# I Notice the Way People Walk - Weird? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303 "2009-03-04T18:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/21 "2009-03-06T06:46:26Z")
I don’t think so, necessarily, although I guess it could be. I knew a guy who walked that way (though with knees bent, so he didn’t appear to be tippy-toeing, if that makes sense?) and what struck me about him the very first time I saw him was how incredibly graceful he was for such a large guy - he seemed to glide everywhere. (Turns out he was into ballroom dancing, which may have helped.) Anyway, it was not only a little unusual, it was a large part of what attracted me to get to know him better. I still haven’t met anyone else so innately graceful; it’s a rather unique quirk of his, I guess. And yours, apparently. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crocodiles_And_Boulevards)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/22 "2009-03-06T06:59:52Z")
> [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](#): > > I don’t think so, necessarily, although I guess it could be. > > I knew a guy who walked that way (though with knees bent, so he didn’t appear to be tippy-toeing, if that makes sense?) and what struck me about him the very first time I saw him was how incredibly graceful he was for such a large guy - he seemed to glide everywhere. (Turns out he was into ballroom dancing, which may have helped.) > > Anyway, it was not only a little unusual, it was a large part of what attracted me to get to know him better. I still haven’t met anyone else so innately graceful; it’s a rather unique quirk of his, I guess. > > And yours, apparently. 🙂 Heh, my girlfriend thinks it’s cute, so I guess it must not be so bad. 😉 I wonder how we both got into it. ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/23 "2009-03-06T07:17:39Z")
I have never considered this. I couldn’t even tell you the way _I_ walk. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/24 "2009-03-06T07:36:18Z")
I was watching _Ocean’s Eleven_ with one of the commentary tracks turned on, and someone mentioned something like this. There’s a scene just after the heist where Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is walking away from the security office and around a corner. The first shot was on location, and the second was on a soundstage. They were filmed weeks, or maybe months, apart, but the walk is exactly the same. It’s easy to notice once it’s pointed out. Maybe that’s a small thing for an actor to worry about, but Garcia just nails it. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/25 "2009-03-06T10:55:40Z")
> [@Crocodiles\_And\_Boulevards](#): > > I walk on the front part of my feet. The back of my foot barely touches the ground. I don’t know why, it’s just what I’ve always done. Does it look funny when people walk like that? It does to some people, because I walk the same way, and I’ve been repeatedly mocked for it (middle and high school were not pleasant for me) I always stand on the balls of my feet and walk the same way, which causes what I call a bouncy stride. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/26 "2009-03-06T11:41:24Z")
I do it too, but then, I’m weird. One of the nuns in my dorm could recognize me by the way my footsteps sounded. Most people don’t notice one of my legs is over one inch shorter than the other, but she noticed how it affects my stride. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/27 "2009-03-06T14:28:23Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > I sometimes find myself paying close attention to the way people walk. Some people have a gliding walk, moving without hardly disturbing their upper body. Some people have a really energetic stride. Some people walk in what I would call a “normal” way, but they have peculiar movements at the knee that catch my attention. > > Just yesterday I was walking to class and saw someone from afar. Like everyone else outside, he was bundled up in a heavy jacket and hat. However, I recognized this guy’s walk and called his name. This was someone I haven’t seen or spoken to in months. We were both heading in the same direction, but I was about 15 feet behind him, so there’s no way I could have recognized his facial features or anything like that. I recognized him solely because of his stride. > > Does this seem really weird to anyone? There was an article in the New Scientist last year about attempts being made to identify people from the way they walk to be used by police forces on disguised suspects. Apparently people who have poorer then usual eyesight use this technique a lot in recognising people that they know. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/28 "2009-03-06T14:33:55Z")
Anyone else think of the tune Walleye by S.C.O.T.S.? If I remember correctly, Rick introduces it as being about a gal with a weak muscle in one eye (hence the thoughtful title.) But she also had an inner-ear problem, that gave her an unusual rythm as she walked - providing the inspiration for the instrumental. So I guess Rick Miller ntices how people walk! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303/29 "2009-03-06T15:20:01Z")
It was watching his walk that made me realize this guy > **[John Maeda](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Maeda)** > > John Maeda (born 1966) is a Vice President of Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft. He is an American technologist and designer whose work explores where business, design, and technology merge to make space for the "humanist technologist." > Previously, Maeda served as is Chief Technology Officer of Everbridge from October 2020 through October 2022. President of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) from June 2008 until December 2013. Before that he was a research professor at the MIT M... had a bit of the nerd in his background. He walks like he’s no stranger to carrying a big pile of books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-notice-the-way-people-walk-weird/488303.md?page=1)