Peter T. Daniels wrote:

> Rotations and reflections are a Bad Thing. We've got p b d q ,
> which are problematic enough for learners and dyslexics. You
> (and Shaw) have lots more sets like that. (I shudder to think
> of the amount of dyxlexia in Cree-script societies!)

I read somewhere (Coulmas' encyclopedia? -- not sure) that the
uniformity of the Cree/Inuktitut script (and especially the fact that
it indicates vowels by rotating consonants) was a winning factor for
the fast diffusion of the script.

But this is probably not incompatible with what you say: uniformity
can be a Good Thing in the early phase, when the child is learning
the letterforms and the basics of the system. But it can become a
nuisance in the long run, when one starts reading by recognizing
whole words at a glance.

In the learning phase, uniformity and consistency certainly help the
learner, minimizing the effort for his/her memory, and giving him a
pleasing sense of understanding.

But, later on, the similarity of letters to each other may impair the
ability of recognizing groups of letters as a whole.

<diversion - start>

I don't know how wise it is to infer neurological factors, but I am
not a wise man...

I was wondering: what if our visual apparatus naturally tends to
*ignore* the rotation of letters?

After all, in our daily life, we are presented with objects randomly
rotated (e.g., my pencil on the table). Our primary need is to
*recognize* these objects, *regardless* of their rotation (e.g., I
just need to find my pencil; I don't care which direction the tip
points to).

Imagine this feature applied to writing, could it be the reason why
some people's brain tends to equate p and d?

BTW, I think that the existence of this neurological feature can be
confirmed by the poor engineers who had to work hard for reproducing
it in industrial robots.

<diversion - end>

_ Marco


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