Asmita Bhattacharya

Y8148

SE367 HW assignment 1

How I do an everyday task (tie shoelaces on a shoe)

Every day, at least once, I sit on the side of my bed to wear sneakers. After inserting both my feet into my sneakers kept on the floor, I bend down to tie the shoelaces that are already strung on the many holes present on each shoe.

1. First I hold each shoe lace in each hand between my index and middle fingers and my thumb. I pull them in either direction till everything is tight. Then I take the right string and pass it to the left side, below the left string. My left hand lets go of the left string and takes hold of the right one that is now looped around the left one. My right hand now grips the left string which has now crossed over to the right side. Now I am holding both the strings in their exchanged positions.

2. Now I stick out the index finger of my left hand (still holding the new left string), and use my right hand to loop the new right string around it. My right hand now opens its grip partially to grasp both the segments of the right string that now forms the base of this loop.

3. I withdraw my left index finger (the loop remains on the right string), and pull the two strings in opposite directions again (like I did earlier) to make it tight.

4. Maintaining this tautness in the strings, my left hand moves the left string around the loop held in my right hand, and then wedges it in between the anterior parts of the index and middle fingers of my right hand (which are joined together).

5. Then my left hand lets go of the left string and takes hold of the loop formed by the right string. As the left hand pulls this loop to the left, the right hand tightly grips the bit of the left string wedged in between its index and middle fingers, pulls it out to the right, and uses the thumb to grip it further. This forms the knot and the bow.

6. The two loops and are pulled till the knot becomes tight. Often if I want to adjust the sizes of the two loops, while pulling out the two loops, I loosen the pull on a hand and play around with the tension in the string to tie the knot of my choice.

I remember spending a lot of time in my childhood to learn how to perfectly do this process of tying my shoelaces, but now I can tie them without thinking about it at all.