium to set out something for your life and achieve it subsequently ? The answer to this question may not be in affirmative but i think its something worthwhile trying, atleast!
Do you agree ?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Spotting Dyslexic tendencies through handwriting
What is Dyslexia ?
As the dictionary meaning of Dyslexia states- A learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.
As wikipedia define- Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty with reading, spelling and in some cases mathematics.
Dyslexia is usually not considered as an Intellectual disability. The dyslexic child though with sort of learning disability is as normal as any other child in the vicinity.
Dyslexia symptons:
There are a lot of valuable sources available on Internet basically stating the symptoms of Dsylexia. I will just sum up a few important ones-
1. Directional confusion: The Child does not have a good sense of direction and is generally not able to distinguish between Left, Right, up, down and may have difficult reading maps.
2. Many dyslexic people are not able to follow the proper sequence of letters in a word. While reading the word, they tend to incorrectly follow the sequence of letters and while writing they will generally tend to misspell some letters of a word.
3. Misreads little words, such as a for and, the for a, from for for, then for there, were for with.
4. Omits or reads twice little words like the, and, but, in.
5. Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
6. Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
7. Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
Dyslexia and Handwriting:
The symptoms of Dyslexia can be understood from one's handwriting. Some examples as below-
- The dyslexic may reverse letters like b and d, or p and q, either when reading or writing.
- He may invert letters, reading or writing n as u, m as w, d as q, p as b, f as t.
- He may read or write words like no for on, rat for tar, won for now, saw for was.
- He may read or write 17 for 71.
- He may mirror write letters, numbers and words.
- He may put syllables in the wrong order, reading animal as ‘aminal’, hospital as ‘hopsital’, enemy as ‘emeny’.
- The dyslexic may reverse numbers, and read or write 17 for 71.
- He may transpose numbers i.e., 752 – 572.
- Spells words as they sound, for example ‘rite’ for right.
Dyslexia in the news:
My first introduction to Dyslexia was though a sensitive bollywood movie called Taare Zameen Par . The movie brilliantly captured the life and struggles of a dyslexic child, when his parents, school teachers and friends fail to recognize his disorder and treats him as one having low intelligence. The wonderful movie passes on the apt message about how to emphatically deal with such a child and helping him find his true calling.
Recently heard this news about Supreme court in India rejecting the plea of Dyslexic child from using the calculator in exams. While the court might have its own intelligent reason for this decision but being in a progressive society, it is imperative to be sensitive to the needs of different sects of society especially the special ones. Probably, this ruling is like a deserving blind student being asked to appear for an exam without a Braille system. Injustice is probably a mild word here!
Sources of Information:
http://www.audiblox.com/dyslexia_symptoms.htm
http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm
As the dictionary meaning of Dyslexia states- A learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.
As wikipedia define- Dyslexia is a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty with reading, spelling and in some cases mathematics.
Dyslexia is usually not considered as an Intellectual disability. The dyslexic child though with sort of learning disability is as normal as any other child in the vicinity.
Dyslexia symptons:
There are a lot of valuable sources available on Internet basically stating the symptoms of Dsylexia. I will just sum up a few important ones-
1. Directional confusion: The Child does not have a good sense of direction and is generally not able to distinguish between Left, Right, up, down and may have difficult reading maps.
2. Many dyslexic people are not able to follow the proper sequence of letters in a word. While reading the word, they tend to incorrectly follow the sequence of letters and while writing they will generally tend to misspell some letters of a word.
3. Misreads little words, such as a for and, the for a, from for for, then for there, were for with.
4. Omits or reads twice little words like the, and, but, in.
5. Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
6. Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
7. Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
Dyslexia and Handwriting:
The symptoms of Dyslexia can be understood from one's handwriting. Some examples as below-
- The dyslexic may reverse letters like b and d, or p and q, either when reading or writing.
- He may invert letters, reading or writing n as u, m as w, d as q, p as b, f as t.
- He may read or write words like no for on, rat for tar, won for now, saw for was.
- He may read or write 17 for 71.
- He may mirror write letters, numbers and words.
- He may put syllables in the wrong order, reading animal as ‘aminal’, hospital as ‘hopsital’, enemy as ‘emeny’.
- The dyslexic may reverse numbers, and read or write 17 for 71.
- He may transpose numbers i.e., 752 – 572.
- Spells words as they sound, for example ‘rite’ for right.
Dyslexia in the news:
My first introduction to Dyslexia was though a sensitive bollywood movie called Taare Zameen Par . The movie brilliantly captured the life and struggles of a dyslexic child, when his parents, school teachers and friends fail to recognize his disorder and treats him as one having low intelligence. The wonderful movie passes on the apt message about how to emphatically deal with such a child and helping him find his true calling.
