<h3>Negative Transfer</h3>

<p>A common scientific term to describe what you are talking about is called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_Transfer">negative transfer</a>. I.e., where learning one skill actually results in lower performance on another skill. This is contrasted with positive transfer, when learning one skill facilitates performance on another skill. In general (although I don't have refs on hands) positive transfer is generally a greater effect than negative transfer. Negative transfer tends to be localised to particular aspects of the task (e.g., b's and d's).</p>

<p>For a extended encyclopedia entry see Perkins and Salomon's (1992) article on <a href="http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/traencyn.htm">transfer of learning</a>.</p>

<h3>Research on Mirror Reading and Writing</h3>

<p>There's even research specifically on reading and writing upside down and back to front (e.g., see google scholarfor <a href="http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&amp;q=mirror+writing&amp;btnG=Search">'mirror writing'</a> and <a href="http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&amp;q=mirror+reading&amp;btnG=Search&amp;as_sdt=0%2C5&amp;as_ylo=&amp;as_vis=0">'mirror reading'</a>). I haven't read much of this literature.</p>

<p>To take but one article, Gottfried, Sancar, and Chatterjee (2003) discuss acquired mirror writing.</p>

<p>They note, perhaps relevant to your question, that:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Young children, developmental dyslexics, and some healthy left-handed
  adults may produce mirror text.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I assume that in the above cases (as opposed to your case where it is acquired with deliberate practice), writing in reverse is involuntary, in which case I suppose you could describe writing a few letters back to front involuntarily as representing a symptom shared with some developmental dyslexics.</p>

<p>As an interesting historical aside, they note that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Perhaps the most celebrated mirror writer, Leonardo da Vinci,
  generated over 5000 notebook pages in reverse.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So, you're in good company.</p>

<h3>References</h3>

<ul>
<li>Gottfried, J., Sancar, F., and Chatterjee, A. (2003). Acquired mirror
writing and reading: evidence for reflected graphemic representations.
Neuropsychologia, 41(1):96-107. <a href="http://pad2.wikihow.com/images/c/c6/Acquired_Mirror_Writing_and_Reading_226.pdf">FREE PDF</a></li>
<li>Perkins, D. and Salomon, G. (1992). Transfer of learning. International
encyclopedia of education. <a href="http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/traencyn.htm">FREE LINK</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-25T05:00:06.023Z
"I can't stoooq!" — Leonardo ba Vinci
NiteCyper
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-02T01:17:11.193Z
Excellent answer, and now I have a term that actually describes what I did. An extra +1 for the da Vinci reference.
Wayne Werner
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-02T22:05:06.270Z
Learning to type [Dvorak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard) degraded my QWERTY noticeably.  Now I wonder if this is a valid example of the "negative transfer" you've mentioned.
wim
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-24T02:34:01.257Z
I have been using dvorak for over ten years and never felt a downgrade on standard keyboard. As they say, it's like learning another language: do you forget your first learned tongue? A useful reference for those interesed in dvorak is the [dvzine](http://www.dvzine.org/)
nilon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-17T17:32:28.647Z
As an elementary school teacher for almost 30 years, I have had my share of students who struggle with reading. One of the first things I do with a struggling reader is turn the book upside down. Many times, the child, who has had difficulties reading, is able to read more fluently and accurately. I never knew how and why it worked, but it does. It is good to finally find some information that supports this "crazy" method that I have used time and time again.
Cheryl Wild
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-02T00:25:33.253Z
2012-02-02T01:16:02.520Z
2012-02-02T01:16:02.520Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>If you've ever read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Brown">Encyclopedia Brown</a> books, you'll be familiar with the backwards writing in the back of the book that explains the solution to the case.</p>

<p>When I was in my mid-late teens (I don't remember the age exactly) I decided to teach myself to read/write upside down (and backwards?). I can read most text fairly well when the page is upside down (and have no problems with the upside down unicode text people post on Facebook), and I am able to write upside down with relative ease.</p>

<p>However, since developing that skill I have fairly extreme difficulties remembering how to write lowercase b's and d's, and I've had to use a trick I've heard dyslexics use and I remind myself that a 'b' points towards the end of a word.</p>

<p>I have no problems reading words with the characters, or typing them on the computer when I want a 'b' or a 'd', only when I'm writing it.</p>

<p>Did I give myself a very limited form of dyslexia?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-01T14:11:07.383Z
Welcome to the site Wayne! I'll let someone with a bit more experience provide an answer, but to add a comment: dyslexia is much more complicated than just swapping `b`s and `d`s, and it not something one can "give" to themselves. Nonetheless, you ask a very interesting question!
Josh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-11T01:44:29.400Z
I use a method for encrypting words using only numbers (2 digits is 1 character though), I have been thinking on putting effort on fluently read it but I am now worried about the drawbacks... As today, I can write pretty fast, but reading takes me some time per word (~2 seconds)
ajax333221
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-11T01:59:49.343Z
@ajax333221 I doubt you'd get much negative transfer, since numbers are completely different symbols. Though you might find that you read math as words ;)
Wayne Werner
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-23T20:00:58.240Z
you obtained a new skill thats what you did to yourself.
gfdsal
<cognitive-psychology><learning><motor><transfer>
By learning to read and write upside down, what did I do to myself?
Wayne Werner
# By learning to read and write upside down, what did I do to myself?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-02-01)

If you've ever read [Encyclopedia Brown](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Brown) books, you'll be familiar with the backwards writing in the back of the book that explains the solution to the case.

