Why are people discussing the black/white suspect issue on Stine’s killer, in this thread?
This thread is about the Zodiac killers handwriting
Thanks, Foreigner is correct, stay on topic please
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
I came across an interesting web article (thevisiontherapycenter.com) that explains the connection between vision problems and poor spelling ability. We know Zodiac wore glasses, so maybe he did have some sort of vision-impairment issue that caused him to be a poor speller. Also notice in one of the example pics where the student adds an extra "S" to the end of a word.
I think I misunderstood the remark made by Sherwood M. mentioned above. What he probably means to say is that HE could spot Z’s writing anywhere, even in the form of a signature on a check – because there is something very distinctive about it to HIM, as an expert in the field. He does not say that Z wrote the letters in his everyday style. In other words, a letter from him to a relative congratulating him or her on their birthday might look nothing like a Z letter. But SM would still spot the Z characteristics. I think this is what he means.
For a layman such a thing would be impossible to do.
I have also revised my opinion on Z’s handwriting. I believe there’s every reason to think he did mask his writing, perhaps even dramatically so. He printed his letters in some kind of generic fashion. His natural writing might look nothing like the Z letters to an untrained eye.
I would love to get my hands on some of Sherwood’s reports to the police regarding Z’s writing. His reasoning for concluding certain missives were from Z – and that certain others were not – would be of great interest.
I came across an interesting web article (thevisiontherapycenter.com) that explains the connection between vision problems and poor spelling ability. We know Zodiac wore glasses, so maybe he did have some sort of vision-impairment issue that caused him to be a poor speller. Also notice in one of the example pics where the student adds an extra "S" to the end of a word.
There are letters he wrote in which z spelled a word wrong then spelled it right further on in the letter. Also, the Badlands letter has ZERO spelling errors. To me this indicates spelling errors done on purpose
There is more than one way to lose your life to a killer
http://www.zodiackillersite.com/
http://zodiackillersite.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/Morf13ZKS
I think I misunderstood the remark made by Sherwood M. mentioned above. What he probably means to say is that HE could spot Z’s writing anywhere, even in the form of a signature on a check – because there is something very distinctive about it to HIM, as an expert in the field. He does not say that Z wrote the letters in his everyday style. In other words, a letter from him to a relative congratulating him or her on their birthday might look nothing like a Z letter. But SM would still spot the Z characteristics. I think this is what he means.
For a layman such a thing would be impossible to do.
I have also revised my opinion on Z’s handwriting. I believe there’s every reason to think he did mask his writing, perhaps even dramatically so. He printed his letters in some kind of generic fashion. His natural writing might look nothing like the Z letters to an untrained eye.
I would love to get my hands on some of Sherwood’s reports to the police regarding Z’s writing. His reasoning for concluding certain missives were from Z – and that certain others were not – would be of great interest.
Norse, I agree 100% !
Hi, english is not my first language so please bear with me 
Morf, I recently found a KBN article by Richard Gaikowski where he spells "NAACP" correctly in the opening paragraph, and then misspells it as "NACP" later in the article. In another article, "employees" is incorrectly spelled "employes." He also misspells "George McGovern" as "Geroge McGovern" early in an article but spells the name okay throughout the rest of it. I have no idea how these these errors slipped by the editor and made it into the paper — maybe they were rush jobs.
Love this thread, I read the whole thing, and this is great work Welsh Chappie. But one thing that NO one has mentioned that could explain this whole thing. The cops thought that perhaps he could be ambidextrous. WHY has no one mentioned that? My pulse was racing reading through it all, especially the in-depth analysis of the pen pressure and the letters seeming to switch beginnings. The letters seem to be written with a right hand. A rightward slant that is tell-tale. So he was writing them with his right- but just as it was posited earlier in the investigation, he writes in daily life with his left.
