Is Bad Handwriting a Sign of Intelligence?
Handwriting is essential to gain a deeper understanding of any individual in many ways. You can determine things such as:
- If someone is introverted or outgoing
- If someone is messy or meticulous
- Determine the intelligence level of a person
A few of the most common features carefully examined are the height, width, and size of letters. Also, whether the strokes connect or not is studied along with any writing embellishments. Such visual cues are indicative of a person’s level of intelligence.
Identifying Intelligence in Handwriting
Be it cursive or disjointed handwriting and rounded or pointed letters, there are various ways of recognizing the intelligence of an individual simply by analyzing and recognizing repetition and the main features of their writing. Also, bad handwriting is a sure way of revealing handwriting intelligence and high IQ despite how the writing has been presented.
Bad handwriting and intelligence
There are different types of bad handwriting. A few show high intelligence and others show low intelligence. A graphologist would be the right person to point out the difference. But clearly you cannot combine them all together and place them in the same category.
Picasso had bad handwriting but his handwriting cannot be compared with undeveloped handwriting that is on a totally different level. At the outset, it needs to be said that a complex area like intelligence in handwriting must be carefully dealt with.
Messy and bad handwriting are two different things and there are a lot of degrees in-between. There is definitely a correlation between a few types of sloppy handwriting and lower cognitive scores.
You will find many examples of poor handwriting and low intelligence and poor handwriting and high intelligence. For example, a lot of doctors have bad handwriting even though they may be very intelligent. Sometimes the words on their prescriptions need to be guessed instead of read.
Factors that contribute to bad handwriting
Many people believe that bad handwriting is an indicator of low intelligence. This is incorrect. There are a lot of factors that contribute to bad handwriting. It can be due to painful issues that began long back in the past. Handwriting is a sensitive barometer of emotion, so gnawing memories may show up like distortions or irregularities in the handwriting.
Bad handwriting can also be because of negligence. The writer can be simply not bothered to carefully write or he may be untidy or disorganized by nature in which case his bad handwriting would reflect his lack of organization.
Another factor that contributes to bad handwriting could be emotional issues or even stress. All these tend to show up as disturbances or confusion in the handwriting.
How are bad handwriting and intelligence linked?
Bad handwriting such as messy and untidy is a nuisance to read. It is challenging to follow if you write up notes and also difficult for teachers to mark.
A term known as dysgraphia describes poor handwriting and spelling, often identified at school. It is commonly linked to a lack of intelligence. But bad handwriting can suggest above-average intelligence. This is despite an academic shortfall in other areas.
For example, if the handwriting of a young person is not perfectly straight and is perceived as tidy, then it often mirrors someone who is of an introverted nature. Many such people tend to enjoy studying. These people are often inclined to deep thinking and reflection. All these links to a more educated and intelligent mind.
Also, bad handwriting can convey a lot of other personality skills and traits like individualism and quick thinking— that are highly concerned with getting pen to paper and their ideas completely down on the pages as opposed to the clarity of their handwriting often having an uncontrolled amount of ideas and thoughts.
Bad handwriting can also bring out other features like someone who carries emotional baggage and has probably low self-esteem. Personality traits of IQ levels vary so various factors require consideration.
Research claiming the link between bad handwriting and intelligence
People are often surprised to see how bad handwriting is a sign of fast brain functioning. But this is now a scientific fact according to the claims of Arnold L. Gesell’s search work that has been published as open access status in the American Journal of Psychology with this DOI.
This research usually claims that students with very high scores have bad handwriting like doctors but the noteworthy thing is that their spellings, sentences, and data are always accurate which altogether depicts the quick processing of data by the brain whereas simultaneously, physical muscle movements in hand for writing fast is impossible compared to the brain which processes the information at much higher speed.
Such psychological research also confirms that if the handwriting of a person is bad then there are super high chances that the IQ level or intelligence of that person must be on a different level.
Another researcher of Harvard University, Howard Gardner claimed the same according to his theory of multiple intelligence that an individual may have a higher IQ with a creative/intelligent (quick) mind if his handwriting is bad because psychologically there needs to be a mismatch between brain functioning and hand muscles to write quickly with good handwriting.
Thinking Styles and Intelligence
Many renowned personalities’ writings such as Albert Einstein have studies linked to handwriting and intelligence. Although he did not adopt such features in his writing, a popular sign of genius handwriting is known as Methodically Uneven. People who adopt traits like creative thinking and true originality tend to write disorderly and the writing may even appear scratchy and in various sizes. Again this proclaims that bad handwriting can potentially carry intelligence.
So it is difficult to say if creative people think they have bad handwriting or if it is mainly poor handwriting like many such celebrities with extremely bad handwriting.
Is There Any Sign of Intelligence in Children’s Handwriting?
It is even possible to understand a child’s, a young person’s, and even an adolescent’s thinking style, by analyzing their handwriting.
One specific type of thinking that is recognized through handwriting is cumulative thinking. People who curve and round their ‘m’s’ and ‘n’s’, are seen to take longer to take in new data yet once this data has been absorbed they can then frequently retain it for longer than other styles of thinking.
Also, if some consonants like ‘h’, ‘m’, ‘n’, or ‘r’ form in a rounded way, this frequently highlights that one individual might have a slow and soft temperament.
Moreover, curved letters highlight creativity and those who display cumulative thinking through their writing frequently learn more through hands-on and practical experiences.
Comprehensive Thinkers use distinguishable sharp and pointed letters — usually ‘m’s’ and ‘n’s”. Such writing is suggestive of both quick thinkers and speakers. They can also make fast decisions and they might also tend towards becoming bored fast.
Exhibiting an intellectual side and signs of intelligence in handwriting, those who write with a style that comes from comprehensive thinking are often speculative, they think out things properly and they also assess plans.
Intelligence is mainly about the ability to infer or perceive data, and to retain it as knowledge that can be applied towards adaptive behaviors within context or an environment. You can learn more about handwriting and graphology from us at InsideInk. You can take various customizable packages to get your or other’s handwriting and signature samples analyzed and you can also take up courses and lessons about graphology from us to understand the subject thoroughly, which can enable a special skill of yours to grow and shine as an individual.
Conclusion:
At least 200 different handwriting traits are used in graphology’s investigation and methodology. An expert can see the writer “step off the page” thanks to the graphologist’s skill in the psychological art of interpreting the unique blend of handwriting qualities. You can learn more about handwriting and graphology from us at InsideInk. You can take various customizable packages to get your or other’s handwriting and signature samples analyzed and you can also take up courses and lessons about graphology from us to understand the subject thoroughly, which can enable a special skill of yours to grow and shine as an individual.
