Self-Directed Learning Assignment

I’m not a very fidgety person, except for with my hands. I wear rings on my fingers so that I always have something to play with, I’ll often wrap hair elastics around my wrist for a quick play toy in class, and I mindlessly take apart paper clips in order to meld them into new shapes. Something about the stimulation for spinning and fidgeting around fingers keeps me focused on other things, though I’ve never really thought about what I’m doing or how my body does it.

For my self-directed learning assignment, I want to delve into the use of my fingers more deeply in the art of pen-spinning. Like DDR and the dancing game studies we’ve studied, there is a level of expertise associated with pen-spinning beyond the mindlessly activity we might do in a meeting or in the classroom. As a form of contact juggling, there is an intense skill involved while also considering the performance elements and art form behind the field.

I’m partially excited by the novelty of learning such an activity, but also delving into the direction of my hand movement. Wish me luck!