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School For Ambidexterity
Status: Highly suspect
According to an article in NewKerala.com, the Veena Vadini school in Singrauli, India teaches its students to write with both hands, at the same time. And that's not all:All these students are able to write simultaneously with both their hands. Trained from the early days at their school, these 72 young students are today at comfort with this rare art. They are also fluent in a number of languages.
Virangat Sharma, the principal of the school said that all his students are proficient in this art, which was started as an experiment. “The children are taught six languages Hindi, Urdu, English, Roman, Sanskrit and Arabic,” says Sharma. “I read somewhere that India's first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad used to write in two languages I also preferred to experiment developing such a skill among my students. All the children here can do this and also know the world's capital cities and their tables up to hundred. They can write on two different subjects and in two different languages at the same time,” says Sharma. Not just that these children can write with both their hands but they can also write in two different languages on two different subjects at the same time, tells Sharma.
Wow. And I thought my ability to write backwards in ancient Greek while doing a one-arm handstand and juggling two balls with my feet was impressive. Needless to say, I'm highly suspicious of the principal's claims. (Assuming that he exists and wasn't misquoted by a reporter.) The same story is also reported by ananova, adding to its credibility (note: sarcasm). I did a search for "Veena Vadini School" to see if they have a website, but only found links to this article about their instruction in ambidexterity. (Thanks to Kathy for sending me the clipping.)
Update:
SicTim (posting in the comments) remembered that Ripleys had once featured some cases of amazing ambidexterity. Checking the Best of Ripleys volume on my bookshelf, I found these examples. On the left, Lena Deeter of Conway, Arkansas, who "could write with both hands simultaneously — backwards, forwards, upside-down, even upside-down backwards! She could write in a different direction with each hand simultanously." (She appeared in a Ripleys cartoon on April 1, 1942... I assume she wasn't an April Fool's joke.) On the right is "a 1936 Dallas Odditorium performer [who] could draw three different cartoons simultaneously — with both hands and a foot!"
These cases indicate that it might be possible for someone to write in two different languages at the same time, but I'm still doubtful that an entire school could be trained to do it.
Posted By: Alex | Date: Sun Mar 12, 2006 | Permalink |
Total Comments: 23
Category: Body Manipulation
Category: Body Manipulation
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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One of my grandmothers can write with both hands at the same time reuslting in what is essentially a mirror image of whatever she writes. I thought it was interesting when I first saw it and wasn't aware of other examples. I can at least confirm that it can be done - in English at least.
Posted by Peench on Tue Mar 21, 2006 at 10:32 AM
Hi,
I don't know about those Indian kids - that sounds pretty fantastic. The difficult part is not the actual writing with both hands, but rather, dividing your conscious attention between two different subjects. I can do exactly what Lena Deeter did, easily. But I think it helps that I am primarily left-handed. What that means is that, when I start with my two hands together and slowly bring them apart as I write, my right hand gets to write the word forward, while my stronger hand has the task of writing the word backwards. Another way of looking at it is that the brain is very good at synchronizing the movements of your two hands to make them act as mirror images. If you can practice at writing your name, for example, well enough with your right hand, you then simply add the left hand, not concentrating so much on writing of the word as on mirroring the movement of the right hand. It feels almost automatic. I can also write upsidedown with my left hand while simultaneously writing upsidedown and backwards with my right hand. When you think about it too much, you will commonly make mistakes such as writing p's or d's backwards. Hope this helps!
Stephanie
Posted by Stephanie in Newfoundland, Canada on Fri Aug 11, 2006 at 07:50 PM
I don't know about those Indian kids - that sounds pretty fantastic. The difficult part is not the actual writing with both hands, but rather, dividing your conscious attention between two different subjects. I can do exactly what Lena Deeter did, easily. But I think it helps that I am primarily left-handed. What that means is that, when I start with my two hands together and slowly bring them apart as I write, my right hand gets to write the word forward, while my stronger hand has the task of writing the word backwards. Another way of looking at it is that the brain is very good at synchronizing the movements of your two hands to make them act as mirror images. If you can practice at writing your name, for example, well enough with your right hand, you then simply add the left hand, not concentrating so much on writing of the word as on mirroring the movement of the right hand. It feels almost automatic. I can also write upsidedown with my left hand while simultaneously writing upsidedown and backwards with my right hand. When you think about it too much, you will commonly make mistakes such as writing p's or d's backwards. Hope this helps!
Stephanie
Hi, I can also write forwards and backwards at the same time. My left hand writes backwards, in cursive, while my right hand writes forwards, in cursive. I can write you anything i can write forwards, backwards...if you need proof i can show you 
I am a 23 yr old nursing student
Posted by Miranda in Mississippi on Tue May 08, 2007 at 01:20 AM
I am a 23 yr old nursing studentPage 2 of 2 pages < 1 2