NOTHING would make more sense than the fact that in real life he was left handed and that was his recognizable hand -the one that could betray him. But who would suspect that he could write equally well with his right? The clever bastard. It explains the different starting points on those letters. Perhaps he switched hands midway, or he simply had a mixed way of writing e’s as he was proficient in both. Kind of like someone who speaks English and Spanish equally well will revert at times to their mother language. He could write well with BOTH hands, so the different formations of the letters are simply a consequence of his ambidexterity. I’ve had good friends who were left handed and I always thought it peculiar how lefties sort of come in from above when they write, and righties are more direct in their writing, not so likely to curl their hand while writing. Lefties come at the paper from a certain angle, righties differently. Ergo they form letters differently and their starting points, or the direction they cross a t, might be different. SO this formation irregularity in Z’s written word makes complete sense in light of that. I know the most popular suspect is ambidextrous and maybe people are moving away from considering this proficiency because for many, he is done and dusted. But even an impartial observer can see these signs in the writing as possible proof of ambidexterity. The fact that everyone was saying back then that it couldn’t be possible, he couldn’t possibly write so fluid with the opposite hand, is the sort of tunnel-blinded ideation that hid him from view. And effectively renders the handwriting pretty much useless if you are trying to match it with a suspect. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
I retrieved this article from http://mentalfloss.com/article/30667/11-facts-about-ambidextrousThis is absolutely fascinating- especially the bit about how ambidexterity is linked to a higher rate of schizophrenia and and angry outbursts. 
1. If you can write equally well with either hand, then you are the one percent. Even among the small population of ‘multi-handed’ individuals, very few experience equal ease and skill with both hands. In comparison, around 10% of people are lefties.
2. Right-, left- and mixed-handedness aren’t sufficient to define the preferences of most people, according to experts. Most people experience some level of cross-dominance — favoring one hand for certain tasks, even if it’s the non-dominant one — and among the group of people who use both hands, there are even finer distinctions. Ambidextral refers to those who can use both hands as well as a right-hander’s right hand (so, really well), and ambisinistral can be used to describe people who use both hands as well as a right-hander’s left hand (that is, somewhat clumsily).
3. Unlike righties, who show strong left brain dominance, the hemispheres of ambidextrous and left-handed people’s brains are almost symmetric…
4. … as is the typical brain of a person with synesthesia, or “mixed senses,” who experiences cross-sensory perception. Among synesthetes, the instance of ambidexterity (and left-handedness) is much higher than in the general population.
5. The ambidextrous are more likely to possess the LRRTM1 gene (on chromosome 2), which is linked to schizophrenia. Studies reveal that people with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to be ambidextrous or left-handed than people who are not schizophrenic.
6. Another study, conducted through the BBC Science website, shows that of the one percent of 255,000 respondents who indicated equal ease writing with both hands, 9.2% of men and 15.6% of women reported being bisexual. In the same study, 4% of right-handed and 4.5% of left-handed men, and 6.2% of right-handed and 6.3% of left-handed women said they’re attracted to both sexes.
7. People who identify as ‘either-handed’ score slightly lower overall in general intelligence testing, and most often those scores are lower in arithmetic, memory and reasoning…
8. … except when they aren’t. A study of 8000 children ages 7 and 8 shows that the 87 mixed-handed students had more pronounced difficulties in language skills, and at ages 15 and 16, the same students showed a higher risk of ADHD symptoms and performed academically under both right- and left-handed students from the same sample.
9. Ambis can be quick to anger, according to a study from Merrimack College, which suggests a higher interlinking of brain hemispheres found in ambidextrous and lefties. A follow-up study found that the increased hemisphere connections correlate to increased awkwardness, clumsiness and moodiness.
10. But inconsistent-handers can also be easier to sway emotionally. Montclair State University tested a group of right- left and either-handers for emotional stability. Their findings report that of the group, righties were hardest to coerce, and ambis were most likely to report a change in mood based on their surroundings, directed thought, and music.
