Because you can knock a door with your hand down as well and it would be more convenient?
In: Physics
It’s really not as convenient.
It requires you to be much closer. Most doors have a step in front of them, making it so you have to practically have your nose to the door to comfortably knock.
Even with the arm upright to knock, most people instinctively take a step backwarks.
Good question. Put it to the test. Its weird. Even more weird, the easiest and most efficient way would be standing with your back to the door and low knocking.
If you keep your hand low you are not in a position to protect yourself if the door suddenly moves.
I typical give a mid cross body arm/wrist type of flick. Only raise my hand to pound the door with the meat of my fist if I need to be louder than what’s going on inside
I can definitely generate more power in my knock if I can get my elbow involved.
Deconstructing how I knock, the first knock is usually testing the resonance of the material, and I can adjust the power up to maximum for subsequent knocks if needed. Some doors are hollow wood, some are insulated steel, and paint makes everything look fairly identical.
Related question now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder if our current propensity to knock with palm forward knuckles was as pronounced before the ubiquity of keyboards? I do seem to recall the backhand knock to be very common in classic movies, but maybe that was so the actor could present his face to the camera more easily.
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Try doing it this way for a while, you’ll understand why. It’s a more natural body motion.
Because it’s not more convenient. Twisting your wrist to knock lower down is a much more awkward position than just raising your arm and keeping your wrist at its normal angle.
how would it be more convenient? gravity and the way your muscles/bones work make an overhanded knock far easier in pretty much every way.
> and it would be more convenient?
It’s not, though. Have you not tried? If you try you’ll see different knuckles hit the door, which for me is more painful. Either that or you’re holding your hand at an awkward angle.
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