Recently heard this news about Supreme court in India rejecting the plea of Dyslexic child from using the calculator in exams. While the court might have its own intelligent reason for this decision but being in a progressive society, it is imperative to be sensitive to the needs of different sects of society especially the special ones. Probably, this ruling is like a deserving blind student being asked to appear for an exam without a Braille system. Injustice is probably a mild word here!
Sources of Information:
http://www.audiblox.com/dyslexia_symptoms.htm
http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm
Thursday, March 18, 2010
What does Nelson Mandela’s handwriting depict about his personality?
Here's something that i have always loved doing since i learned Handwriting Analysis-to dissect and dig deep into the great people's personality and knowing the core stuff that makes them. Continuing with this attempt, in this post i have further attempted to explore personality of a great leader- Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela is a hero’s hero. He single handedly freed South Africa from Apartheid in the 1990’s and then became its first black president.
He was imprisoned in South Africa for 27 years, locked up in his cell during daylight hours, enduring the prime years of his life as a political prisoner. An opponent of the reigning government that endorsed apartheid, he wanted black people to have equal rights in their own country. He was peacefully working for a free and fair democracy in South Africa. When the South African government finally released him from prison, he led his country out of slavery as the new president of South Africa in the year 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 as a tribute to all who dedicate their life for peace.
Trivia: At seven years of age, Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where he was given the name "Nelson," after the British admiral Horatio Nelson, by a Methodist teacher who found his native name difficult to pronounce.
Handwriting Sample
This Handwriting Sample is resized for better readibility
Nelson Mandela's Handwriting Analysis
Nelson Mandela is an Independent Thinker . His thinking is Independent of others thoughts. In both his thinking and actions, he tends to stay as close as possible to reality. Although he cares what others think but it is definitely not the main influence in his decision making. He has his strong internal frame of reference for what is right and what is wrong. He doesn’t really care if someone approve of him or not, he knows right from wrong and will live that way through any type of criticism. During his initial anti-apartheid movement, he was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s non violence mantra but it was his Independent thinking that helped in convincing him that when many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had achieved nothing and could not succeed, he retorted to armed struggle.
Nelson Mandela possesses High Intelligence in his personality. He is keenly comprehensive in his thinking and has a great ability to quickly understand and size up a situation. Whilst in prison Mandela undertook study with the University of London by correspondence through its External Programme and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. During his teens, he completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. These instances give glimpses in to his academic intelligence.
He also possesses Quick decision making ability . He can think and evaluate circumstances very rapidly. High Intell igence and Quick decision making ability has helped Mandela deal with various unknown situations that he faced throughout his life.
He possesses a Positive attitude towards life. He is optimistic by nature and has the ability to see something positive in extreme situations. This is something that helps him move forward even when faced with tough challenges.
He has High Self esteem . Self-esteem or self image is the total value one gives to self. Having good self image, he tends to feel really good about himself and has a tremendous faith in his abilities.
He has set High goals for himself in every endeavor he took. He always had this rare vision set for himself. He always had his vision of a free and democratic South Africa.
He is open to other’s thoughts and philosophies . He does not have a kind of restricted mindset. He always tends to welcomes other’s ideas and is not so attached to his own thoughts. Mandela's approach during his initial years was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired him.
In communicating, he is always Honest and blunt in giving his opinions . Though he is argumentative, he tends to drive his arguments with rare honesty and bluntness.
Nelson Mandela's Handwriting Analysis- The building blocks
I have just tried to come up with the basis of the above Handwriting Analysis and captured the same in the image below. This indicates the different handwriting strokes that gave the vital personality related clues. Have a look!
I would be eager to hear your thoughts/comments about this post. Please do let me know!
References and credits:
1. Nelson Mandela’s Facts and Trivia source-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
The book: Success Secrets of Rich and Happy
2. Nelson Mandela's picture source:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/nelson%20mandela.jpg
3. Nelson Mandela’s Signature source-
The book: Success Secrets of Rich and Happy
Nelson Mandela is a hero’s hero. He single handedly freed South Africa from Apartheid in the 1990’s and then became its first black president.
He was imprisoned in South Africa for 27 years, locked up in his cell during daylight hours, enduring the prime years of his life as a political prisoner. An opponent of the reigning government that endorsed apartheid, he wanted black people to have equal rights in their own country. He was peacefully working for a free and fair democracy in South Africa. When the South African government finally released him from prison, he led his country out of slavery as the new president of South Africa in the year 1994. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 as a tribute to all who dedicate their life for peace.
Trivia: At seven years of age, Rolihlahla Mandela became the first member of his family to attend a school, where he was given the name "Nelson," after the British admiral Horatio Nelson, by a Methodist teacher who found his native name difficult to pronounce.
