By Skylar Khan
On this Fourth of July, we are celebrating the Day of Independence with a day off from work. We raise our flag with pride and enjoy fireworks at night.
There is another independence that many of us are striving for, such as financial independence or physical independence after severe illness. Another one would be independent thinking: Going one’s own way, sometimes by making one’s own rules.
Excerpt from the NDT website: “One of the primary goals of an educator should be to help students develop the desire and ability to think on their own. Independent thinking is the desire of a person to convince oneself that the information being presented is true or reasonable. Dependent thinkers uncritically accept whatever they are taught and rarely question information or ask themselves if the information really makes sense. Independent thinkers feel the need to make sense of the world based on personal observations and experiences rather than just going along with the thoughts of others.”
In Kimon Iannetta’s book Danger between the Lines she points out the psychological implications as follows: “The writer wants to make independent decisions about his own lifestyle. Plans, intentions and activities are chosen without regard to custom and convention. He disregards social rules and norms and likes to ‘do his own thing.’ If combined with dangerous qualities, such independent thinking augments negative behavior. If combined with good qualities, the trait can be positive in that it allows the person freedom of personal expression.”
[See Graphics 1 and 2]
In handwriting analysis, we see the trait of independent thinking in short t- and d-stems wherein these stems are less than double the size of a lower case letter and shorter than capital letters.
If the letter t is of regular size in comparison to the rest of the script, and the d-stem is short, it would indicate that the writer is rather conforming in their professional environment, but that the person does not abide by conventions/traditions as far as his/her personal lifestyle is concerned.
If the letter d is of regular size in comparison to the rest of the script, and the t-stem is short, one might say that the person is conventional as far as his personal conduct is concerned, but the writer continues to find novel and unconventional ways at work which would then be considered creative and innovative.
Most of the time, we see both letters d and t short in the script of the independent thinker.
Independent thinking is considered an asset in high-form writing that is rhythmic and legible. It is a liability in low-form or careless scribble. Any trait needs to be viewed as part of the whole personality by taking into consideration the entire document.
Reader Question: What does it mean when I write the capital I the way it was taught in school? (This was in response to the June 2012 article ‘Ego Symbol ‘I’)
Answer: Whenever a writer pens one or more letters of the alphabet the same way he or she learned it in school, it means that the writer is comfortable with that style of writing. Some teachers also keep writing copybook style, especially those who are teaching writing classes, albeit sadly for many schools a thing of the past!
[See Graphic 3]
The specimen submitted by the reader contains three capital letters ‘I’, the second of which mostly resembles the copybook I.
What the three personal pronouns I (PPI) have in common is equal size of the upper and lower loops that make up the letter. Whichever is drawn first, in this instance the upper loop of the letter I, represents the writer’s relationship with their mother or mother figure. The secondary loop, in this case the lower one, represents the person’s relationship with their father or father figure. Since both are approximately the same size in all three I’s, one could infer that the writer is equally comfortable in male and female company alike.
There appears to be a small hook attached to the upper loop in the 1st and 3rd capital I. The writer wishes to hang on to values taught by her mother and keeps re-examining them.
The PPI is of appropriate size in comparison to the other letters. This tells us that the writer enjoys a healthy self-esteem.
Most words show letter connections without breaks, indicating a writer who favors logical thinking over hunches. She will lend you her shoulder to lean on.
For more information, please visit Skylar Khan’s website HandwritingAuthority.com