A Special Article by Helena Benson (Certified Handwriting Expert)
This week was both an interesting enlightened adventure and a shameful circus for the
handwriting analysis community.
First, it is always great for some #1 National News Story to include
handwriting as a topic of interest… it reminds the general public that handwriting analysis
can be useful, valuable, and reliable.
A few years ago, a few of our Faculty Members received international coverage
when the Jon Benet Ramsey note was receiving close inspection. This is
good for all of us… making a good impression on the skeptical public.
If you live in America, you would be hard pressed NOT to see this on the
front page or the TV in the past 3 days… Jack Lew’s CRAZY SQUIGGLE
signature which will be on the US dollar bill.
This is “news” because it is illegible and appears as continuous loops.
Making it the most ridiculous symbolic signature ever on record of a public official.
Handwriting University actually reported on this
strangeness over a year ago, at this blog post in 2011.
Today’s Story is Both An Amazing Adventure and Shameful Circus.
Then last week Bart Baggett was on CBS This Morning…
watched by 2 million people Thursday morning.
Both the newsletter and the CBS appearance gave a glimpse of handwriting analysis in a respectful and positive light. This is how handwriting analysts hope that we be portrayed. As scientific, honest, and never exaggerating or making up unproven traits.
Further, Curt Baggett did a superb job analyzing the handwriting of the
CNN Weekend Anchor’s staff on Saturday morning. Yes, he looked at the
monitor instead of the camera most of the interview… but the analysis
was spot-on… don’t you agree?
The Shameful Circus.
Since both Bart Baggett and Curt Baggett got National and International TV
time from this story… what could be bad about this story?
Well… other, handwriting analyst and graphologist also attempted to grab their 15 minutes of fame and in doing so have opened the door to discredit the entire field in the process.
Say What?
Yes, unbelievable, I know. Now, before you read this scathing article from the NY Post title “Why Graphology is Garbage” (If all I had to base the judgement was the people he interviewed…
I would think it was garbage, too. His harsh tone on the ridiculous analysis
of the so called “experts” interviewed was actually quite fair.)
Handwriting Experts Agree: Jack Lew’s
Signature Means Something They Made UP.
Take a moment to view the two national TV interviews that were conducted by the
experts from Handwriting University. Yes, we told the truth (Jack Lew
reveals barely anything useful about himself.)… but the graphologist went
out on a limb and practically made $%^& up. Don’t you agree.
Watch the TV interviews… then read the SCATHING article from the NY times…
Embarrassing for the entire industry. Oh, in case you are wondering… of the
graphologist quoted in the NY Past article… NONE are graduates of
Handwriting University.
Here are the summaries which our staff at Handwriting University
totally disagrees with… and wish the reporters would not quote
the stupidest thing they say… or the people would not make statements
which are not scientifically correct.
Sure, future Treasury secretary Jack Lew’s signature is hilarious — but what does it mean? Absolutely nothing. It’s just a bunch of circles. Yet for the past three days, experts in the faux-scientific field of graphology have used the signature to offer unqualified conclusions about Lew’s personality to a media thirsty for some fun Lew coverage. Not surprisingly, the handwriting analysts failed to reach a consensus on what, exactly, a middle-school girl’s doodle looking squiggles tell us about Lew’s character. Personally, we think it means Lew is secretly a middle school girl secretly wishing to skip gym class.
It shows his perseverance:
“From his signature, it seems to me that he’ll put forth his ideas, and he’ll keep going until he gets done what he wants to do.” —Shiela Lowe, president of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation, consulted by CNN Money.
It shows his imagination:
“His signature shows a lot of imagination.” —Eileen Page, graphologist consulted by Time.
It shows his problems communicating:
“[The lack of space between the letters] would be indicative of a possible communication problem since there is no place for him to let anyone in.” —Susanne Shapiro, graphologist consulted by the Jewish Daily Forward.
It shows his religiousness:
“His imagination is probably as relatively large as the loops, and much of his energy is expended in the realms of abstract thinking, perhaps even religion.” —Graphology Consulting Group, as reported by the AFP.
It shows his soft approach to problem-solving:
“Such strokes are common among those who prefer a ‘softer’ approach to problem-solving, she says.” —the Washington Post quoting graphologist Kathy McKnight.
It shows he’s good at keeping secrets:
“The fact that he used this kind of signature shows that he tends to be a mystery man. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he’s able to keep secrets.” —Ruth Brayer, graphologist consulted by WPIX.
It show he’s an eccentric:
“Overall, an intelligent, eccentric, introverted individual who is far more concerned about his thoughts and goals than relationships.” —Mark Hopper, president of Handwriting Research Corporation, consulted by Fox News.