This Handwriting Sample is resized for better readibility
Nelson Mandela is an Independent Thinker . His thinking is Independent of others thoughts. In both his thinking and actions, he tends to stay as close as possible to reality. Although he cares what others think but it is definitely not the main influence in his decision making. He has his strong internal frame of reference for what is right and what is wrong. He doesn’t really care if someone approve of him or not, he knows right from wrong and will live that way through any type of criticism. During his initial anti-apartheid movement, he was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s non violence mantra but it was his Independent thinking that helped in convincing him that when many years of non-violent protest against apartheid had achieved nothing and could not succeed, he retorted to armed struggle.
Nelson Mandela possesses High Intelligence in his personality. He is keenly comprehensive in his thinking and has a great ability to quickly understand and size up a situation. Whilst in prison Mandela undertook study with the University of London by correspondence through its External Programme and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. During his teens, he completed his Junior Certificate in two years, instead of the usual three. These instances give glimpses in to his academic intelligence.
He also possesses Quick decision making ability . He can think and evaluate circumstances very rapidly. High Intell igence and Quick decision making ability has helped Mandela deal with various unknown situations that he faced throughout his life.
He possesses a Positive attitude towards life. He is optimistic by nature and has the ability to see something positive in extreme situations. This is something that helps him move forward even when faced with tough challenges.
He has High Self esteem . Self-esteem or self image is the total value one gives to self. Having good self image, he tends to feel really good about himself and has a tremendous faith in his abilities.
He has set High goals for himself in every endeavor he took. He always had this rare vision set for himself. He always had his vision of a free and democratic South Africa.
He is open to other’s thoughts and philosophies . He does not have a kind of restricted mindset. He always tends to welcomes other’s ideas and is not so attached to his own thoughts. Mandela's approach during his initial years was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired him.
In communicating, he is always Honest and blunt in giving his opinions . Though he is argumentative, he tends to drive his arguments with rare honesty and bluntness.
I have just tried to come up with the basis of the above Handwriting Analysis and captured the same in the image below. This indicates the different handwriting strokes that gave the vital personality related clues. Have a look!
I would be eager to hear your thoughts/comments about this post. Please do let me know!
References and credits:
1. Nelson Mandela’s Facts and Trivia source-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
The book: Success Secrets of Rich and Happy
2. Nelson Mandela's picture source:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/moviemom/nelson%20mandela.jpg
3. Nelson Mandela’s Signature source-
The book: Success Secrets of Rich and Happy
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
A new beginning
It has always been at the back of my mind to start blogging about Graphology but so far it had not happened. So, just getting up from an unusually sleepless night today, i am kicking off this blog. Honestly, at this moment i don't know if this blog will have followers or not but i would rather to resolve to write about the subject so close to me just for the sake of self satisfaction and hence getting all that important feel that i am doing my little bit to contribute to this special skill that i acquired years ago.
I feel it is apt to share the recent interview of mine (related to Graphology) that got published in my current organization's newsletter. I hope you enjoy this and the later posts as well. Here's to a new beginning!
Q: Hey, we came to know about your interests in Graphology. Please help us understand what is it ?
Anuj : In simpler terms, Graphology is Handwriting Analysis. To be more elaborate, Graphology is a scientific method of identifying, evaluating, and understanding a person‟s personality via the strokes and patterns re-vealed by his handwriting.
Q: That sounds interesting, How did you first get involved in this subject ?
Anuj : I first got interested during my college days when I incidentally got to read a book in the library. It really caught my imagination. After college, got busy with work and didn‟t get to do much towards this subject but I be-lieve that some interests just cling on to the heart and mind and get surfaced at appropriate times in our lives. This is what happened with me. Till 2003, I had almost forgotten about it but it again surfaced with a chance encounter when I came across a book on Graphology in a book store in Bangalore. After that I spent quite a bit of my free time exploring new horizons of this amazing science.
Q: Do you hold any professional qualification in Graphology ?
Anuj: Yes, I am a Certified Handwriting Analyst from Handwriting University International based out of US.
Q: So, Graphology seems like more of an art form. What is your take on that ?
Anuj : Graphology is also called Handwriting Analysis. In Latin, the prefix “Graph” means “to write” and the suffix “ology” means “the science of”. It is thus a scien-tific study of one‟s personality based on the way a person writes.
Graphology does not work on intuition or guess work- it is a science. The Library of Congress in US categorized it as a credible social science in 1981.
“It has helped me immensely to connect to people and develop a rapport. There is always that initial hesitation that people have about the subject. Most of the people whom I have met share their hand-writing with an intent of fun but what‟s most satis-fying for me is to see the expression of disbelief on seeing the accuracy. In my experience, the results of analysis are 90-95% correct.”
Q: Is there really a scientific basis to it ?
Anuj: Graphology is where the conscious and subconscious mind meets. When we write, we use our conscious mind to think about the content. Whereas the subconscious mind influences the way the text is written, i.e. the letter formation, slant of writing, strokes etc. You never really think before writing certain letter such as "t", or "m" or "o" or anything else, it just flows. This is what gives vital information about personality. In fact, the word handwriting is a misnomer; it should be actually mind writing, as the brain is involved in guiding your hand to move.
