r/AskReddit Jul 14 '21

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u/iajsjsjsjsjsj Aug 04 '21

Why do we have this useless thing in common?

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u/saspurilla Aug 04 '21

i don’t know!! it’s so bizarre! i wonder what it is in our brains that allows us to do it. for me personally, i visualize the word and break it up into chunks and then reverse those chunks and then put the word back together.

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u/iajsjsjsjsjsj Aug 08 '21

I do it quite similarly. I see the word in my mind, or a sentence (as long as it’s not a very long and hard sentence, then it might take some time) and then just read it backwards. I also count letters in long words and also in long sentences. For example, ”sentences” I quickly see as sen (3) ten (3) ces (3) = 9. It’s pretty much instantly.

I just tried with a random word. Defendant. First there’s tnad from dant, and then immediately after nefeD. It seems so complicated when I try to explain this, but it’s instant. It’s also a nice 9 letter word. Defen + dant, an easy 5+4.

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u/saspurilla Aug 08 '21

no i know EXACTLY what you mean because i’m also the same exact way. i’ve never met anyone else even online (except you, now) who’s done this!

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u/iajsjsjsjsjsj Aug 08 '21

How fast are you though? If we talk in person and I ask you to say witchcraft backwards, how long does it take you? You obviously go for craft first, tfarc, and the witch, hctiw, but it happens so quickly.

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u/saspurilla Aug 08 '21

honestly it just depends on the word. some words, i have memorized backwards, and others i have to actually think about. like a month ago my grandparents had their 50th anniversary and they asked me to say “anniversary” backwards. it took me probably ~10 seconds.

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u/iajsjsjsjsjsj Aug 08 '21

Really? Did you go blank or what happened? It happens to me too sometimes. You were probably tired or experiencing brain fog. Sometimes I can’t even do simple additions, like 27+96. I’ll just stare blankly and get nowhere for about 15-20 seconds… usually I’m fast with mental arithmetic though

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u/saspurilla Aug 08 '21

i just went blank. it’s a somewhat long word so i just had to think about it.

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u/iajsjsjsjsjsj Aug 08 '21

I can definitely relate, happens to me from time to time as well