Doodles carry an array of symbols. Some clear and uncontestable, others obscure and concealed. Koren, and other doodle analysts, have found some reliable indicators. The idle drawing of kittens, puppies, and other non-aggressive animals reveals someone inclined to protect people around them. Doodling on the bottom of a page may be a sign of depression, while those who draw with light pressure on their pens or pencils probably have a high level of sensitivity.
Doodles can also reveal a person's dark side.
That explains why last year a high school in Louisiana suspended a student for his violent doodles, which included gang symbols and guns. In junior-high English, I once sketched what I suppose was a phallic image into my doodle of the New York City skyline. When Ms. Bernard saw it, she took the drawing away, then held me after school to lecture me about how I was wasting her time, not to mention my alleged mind. Recently, doodles have gained a sort of cult status in the classroom. Many U.S. elementary schools have begun to encourage doodling as a learning technique.