When I was in my mid-late teens (I don't remember the age exactly) I decided to teach myself to read/write upside down (and backwards?). I can read most text fairly well when the page is upside down (and have no problems with the upside down unicode text people post on Facebook), and I am able to write upside down with relative ease.

However, since developing that skill I have fairly extreme difficulties remembering how to write lowercase b's and d's, and I've had to use a trick I've heard dyslexics use and I remind myself that a 'b' points towards the end of a word.

I have no problems reading words with the characters, or typing them on the computer when I want a 'b' or a 'd', only when I'm writing it.

Did I give myself a very limited form of dyslexia?

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, learning, motor, transfer

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to the site Wayne! I'll let someone with a bit more experience provide an answer, but to add a comment: dyslexia is much more complicated than just swapping `b`s and `d`s, and it not something one can "give" to themselves. Nonetheless, you ask a very interesting question!  
> **username_2**: I use a method for encrypting words using only numbers (2 digits is 1 character though), I have been thinking on putting effort on fluently read it but I am now worried about the drawbacks... As today, I can write pretty fast, but reading takes me some time per word (~2 seconds)  
> **username_0**: @username_2 I doubt you'd get much negative transfer, since numbers are completely different symbols. Though you might find that you read math as words ;)  
> **username_3**: you obtained a new skill thats what you did to yourself.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2012-02-02. Score: 53 | Accepted answer

### Negative Transfer

A common scientific term to describe what you are talking about is called [negative transfer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_Transfer). I.e., where learning one skill actually results in lower performance on another skill. This is contrasted with positive transfer, when learning one skill facilitates performance on another skill. In general (although I don't have refs on hands) positive transfer is generally a greater effect than negative transfer. Negative transfer tends to be localised to particular aspects of the task (e.g., b's and d's).

For a extended encyclopedia entry see Perkins and Salomon's (1992) article on [transfer of learning](http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/traencyn.htm).

### Research on Mirror Reading and Writing

There's even research specifically on reading and writing upside down and back to front (e.g., see google scholarfor ['mirror writing'](http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&q=mirror+writing&btnG=Search) and ['mirror reading'](http://scholar.google.com.au/scholar?hl=en&q=mirror+reading&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=&as_vis=0)). I haven't read much of this literature.

To take but one article, Gottfried, Sancar, and Chatterjee (2003) discuss acquired mirror writing.

They note, perhaps relevant to your question, that:

> Young children, developmental dyslexics, and some healthy left-handed
> adults may produce mirror text.

I assume that in the above cases (as opposed to your case where it is acquired with deliberate practice), writing in reverse is involuntary, in which case I suppose you could describe writing a few letters back to front involuntarily as representing a symptom shared with some developmental dyslexics.

As an interesting historical aside, they note that

> Perhaps the most celebrated mirror writer, Leonardo da Vinci,
> generated over 5000 notebook pages in reverse.

So, you're in good company.

### References

* Gottfried, J., Sancar, F., and Chatterjee, A. (2003). Acquired mirror
  writing and reading: evidence for reflected graphemic representations.
  Neuropsychologia, 41(1):96-107. [FREE PDF](http://pad2.wikihow.com/images/c/c6/Acquired_Mirror_Writing_and_Reading_226.pdf)
* Perkins, D. and Salomon, G. (1992). Transfer of learning. International
  encyclopedia of education. [FREE LINK](http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/docs/traencyn.htm)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Excellent answer, and now I have a term that actually describes what I did. An extra +1 for the da Vinci reference.  
> **username_5**: "I can't stoooq!" — Leonardo ba Vinci  
> **username_6**: Learning to type [Dvorak](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard) degraded my QWERTY noticeably.  Now I wonder if this is a valid example of the "negative transfer" you've mentioned.  
> **username_7**: I have been using dvorak for over ten years and never felt a downgrade on standard keyboard. As they say, it's like learning another language: do you forget your first learned tongue? A useful reference for those interesed in dvorak is the [dvzine](http://www.dvzine.org/)  
> **username_8**: As an elementary school teacher for almost 30 years, I have had my share of students who struggle with reading. One of the first things I do with a struggling reader is turn the book upside down. Many times, the child, who has had difficulties reading, is able to read more fluently and accurately. I never knew how and why it worked, but it does. It is good to finally find some information that supports this "crazy" method that I have used time and time again.  

---

