Friday, February 06, 2004

(double dare) physical challenge

My mother forwarded this to me. I've never seen it before. When I first read it, I thought this was some kind of physiological urban legend. I've sat here and tried it for a few minutes, and, indeed, I cannot do it. I can keep my foot going clockwise, but when I do I'm not at all sure that the figure I just traced with my finger was anything like a 6. Is this really something that nobody can do, or is it just further evidence of how uncoordinate I (and my mother's genetic lineage more generally) am? If it is something that other people can't do, would the problem be reversed if we were south of the equator?
1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand.

3. Your foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it.
Wait, wait, now I just wheeled away from my desk and did it in the middle of the room where I could have my foot making big circles and my hand making a large 6. Then I could do it no problem, where I'm confident I was making a 6 and my foot kept going clockwise. Part of the things that's hard is trying to keep track of what both parts of your body are actually doing so you know whether you've done it all.

Update: A reader from Bukowski, IA asks "Is it cheating to start tracing the 6 from inside its belly?" Yes, that's cheating!

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