Individuality of handwritten Arabic numerals in local population

Abstract

This paper reports the statistical study of writing habits for Arabic Numerals of 187 subjects in Hong Kong. A classification system of writing habits for Arabic numerals based on assigned codes of characteristic features such as slant, writing direction, relative position of strokes, angularity of turnings, shape of initial and ending strokes, etc. was developed. A set of characteristic codes representing the profile of writing habits pertaining to Arabic numerals was assigned to each writer. Apart from the distribution of characteristic features, statistical analysis of the assigned codes demonstrated homogeneity of individual hand-writing patterns. It has been shown that irrespective of the structural simplicity of Arabic numerals, no two individuals exhibited the same set of characteristic codes. The findings support the hypothesis of individuality in handwriting.