REALLY? SERIOUSLY? Did they just take the quotes
that seems unfounded. You be the judge.
Give us your comments below.
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by Helena Benson (Certified Handwriting Expert)
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From Time Magazine. (Decent Analysis)
Many Americans may only know one thing about Jack Lew: that his signature has got more loops than Toucan Sam. So while TIME’s political team provided more objective assessments of Obama’s Treasury Secretary nominee, NewsFeed tried to suss out more unorthodox insights that Lew’s unique autograph might yield.
Welcome to graphology, a certain branch of handwriting analysis. Graphologists’ basic theory is that handwriting–with all its slants, ornamentation and, of course, loops–can reveal truths about one’s personality. But like many tests of personality, the results are inconclusive. Graphology has been lumped in with crafts like astrology and phrenology–or as a CIA officer once put it, “systems for reading character from physical characteristics such as length of fingers or color of hair.” But that doesn’t make the practice any less fun.
jack-lew-signature-e1357850602743
Eileen Page is a graphologist living in Scituate, Mass. She says she’s been practicing graphology for about 20 years and teaches a class on handwriting for a program associated with Framingham State University. When Page examined Lew’s letter-less scrawl, she did not see the “childish loop-de-loop” that many amateurs have. “When you look at people who have high position jobs, their signature takes on a logo factor,” she says. “Once you see that, you’re always going to know it’s his.” And that much is certainly true: it’s the Dali mustache of signatures.
Instead of being “alarmed” by the fact that it’s completely illegible, she says, we might instead infer that Lew is a private, guarded person—that the public Lew is protecting the true Lew behind a row of faceless circles. The consistency and rhythm set Lew apart from the scribbles of 8 year olds, she says. He packs no fewer than eight loops into his signature, perhaps one for every letter in his full name, Jacob Lew. Most kids’ loopy signatures presumably contain a maximum of two or three.
Lew also starts and finishes his tightly bound curves on the same baseline — i.e. the imaginary line in space that the bottoms of the first and last loops touch. Lew thus thrusts the majority of his autograph into the “upper zone” where we typically dot our i’s and cross our t’s. And the upper zone, Page says, is the “theoretical area” where thinkers tend to linger: “His signature shows a lot of imagination.” Indeed.
Page cautions that there are at least two sides to every trait. While the loops convey creativity to her, they could also be interpreted as signaling the worry or anxiety of someone who is mentally “just spinning his wheels.” In this case, both sides would fit his task as a high-placed financial official, Page concludes. “He’s obviously a thinker and obviously dealing in the Treasury warrants some worry,” she says, “especially the way our Treasury is now.”
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/11/jack-lew-what-the-treasury-nominees-signature-really-tells-us/
Celebrity signatures, she says, are often dynamic in the area below the baseline, which conveys a more social personality. And she theorizes that Lew might have some trouble with the more public portions of his role. Yet this baseline-based analysis inevitably leads us to some of graphology’s limitations: were Jack to write the traditional representation of his name, only the cursive J would dip into the social zone. What does that tell us?
On the far right of Lew’s signature is a line that extends away from the loop-fest. Page sees this as a hand sticking out, one advising caution and conveying a man who is careful and take times to think things through. This insight would also seem to fit a person of his accomplishments–even if Lew’s signature has brazenly defied the alphabet.
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If you were to go with the textbook trait, then yes, this signature shows a lot of imagination — but do you really want an “imaginative” Treasury secretary? Hell, NO! You want someone who is a “just the facts” kind of guy, who makes decisions based upon the numbers alone!
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I hardly think any textbook applies for this signature. But, “a stroke is a stroke wherever you find it.”… so we could speculate, but that is a slippery slope.
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I agree with Bart on all counts. His signature reveals nothing about the man.
The Graphologists need HU’s 301 course.
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Really,can’t understand the sign,so difficult for the public to
Understand him,confusion,protective abt himself,saw the sign
In TheTimes of India,and was thinking what Mr.Bart would
Say after seeing that sign.lucky to get the feed backfrom Mr.Bart
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Given the state of the political atmosphere, his signature, to me, reveals a man who is dealing with people who he doesn’t want getting into his personal affairs. He doesn’t want to be known by anyone and he seems to be in a state of perpetual stress. It resembles the state of our economy and the never ending procession of nonsense that has contributed to the process of recovery from a deep recession. It’s a unique signature and perhaps resembles the years of having to constantly think about ways to solve unsolvable issues.
After-all, doesn’t our handwriting, including signatures change through the years of our lives? If this is what Lew chooses to present to the world as he wishes to be seen, perhaps he’s presenting what he’s experiencing in his world.