OK, so the post title is a bit presumptuous.
I’m not entirely sure that Biz is a genius. He’s probably not. (I hope not. Geniuses seem to be extremely misunderstood.)
But he’s been doing some backwards mirror writing and, well, my left-hander’s desk calendar pointed this out:
No doubt that Leonardo da Vinci was a genius. But he lacked a formal education and his natural mode of writing was left-handed mirror writing. In his personal notebooks the letters are written backward, and words and sentences read from right to left on the page. He used regular script only when he was writing to others.
Leonardo da Vinci, of course, was a lefty.
I’ve tried mirror writing before and found that it wasn’t as hard as I expected. As a lefty, I actually do find it easier to move from right to left. I often read articles and/or newspapers or magazines backwards. (Unfortunately, people don’t write the articles backwards so it takes some piecing together.)
I’m pretty sure I’m not a genius, but it’s interesting to note that backwards mirror writing is easier for us lefties.
When shopping for some boots and gloves this weekend, Biz wrote his name twice.
Here’s how he wrote his name on a chalkboard in LL Bean:
Biz doing some mirror writing in LL Bean.
On the chalkboard, he wrote his name as if he were mirror writing.
Here’s how he wrote his name at the restaurant before eating lunch:
Biz wrote his name upside down so that we could all read it.
At the restaurant, he wrote his name upside down. We could read it, but it was upside down to him. He didn’t flip the placemat or anything.
He didn’t flinch in either case. He just wrote. In fact, I almost think upside down mirror writing was easier to him than writing his name normally. We usually have to help him write B-I-Z.
Of course, at not quite 4, he’s still getting the hang of the writing thing. He’s still learning his letters and figuring out how to hold a pencil properly. But I don’t remember G ever writing backwards. His letters may have looked backwards from time to time, but G wouldn’t write an entire word backwards or upside down.
Genius? Maybe not. But it is kind of curious.
Does your child ever do mirror writing or write upside down? Are they left-handed or right-handed?
jen says
November 13, 2012 at 11:53 amMy son Eric did things like that too! But he switched over to his right hand eventually (we thought he’d be left handed like his dad). He did however end up being of high intelligence, gifted classes all thru school, high IQ., we had him tested . I would just keep an eye on him and encourage him. What we saw with Eric that gave us the big clue was he developed this independent streak about learning very early he rarely asked for help.
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anotherjennifer says
November 13, 2012 at 3:34 pmInteresting. Thanks for sharing. Biz is definitely an independent thinker. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops!
Jennifer says
November 14, 2012 at 12:10 pmI’m a lefty and was really rooting for a lefty in my family. I would even sneak the spoon into their cereal on the left-hand side. Terrible, right? But alas, genetics won out and they are righties. oh well. Life goes on 🙂
anotherjennifer says
November 14, 2012 at 12:36 pmHaha! It’s fun to have another lefty in the family. We always know how to sit at a table together so we don’t get in each other’s way!
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Cynthia says
November 14, 2012 at 10:57 pmWow, that’s so cool… I don’t remember ever having the inclination to do that either as a kid or an adult. And both my kids are righty (told you our numbers are declining!), but only Oldest is writing yet. He’s still struggling with his handwriting… maybe I should encourage him to try mirror writing…
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anotherjennifer says
November 15, 2012 at 12:31 pmIt’s funny that he did the mirror writing naturally, but struggles with regular writing. It’s still early, so who knows if he’ll continue to write this way. I just thought it was interesting!
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Tania says
November 15, 2012 at 2:46 amI’m the only one in my family who isn’t a lefty! Weird, huh? I was the one who messed everything up at a small dining table…had to be different, eating with my right hand.
That’s about the mirror writing. Maybe it means he’ll be able to see things from all different perspectives?
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anotherjennifer says
November 15, 2012 at 12:32 pmIt’s so weird that the righty is the minority in your family, Tania! From the stories he tells now, he definitely sees things in a different perspective. We’ll see how it translates as he grows!