The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-04-12
Unconscious Bias In Walking.

Some ten or twelve years ago
made some experiments upon the sub
iect of Unconscious Bias in Walking"
The experiments were not numerous,
but they left no doubt in my mind as to
the cause of divergence from straight
path. My notes were sent, at my fathers
suggestion, to the late Mr.. Douglas
Spalding, who was about to undertake
experiments on the curious power
which animals have of finding their
way. | rather think he made some
trials with pigs, but believe he never
published anything on the subject. In
stating my results | am compelled,
therefore, to rely on my memory only.
l began with walking myself, and
getting various friends to walk, with
eyes Shut in grass field. We all
walked with amazing crookedness in
paths which were not far removed
from circles | myself and Mr.. Cation
on the first trial described circles Of
not more than fifty yards in diameter,
although we thought we were going
straight, and afterwards | was gener-
ally unable to- impose sufficiently
strong conscious bias in one direction
to annul the unconscious bias in the
other | believe we all diverged to the
right excepting one of us who was
strongly left-handed.
then got eight village schoolboys,
from ten to twelve years of age, and
offered shilling to the boy who should
walk straightest blindfold. Before the
contest, however, busted some saw
dust on the ground, and after making
each of the boys walk over it, measured
their strides from right to left and left
to right. They were also made to hop,
and the foot on which they hoped was
noted; they were then made to jump
over a stick, and the foot from which
they sprang was entered; lastly, they
were instructed to throw a stone, and
the hand with which they threw was
noted. Each of these tests was applied
twice over.
think they were all right-handed in
throwing a stone, but believe that two
of them exhibited some mark of being
partly left-handed. The six who are
totally right-handed strobe longer from
left to right than from right to left, hop.
ped on the left leg, and rose in jumping
from that leg. One boy pursued the
opposite course, and the last walked
irregularly, but with no average differ.
ence between his strides. When told
to hop, he hoped on one leg, and in
the repetition on the other, and | could
not clearly make up my mind which leo
he used most in jumping. When took
them into the field, made the boys
successfully take q good look at stick
at about forty yards distance, and Their
blindfolded them and started them to
walk, guiding them straight for the frs
three or four PAGES. The result wa.
that the left-legged boys all diverged tc
the right, the right-iegged boys divergeG
to the left, and the one who would not
reveal himself won the prize. The tria
was repeated second time with closely
similar results, although the prize
winner did not walk nearly so straight
on a second trial.
| also measured the strides of myself
and of some of my friends, and found
the same connection between diverg
ence and comparative length of stride.
My own step from left to right is about
a quarter of an inch longer than from
right to left, and l am strongly right
handed.
Comment on these experiments seems
needless.
1t seems to be generally held that
right-leggedness is cOmmoner than the
reverse; this / maintain to be incorrect
| believe that nine out of ten strongly
right-handed persons are left-legged
Every active effort with the right hand
is almost necessarily accompanied by
an effort with the left leg, and right
handed man is almost compelled to use
his left leg more than the other. | be-
lieve that Sir Charles Bell considered
that men were generally right-legged,
and sought to derive the custom OF
mounting a horse from the left side
from the fact that the right leg is
stronger than the other. | suggest as
almost certain that we mount on that
side because the long sword is neces-
sarily worn on the left, and would get
between our legs if we went to the off
side of the horse. Some of your readers
may perhaps be able to tell us whether
the Chinese do not wear their short
swords on the right and mount their
horses from the right.
l will not hazard u conjecture as to
why the rule of the road in Great Brit,
ain, and inside of the town of Florence
and of Salzburg (?), is different from
that adopted by the rest of the world.
For an armed horseman the English
rule is, l presume, more advantageous,
both for attack and defence. &c. H.
Dnrtcia, IN Nature.