11. It’s not all bad news for the handedness-ambivalent, though. Being able to use both hands with (almost) equal ease can really pay off, especially in sports, arts and music. Some reportedly cross-dominant celebrities and historic figures include Leonardo da Vinci, Pete Rose, Richard Feynmen, pitcher Greg A. Harris, Michelle Kwan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Paul McCartney, Benjamin Franklin and Harry Truman.
May 14, 2012 – 11:36am
– See more at: http://mentalfloss.com/article/30667/11 … Yt5Va.dpuf
He wouldn’t even need to be ambidextrous. When I was a sophomore in high school I broke 3 bones in my right hand in a baseball game. I spent the last month of school learning to write left handed. When I started, my writing looked like something a first-grader would write. I was pretty good at it, though, by the time school ended.
He wouldn’t even need to be ambidextrous. When I was a sophomore in high school I broke 3 bones in my right hand in a baseball game. I spent the last month of school learning to write left handed. When I started, my writing looked like something a first-grader would write. I was pretty good at it, though, by the time school ended.
clearly this is not written in an unnatural style. He didn’t write like a first grader.
The point is that after a month of writing left handed my handwriting was actually pretty good. It is something that can be learned not just something someone has to be ambidextrous to do.
The point is that after a month of writing left handed my handwriting was actually pretty good. It is something that can be learned not just something someone has to be ambidextrous to do.
I see. Yeah, I was just talking with my sister this evening, and she used to practice writing with her left hand. She can write legibly, but it doesn’t have that "flow". I was reading about ambidexterity and there is only 1 percent of the population that can do this with ease. The article I posted about ambidexterity had some interesting things in there about how ambidexterity is linked to schizophrenia, violent outbursts etc. Which again, I think is telling. I do not see any other explanation that will fit the different formations of those letters, that mixed starting point, etc.
Here’s what Morrill says in the article I’ve been talking about (and which I finally, sort of, located):
"I’m sure this is his natural handprinting, and he was used to using it a lot (…) it is so consistent I don’t think he uses script."
The article is from the SF Examiner, Jan 30th, 1978.
It can be found photocopied in the FBI files:
http://vault.fbi.gov/The%20Zodiac%20Kil … %2006/view
(page 44).
Well, this is what I originally thought SM meant to say. And then I went on to reinterpret it – for no good reason. He seems convinced the printing is natural and that Z may have "used it every day."
I’m puzzled. I don’t know if I agree with Morrill. But something strikes me here: We’re talking about hand PRINTING, as opposed to cursive writing. Did Morrill think that Z was someone who used PRINTING on a daily basis, or at least frequently?
Honestly the more I look at graphology in general it still seems to be a discipline somewhat in its infancy. This idea that people follow rules absolutely and never deviate is an idea that has been shown to be untrue in so many cases, whether it be in psychiatry or whatever. For some reason Morrill couldn’t imagine someone being able to write equally well with both hands. We know this happens. He did not give allowance for that. He could not accept that maybe the guy was writing with his right hand and could write left handed equally well. Again, there is no other explanation I can see no matter how I turn it over and over in my mind for the different starting points on those individual letters. This becomes so much more important given that the fingerprints throughout the case have never produced a matching set (the first letter had fingerprints, didn’t match the cab or the phone and so on), DNA no matching pair of profiles, and Morrill’s opinion on the writing is not shared by Pascoe. Everything is prismatic. The writer being ambidextrous could resolve that. Its frightening to think that his handwriting is the best piece of physical evidence we have. And its shocking that so many people have been excluded on the basis of physical evidence that may not even have been left by Z. At least the handwriting, we know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, is his.
clearly this is not written in an unnatural style. He didn’t write like a first grader.
But was he smarter than a fifth grader?
Sorry, bad joke. I was just reading earlier in the thread where we were debating if he was "stupid" or "smart". Just to clear that up, that was hyperbole. I consider anyone who commits murder to be pretty stupid, no matter what their actual intelligence is.
