Oh, Batman

This is probably the funniest I've ever seen Batman:

Batman on the Brain

When I was supposed to be marking this afternoon, I was actually reading some blogs that chronicle other people's attempts at becoming ambidextrous.

The Biomatrix.net is creepily similar in intent to Building Batman. They claim to be

a website that takes self-improvement to the next helping you to become stronger, faster, better and smarter

Strange that these self-improved and smarter people forgot a word in their intro. sentence, isn't it? ("...to the next [level,] helping...").

Anyway, in the article Become Ambidextrous, the author notes that his head "feels sort of tense" and suggests that it may be a placebo or a coincidence. Strangely enough, I've had the same sensation since I started using my left-hand and thought it was a coincidence myself. I also had the same amazing improvement in the first days of practice. Personally, I thought that this would be much harder than just breaking the habit of using my right-hand but now I already feel that that is all it is - being right-handed is just a sloppy habit. Here's a notable blog about someone else who's decided to kick the "right-handed habit".

Is Batman Right-Handed

I found the the answer to my own question. I asked "Was Bruce born ambidextrous?" According to one episode of the Batman (TV series), the villain Egghead used the fact that Batman was RIGHT-HANDED to deduce his secret identity. But even so, I'm sticking to my convictions that Batman is ambidextrous because if that happened once, I wouldn't let it happen a second time.

Further evidence: carefully watch his hands:

BatSkill #1: The Left Side of the BatBelt

Batskill #1
Becoming Ambidextrous.

And my readers (of which I have none yet, I'm sure) cry: "I've never seen that listed as one of Batman's abilities."

But you'd better believe it, old chum! There is no doubt in my mind that Batman is ambidextrous. You think that a ninja from the League of Assassins is attacking Batman by throwing daggers at him, and the dark knight is catching the ones that are on his right but dodging the ones on his left? (that's right, I pick the a League ninja as the first enemy I note in this blog). Or maybe Catwoman is tossing invaluable loot from the top of a building, are you going to tell me that the Caped Crusader couldn't catch it with his leftpaw? (supposing he's right handed.)

So it's as good a place as any to start and I'm serious about learning these things. So I'm not going to rush into the hardest things first. I'm starting easy.

Question: was Bruce born ambidextrous? I couldn't determine a solid answer for whether people are actually born ambidextrous or not (from the very little bit of reading that I've done). But one thing seems clear: anyone can learn if they are determined enough. Referencing these three sources (not exactly irrefutable sources - I'll agree), I have begun using my left hand for simple tasks.

1. When I write, I use my left hand for all titles, headings, dates, etc and my right (which by the way is my dominant hand) for all the rest.
2. I'm trying to remember to pour and drink with my left.
3. I keep a coin at my desk and flip it with my left hand whenever I'm thinking.
4. When I type I'm trying to hit the space bar with my left thumb as often as with my right.
5. I try to remember to use my left hand to open doors and use keys
6. And starting today I've begun using my computer mouse with my left hand.

What have I learned so far from this? I didn't really realize how much we handicap ourselves by primarily relying on only one hand. And Batman would never allow himself to have such an obvious handicap.

Holy Articticulate Articles, Batman!

Here are a couple more old articles about what it would take to build yourself into the Batman:

This first one is a good one:
Why Batman Could Exist--But Not for Long

And
So You Wanna be Batman, Huh?

The reason to read that second one is because the last paragraph brings up an easily forgotten point:

The truly impossible piece is the notion that Batman could have such a small operation. The kind of vehicles and accutraments Batman favors are temper[a]mental creatures in real life, and even prototype level fabrication efforts that are highly automated require quite a large production crew. A back office of scores to a couple of hundred people would be necessary to keep the operation in working order, and at least a dozen o[r] two would have to have such a regular and working relationship that they would have to know exactly what they were doing for whom.

Being Batman Part II

Two more sites that talk about what we're going to talk about:
Being Batman
and
The Cost of Outfitting a Real Batman
I think both of these pages are ok but they ended to soon. And just brought up the ideas. We'll do more detail.

And don't worry we'll definitely compile a Batbelt - but we'll do it as I learn skills. A good detailed list of what could be in the belt is:
The Great Batman Equipment Archive

Being Batman

I saw this old Forbes article today
Forbes: Being Batman

And the thread that led me there:
How would one become Batman?

Holy Dumbfounded Batman

I guess maybe I should point a couple of things out so that you're not confused:

I don't in any way, shape or form intend to go beating up evil-doers. Nope. What I do plan to do is learn a huge variety of abilities because they will make me a better person. I was never a boy-scout or anything of the sort, I have never played sports or done any of the childhood things that I expect would make this easier. So I expect that I will have no experience in any of the things that happen in this blog until after I write about them

I just thought you should know.


The other thing I thought you might be wondering about is the list I posted yesterday. I hope that if you have suggestions you'll let me know but let me tell you: I don't plan to get bogged down in martial arts. Batman is supposed to be an expert in every form of fight-style imaginable. I don't plan on being an expert in anything that I learn to do for this blog and I certainly don't want to spend my life learning to hit people. That's why martial arts is way down the list.

But what I will do is learn at least one and try out as many as I can when the opportunities come up.

BatSkills

Let's get organized:

I won't be able to learn all the skills that Bruce Wayne gained on his trek to becoming the Batman in one day. I'll need to take start one at a time. So first thing is to make a list of Batman's abilities.

BatSkills:

boomerang throwing

lock picking
first aid
acting
wall climbing/buildering
urban repelling
forensic toxicology
emergency driving
piloting
acrobatics
shurikenjutsu/star throwing
criminology/forensic psychology
forensic science
escapology
martial arts
strategic/tactics methods
practical chemistry
crime scene analysis
strength development - athletic training
hacking
ambidextrous
code breaking
scuba diving
base jumping
counterfeiting
puzzles/riddles
strategic/tactics methods

This list is by no means exhaustive (it gets a little nit-picky at the end too) and if you have any more suggestions I'd love to hear them. We'll update and change this list as time goes on.

Building Batman

He's just a normal guy in a cape.

Batman that is. And yet they talk about him like he could take down Superman. But he's just a normal guy. It's not important that he was born Bruce Wayne - sure the money helps but really any body could have been Batman. Or can be...

And that is the question raised in this blog. I'll chronicle my attempts to emulate Batman. Of course, it goes without saying that I won't travel the world seeking out the best in all related fields but I'll try to gain an introduction into each of the skills Bruce Wayne mastered before he donned the cape and cowl.