[slejhamer]

Thought this was pretty funny:

Blair and Gates in doodle mix-up

Monday, January 31, 2005 Posted: 6:41 AM EST (1141 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- When a sheet of paper covered in doodles was found on Tony Blair's desk at the Davos World Economic Forum, handwriting experts delighted in analysing it, concluding the Prime Minister was stressed and under pressure.

Experts who examined the tangle of boxes, circles, loops and notes on debt and trade variously described Blair as "struggling to concentrate" or "not a natural leader" and "stressed and tense."

But there was a problem.

The doodles, it later transpired, were nothing to do with Blair but were the work of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who shared a table with Blair at the summit.

"Somebody from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has said that the notes are from Bill Gates rather than from Tony Blair," a spokesman from Blair's Downing Street office said on Monday.

"We were surprised nobody bothered to ask us about this when the paper was made public last week because the writing is obviously not the prime minister's," he added.

Psychologists and graphologists drafted in by a number of British newspapers even noted how "Blair's" handwriting had changed for the worse since he first won election as British Prime Minister in 1997.

"We look forward to psychologists reassessing their conclusions of how these characteristics ascribed to the prime minister equally apply to Mr. Gates," the Downing Street spokesman said.

[shuttertalk]

Heheh... on a separate note, my handwriting has been getting steadily messier and messier since working in IT... I used to have the neatest handwriting. Now my mother would be ashamed!

Could it be that I'm stressed and under pressure too?

[StudioJ]

I'm lefthanded, my handwriting has *NEVER* been neat.

[teddyfingers]

I can't read My Hand writing

[EnglishBob]

My handwriting started out bad.... after 13 years in accounting, it can only be said now to "have character"

[Rufus]

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- When a sheet of paper covered in doodles was found on Tony Blair's desk at the Davos World Economic Forum, handwriting experts delighted in analysing it, concluding the Prime Minister was stressed and under pressure.

Experts who examined the tangle of boxes, circles, loops and notes on debt and trade variously described Blair as "struggling to concentrate" or "not a natural leader" and "stressed and tense."

But there was a problem.

The doodles, it later transpired, were nothing to do with Blair but were the work of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who shared a table with Blair at the summit.


Psychology, psychiatry, counselling, psychometrics........ All new-age rubbish.
I should know, 'eh?

[adam]

In school, everyone referred to doodle as....

[Don Schaeffer]

Handwriting is expressive behavior just like loudness of voice or intensity of walk or pressure on the desk when you pound your fist. There probably is something to making statements about emotional state from handwriting. However as far as making statements about traits, there is no evidence for that. Traits are usually not consistent with short term behavior characteristics.