# What complex things can you do with your fingers w/o looking? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658 "2010-11-14T19:04:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/21 "2010-11-15T18:56:27Z")
Typing. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/22 "2010-11-15T18:57:48Z")
Typing, putting on my stretch bandage. I use to knit and croquet, but I haven’t tried them since breaking my wrist. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/23 "2010-11-15T19:05:47Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > … > I type better when not looking, same with playing piano. > > I do a much better job of braiding my hair if I do not look in the mirror. Me, too. On both accounts. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/24 "2010-11-15T19:11:53Z")
I can de-shell and de-tail two pounds of shrimp while watching a rerun of _Star Trek: The Next Generation_, never once looking at what I’m doing. De-veining, though, is another story. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/25 "2010-11-16T06:35:12Z")
Very little. I type much better when I’m not looking and I actually type quite well while listening to someone talk (and when I am talking). Other than that - not a whole hell of a lot. But, I also haven’t tried so it’s not like I’m incompetent. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/26 "2010-11-16T06:47:16Z")
Type and play violin/viola. Does operating a mouse count? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/27 "2010-11-16T17:50:56Z")
Hook up nearly any electronics component by feel. Most plasma and LCD TV connections are on the back, and I’ll usually have to identify the connector type and location by feel and make the connection, being able to distinguish an HDMI connection from a USB one from an SD card slot. Even in ideal circumstances, electronics makers usually cheap out and only ID connections via molded letters in the black plastic - and being able to read black letters on a black surface qualifies one to pilot the [Heart of Gold](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Gold_%28spaceship%29#Heart_of_Gold). ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/28 "2010-11-16T18:18:03Z")
Shuffle poker chips, and cut a deck of cards one-handed. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/29 "2010-11-16T18:19:17Z")
Like most stringed instrument players, playing without looking. Playing in a group pretty much entails focus on the other players rather than yourself. One thing I learned to do while working on aircraft (where systems were jam-packed into odd shaped spaces) was to stand facing away with arms extended back behind my head to get at well hidden components (why don’t elbows bend both ways?) You do have to remember which way connectors screw/unscrew when working that way. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/30 "2010-11-16T18:47:16Z")
I put my earrings in this morning while steering with my knees. What? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/31 "2010-11-16T18:49:16Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I put my earrings in this morning while steering with my knees. > > What? Yeah, but were you looking in the mirror? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/32 "2010-11-16T19:07:28Z")
I can find the key I need on my keyring without looking. Most of the skill in that comes from knowing what order the keys are in, though. Time was, I could take my pocket knife out of my pocket, open it, close it, and put it away not only without looking, but with only one hand. Of course, that was when I had a butterfly knife. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/33 "2010-11-16T19:27:23Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Yeah, but were you looking in the mirror? No, I was reading the newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/34 "2010-11-17T02:28:38Z")
Knit, crochet, type, play piano, etc. Interestingly, I had reason to test-drive out a blind manual dexterity test for reasons that I won’t go into. Fast forward after the test had been applied to the relevant parties and it turns out I had skewed the results - the only test taker who was able to complete the task was a knitter. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/35 "2010-11-17T04:15:00Z")
Play the first three pages of Sonata Pathetique. If I look down, I’ll mess up. If I can manage to keep my frontal lobe occupied with something else, and just let my fingers play it on their own, I (they?) can do it perfectly. After page three I need to look though. ---
**Author:** ![Incref](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@Incref](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incref)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/36 "2010-11-17T04:47:06Z")
Bring a woman to climax. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/37 "2010-11-17T06:45:48Z")
Back in my “neck-deep in World of Warcraft” days I had well over 100 keyboard commands committed to muscle memory on my left hand, all effortlessly and instantly accessible. Using nested shift states I know of a method to map over 650 keyboard commands to one hand… Ah, those days…I got fat. I ride my bike now. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/38 "2010-11-17T06:50:35Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > Back in my “neck-deep in World of Warcraft” days I had well over 100 keyboard commands committed to muscle memory on my left hand, all effortlessly and instantly accessible. Using nested shift states I know of a method to map over 650 keyboard commands to one hand… Ah, those days…I got fat. > > I ride my bike now. Yeah, but do you close your eyes? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/39 "2010-11-17T06:58:19Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Yeah, but do you close your eyes? Well, I didn’t look at the buttons, I looked at the screen, if that’s what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658/40 "2010-11-17T14:15:45Z")
I have very little eye-hand coordination and I am right handed. If I toss something with my right hand, it’s doubtful it will hit its target. However, if I toss something with y left hand in the general direction of where I want it to go and I don’t look at where I’m throwing it, I get a bullseye. Every time. It’s like The Force be with me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-complex-things-can-you-do-with-your-fingers-w-o-looking/560658.md?page=3)