Does handwriting show how intelligent the writer is? You will find it out right here

A few years ago, I had angered a girl by calling her Miss Better-Than-Google.com. You don’t need to be a hacker to understand why I drew the comparison. It was simple. She probably got more hits in a day than the web search engine does every day: she was too pretty and a head-turner, people said.

Thankfully, she did not kill me. She spared my life in exchange for the analysis of her handwriting. The sample reflected many of her good qualities. She was intelligent, sharp and diplomatic. She always moved with a target in her life (shown by a reasonably firm baseline of handwriting) and was very clear about her goals. She knew where she wanted to be as opposed to people who just bumble along without knowing where they want to be (for example, me). She set very high goals for herself. High, as opposed to average and reachable.

But the most striking feature of her handwriting was the speed with which she processed information. In other words, she was an extremely fast thinker (perhaps as fast as www.google.com). She was so quick that even if she spoke to you for five minutes, she would have a fairly clear idea what kind of a person you are and what you want from her. She was a fast learner.

In handwriting analysis, such ability to think quickly is reflected by connected writing with pointed angles in the upper zone as you see in picture A. (Because I don’t have the young lady’s permission, I am showing you just a replica of her handwriting.)

Other indicators of speed are t’s crossed to the right of the stem, fairly long t-bars, increased right slant, illegibility and more importantly, neglect of detail (shown by missing i-dots and t-bars).

Speed is a very important factor while analysing handwriting because it relates to intelligence and spontaneity of thought. In the forward moving handwriting (from left to right), we figure out how the writer approaches the world: passionately, spontaneously, or hastily, never having sufficient time to get things done.

The speed at which we write is affected by how we respond emotionally. The well-balanced person who expresses his emotions appropriately writes at a steady tempo. Someone who is tense and anxious makes many starts and stops.

Speed in handwriting shows the writer’s pace in his day-to-day activities, and even reflects the way he speaks. Those who speak fast tend to write fast as well (one of my mishti doi friends exemplifies it). The slower speaker, on the other hand, is more deliberate in his writing as he is in his speech. Unsure of himself, he tends to speak and write hesitantly, starting and stopping numerous times before being able to express what is on his mind.

Ok… so we were talking about Miss Better-Than-Google.com, the Superfast Express. She was not always a fast writer: at times she was a hurried writer. Fast writers have legible handwriting and they possess the ability to get things done quickly and efficiently. They use time and resources wisely and they are quick learners. Really quick. Handwriting of hurried writers, on the other hand, is mostly illegible. Such writers are always agitated, always in a rush.

Graphologist Sheila Lowe says: “He [hurried writer] feels the hot breath of Father Time on his neck and fears he won’t be able to accomplish all that he wants to do. But it really doesn’t matter how much time is available, as the need to hurry up is internal and unrelenting. Impatient and impulsive, the very rapid writer’s thoughts travel almost faster than his synapses can fire. Even when his body is at rest, his mind is never still…. In his haste, he may leave out letters, diacritics, (i-dots and t-bars, for example) and punctuation, all of which contribute to illegibility…. If you want to start World War III, put a very fast and a very slow writer in a small room and lock the door.”

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