Q: What kind of personality traits does Graphology re-veals?
Anuj : Handwriting reveals hundreds of elements of the person's "personality and character," which include glimpses into the sub-conscious mind, emotional responsiveness, intellect, energy, fears and defenses, motivations, imagination, integrity, lying tendency, self esteem issues, procrastination tendencies, issues of trust, social orientation, and much more. There are over 100 individual traits revealed and an unlimited number of combinations.
Q: What are your future plans?
Anuj : I am working on writing a book which details real time Handwriting and Signature analysis of famous as well as notori-ous personalities which would provide insights into core person-ality traits of these people and at the same time the book would use their handwriting samples to teach the nuances of handwrit-ing analysis to novice learners. Also, looking to earn a few dollars in the time to come. I hope a copy of this newsletter doesn‟t get leaked to Income Tax folks. ☺
Anuj has delivered a presentation about Graphology and its use in Software Testing in QAI's Interna-tional conference, it was titled- "Software Testing and Graphology- the complementary sciences", which was well received.
He has also authored an article in TheSmartTechie magazine on the subject- "Managing software personnel by the stroke of the pen" published in Feb 2008
I feel it is apt to share the recent interview of mine (related to Graphology) that got published in my current organization's newsletter. I hope you enjoy this and the later posts as well. Here's to a new beginning!
Q: Hey, we came to know about your interests in Graphology. Please help us understand what is it ?
Anuj : In simpler terms, Graphology is Handwriting Analysis. To be more elaborate, Graphology is a scientific method of identifying, evaluating, and understanding a person‟s personality via the strokes and patterns re-vealed by his handwriting.
Q: That sounds interesting, How did you first get involved in this subject ?
Anuj : I first got interested during my college days when I incidentally got to read a book in the library. It really caught my imagination. After college, got busy with work and didn‟t get to do much towards this subject but I be-lieve that some interests just cling on to the heart and mind and get surfaced at appropriate times in our lives. This is what happened with me. Till 2003, I had almost forgotten about it but it again surfaced with a chance encounter when I came across a book on Graphology in a book store in Bangalore. After that I spent quite a bit of my free time exploring new horizons of this amazing science.
Q: Do you hold any professional qualification in Graphology ?
Anuj: Yes, I am a Certified Handwriting Analyst from Handwriting University International based out of US.
Q: So, Graphology seems like more of an art form. What is your take on that ?
Anuj : Graphology is also called Handwriting Analysis. In Latin, the prefix “Graph” means “to write” and the suffix “ology” means “the science of”. It is thus a scien-tific study of one‟s personality based on the way a person writes.
Graphology does not work on intuition or guess work- it is a science. The Library of Congress in US categorized it as a credible social science in 1981.
“It has helped me immensely to connect to people and develop a rapport. There is always that initial hesitation that people have about the subject. Most of the people whom I have met share their hand-writing with an intent of fun but what‟s most satis-fying for me is to see the expression of disbelief on seeing the accuracy. In my experience, the results of analysis are 90-95% correct.”
Q: Is there really a scientific basis to it ?
Anuj: Graphology is where the conscious and subconscious mind meets. When we write, we use our conscious mind to think about the content. Whereas the subconscious mind influences the way the text is written, i.e. the letter formation, slant of writing, strokes etc. You never really think before writing certain letter such as "t", or "m" or "o" or anything else, it just flows. This is what gives vital information about personality. In fact, the word handwriting is a misnomer; it should be actually mind writing, as the brain is involved in guiding your hand to move.
Q: What kind of personality traits does Graphology re-veals?
Anuj : Handwriting reveals hundreds of elements of the person's "personality and character," which include glimpses into the sub-conscious mind, emotional responsiveness, intellect, energy, fears and defenses, motivations, imagination, integrity, lying tendency, self esteem issues, procrastination tendencies, issues of trust, social orientation, and much more. There are over 100 individual traits revealed and an unlimited number of combinations.
Q: What are your future plans?
Anuj : I am working on writing a book which details real time Handwriting and Signature analysis of famous as well as notori-ous personalities which would provide insights into core person-ality traits of these people and at the same time the book would use their handwriting samples to teach the nuances of handwrit-ing analysis to novice learners. Also, looking to earn a few dollars in the time to come. I hope a copy of this newsletter doesn‟t get leaked to Income Tax folks. ☺
Anuj has delivered a presentation about Graphology and its use in Software Testing in QAI's Interna-tional conference, it was titled- "Software Testing and Graphology- the complementary sciences", which was well received.
He has also authored an article in TheSmartTechie magazine on the subject- "Managing software personnel by the stroke of the pen" published in Feb 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)