My answer to this question is, "I certainly hope so. Let it die, die, die, die die!"
I suffer from a condition known as "mixed dominance." Nobody has ever heard of it, but it's easy to explain. You''ve heard of people who are ambidextrous? Well mixed dominance is the opposite. That's right, I can't use either one very well. The clinical name for this is "all thumbs."
Not only is my handwriting illegible, but it is physically painful for me to write with a pen. First my wrist cramps, then my arm, then my entire back begins to hurt.
We should keep handwriting around as an art form, but that's it. Nobody should need it in order to communicate.
Disclaimer: This rant has been brought to you by The Speculist. The opinions expressed are those of right-thinking creatures everywhere. Minor side effects are no more serious than those caused by a sugar-pill placebo. Void where prohibited.
You're the first person I've run across besides myself that has that condition. For me the primary aspect of mixed dominance is not so much all-thumbs-ness, although my coordination isn't the best (the only dancing I can manage is Regency), as it is what I call "one-time ambidexterity." That is, I can learn a task with either hand, but then that's the dominant hand for that task for all time, and the other hand seems to get stupid about it.
Also, for some weird reason, all my sports-related coordination is left-handed, but most of my my intellectual or fine-discrimination abilities (such as writing) are right-handed. And, like you, I find handwriting a daunting task, although it's not painful. Just illegible.
Posted by: Dave Trowbridge at February 10, 2004 04:27 PMI am right handed, but I have no fixed signature. My handwriting is so irratic that it looks different every time I write. If I concentrate I can keep my signature rather similar, like when I sign timesheets at work. I've had handwriting experts look at two samples of my writing and think it's from two different people. I do not know what this is called.
Posted by: Jeff at February 10, 2004 07:14 PMWriting was invented when Michael Schrayer released Electric Pencil for CP/M. People thought that there was writing before word processors, but they were the pathetic victims of a mass delusion.
Posted by: Bob Hawkins at February 10, 2004 08:54 PM