A philosophical conundrum

[katster]

When I was in fifth grade, my teacher suggested to the class that now that we were learning decimal points, we should circle our problem numbers to avoid having them accidentally show up in the math. It’s a habit I gleefully adopted, and used through several classes of higher mathematics. Even to this day, if I’m making an ordered list, I circle my numbers.

So I was doing this at work today as setup for what I’m doing on the computer, and I noticed that every time I drew the circle around the number, I drew it counterclockwise. Writing ‘o’ and ‘0′ are done the same way. This got me pondering — is this what every righty does, and lefties go clockwise? Maybe something with the way the pen is gripped?

So I asked the question on twitter, and got three responses. All four (counting myself) were righties, and we split right down the middle as to how we drew our circles.

My pen grip hypothesis seems to be on shaky ground. So in the interests of science!, I’m looking for more data points. Do you draw your circles clockwise or counterclockwise? What hand are you?

Originally published at retstak.org. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

I draw my circles widdershins (can't say clockwise or counter clockwise since my watch also runs widdershins). I'm right-handed.

[fb.livejournal.com]

Heh, I saw this same question on somebody else's blog or lj or twitter or something just the other day and the result there was also an even split; I'm right handed and I draw mine clockwise.

I'd be interested to see this broken down by age, it could have something to do with differences in the way handwriting was taught.

[buran.livejournal.com]

Either way though I lean toward counterclockwise lately. I also draw "backwards" checkmarks and things like that. I'm left-handed -- remember my trouble in finding a leftie pistol? (one of the few times that being a leftie has caused actual frustration to me).

[pernishus.livejournal.com]

Profoundly left-handed. Counterclockwise.

[shmuelisms.livejournal.com]

I'm with pernishus. [woot]

[rbos.livejournal.com]

Clockwise circles, right-handed. I might come from learning how to write cursive.

[rbos.livejournal.com]

Belay that, I just wrote out a few words. Counterclockwise. That's strange to me. :)

[andreas_schaefer]

righty - though maybe a forced one and started out as ambi and counterclock
Given cursive writing teaching at the time ( early 60s Germany when lefties were NOT tolerated ) that is NOT surprising.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Like rbos, I answered the question, then tested myself, and found that I was wrong, so I just deleted my previous comment.

In general, it depends on whether my pen is moving generally across the page from left-to-right, when I'm writing in English for instance, or right-to-left, when doing things in Hebrew. My pen starts, and finishes, moving in that same general direction.

(and here's the part that I got backward in my first comment)

I start drawing circles from the bottom. So, if I'm writing in English, my pen starts left-to-right on the BOTTOM, and therefore is counterclockwise. If i'm writing in Hebrew, or for any other reason, generally moving right-to-left, my pen goes right-to-left as it starts, at the bottom, and therefore, the circle is drawn clockwise.

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

Clockwise for circling numbers; writing "o" and "0"; right-handed. And I never thought about it before, so I've been doing it for more than 50 years. Sheesh.

Though if I'm *drawing* (not just circling something) and want to concentrate on detail, I draw circles counterclockwise. And apparently calligraphy counts as drawing rather than writing some of the time; for that, I draw the letter either way, depending on the font (italic and uncial are counterclockwise; blackletter is clockwise - just tested them). Weird place, my brain.

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

lefthanded, clockwise circles

[kowh.livejournal.com]

Hmm, right handed and looks like I go clockwise. Which is the opposite of cursive. *shrug*

[robotmadder.livejournal.com]

rightie, counterclockwise

[mdlbear]

I'm sinister and draw circles widdershins.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Rightie (more or less), counter-clockwise.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Huh, yeah, my cursive o comes in at the left and finishes at the right, as it has to, but my printed o is indeed counter-clockwise.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

(oh, I guess that's an "and" not a "but.")

[wind-wraith.livejournal.com]

I knew immediately because every piece of graphic text, circle, etc starts the same way as my letters - counterclockwise. I start at somewhere between 11 and 10pm and work around. Not 12 as I thought before.

I'm guess I'm right handed - I write with both, and use both for most tasks (golf, skating, fencing etc) but tend to favour my right for find motor skill.

So right handed and counterclockwise for me too! Taught in the 80s by my grandmother (retired principal and school teacher of 32 years) rather than the school which was remarkably blasé about penmanship.

[wind-wraith.livejournal.com]

Depending on where you ask and whom your answers may be biased to reflect the population. If LJ is for a certain age or type of people, so too will you see a certain trend here that might not be the same to a general public setting, or an artist's forum or a mathematics conference or group of older people in a nursing home.

Just food for thought if you wanted to follow a line of scientific inquiry :)

[wind-wraith.livejournal.com]

cursive o's for me begin at the 7 o'clock, go up to the 11, then loop around counterclockwise to join the 11 before crossing in a second loop in front of the cursive o, to lead downwards and curl up to the next letter, I hope these descriptions make sense to you.

Where the loop of the last letter comes off, I scroll up a bit, and then around in a cc motion.

[salinn.livejournal.com]

I'm a righty and I draw my circles counterclockwise.

[rdmgryphon.livejournal.com]

Lefty, CC.

[jtwilson.livejournal.com]

Right-handed, counterclockwise..when I finish a zero, I then draw a upper left to lower right diagonal slash across it.

On another note, I also draw a line across my sevens..which is fairly common, at least in Chicago when I've observed other people writing.

[inflection.livejournal.com]

Lefty, counterclockwise.

P.S.: To shsilver and mdlbear: "widdershins" means "counterclockwise," which is how the question was asked. Don't be precious.

[katster.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I'm perfectly okay with the word 'widdershins' being used as a synonym for 'counterclockwise', as when it came up, I was capable of using a dictionary to recall which way widdershins was. It's an acceptable way of answering the question even if it wasn't the way I posed it. (Besides, I kinda like the word.)

-kat

[vacheestfachee.livejournal.com]

Righty and clockwise. And I miss circling my problem numbers! At some point, my teachers forced us to stop. :)

[vacheestfachee.livejournal.com]

(oh, but I am a left-handed archery shooter. not that I do that much anymore.)

[tanesmuti.livejournal.com]

Counter-clockwise with the right hand, clockwise with the left.