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Tom Hanks on Typewriters

nytimes.com

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Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#11

Post by randomgyatwork »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #8

As a typewriter collector and huge nerd this is great. If you want to learn more about the recent revolution in typewriter ownership, etc. check out Richard Polt's book: The Typewriter Revolution. Really nicely done. I keep a 1958 Hermes Rocket in my office and it bemuses the younger staff, and visitors, most of whom have never seen one up close.

I recently wrote something on a typewriter, got half way though the page and spelt a word incorrectly, tried to fix it and somehow destroyed the whole page...

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#12

Post by bbctol »

niftich wrote: post #4
news_to_me wrote: post #3

I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.

The article makes a very astute point: that people are attracted to the physicality, the tangibility of "analog" things. Whether out of nostalgia (because we've been there) or retro fascination (when we haven't lived it firsthand), we can develop an emotional connection with a single physical objects that succinctly and permanently hold an abstract concept in a physical package -- like a letter, a book, a music recor…

I think as related sensation is the feeling of control, or at least understanding, over our technology. You can see exactly how a typewriter works; each letter you type is a direct result of your action, through a clear causal chain. When you type on a computer, letters appear on your screen through a much more convoluted process we take as magic, and especially for someone unused to the technology, that can lead to a feeling of loss of control.

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#14

Post by webtechgal »

Going off at a bit of a tangent here, but this reminds me of something that I find quite interesting:

I believe history has it that the querty keyboard layout was intentionally designed to slow down the typing speed, because the mechanical efficiency of the first gen/early typewriters (1860/70?) was fairly low, causing the moving prongs to jam if typing was done rapidly.

I also believe the dvorak layout (which got invented later and never gained much popularity) allows measurably faster typing (never used it myself). I think the older Apple keyboards used to have a qwerty/dvorak switch on the backside. Any dvorak users/fans here, I wonder?

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#15

Post by cgag »

news_to_me wrote: post #3

I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.

Maybe, but I don't think so. I haven't figured out what the root cause is but I love high quality pens and paper, and I love mechanical keyboards. I just like high quality input devices. There's something very satifying about the physical feel of this kind of thing. I think if I were born earlier I'd be into typewriters instead of mechanical keyboards.

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#16

Post by pc86 »

randomgyatwork wrote: post #11
Overtonwindow wrote: post #8

As a typewriter collector and huge nerd this is great. If you want to learn more about the recent revolution in typewriter ownership, etc. check out Richard Polt's book: The Typewriter Revolution. Really nicely done. I keep a 1958 Hermes Rocket in my office and it bemuses the younger staff, and visitors, most of whom have never seen one up close.

I recently wrote something on a typewriter, got half way though the page and spelt a word incorrectly, tried to fix it and somehow destroyed the whole page...

My international politics professor had a story about how he had a copy of his master's thesis in his carry-on on a train in what was then Soviet Russia. He left the bag on the train and ended up having to retype the whole thing in a weekend.

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#17

Post by pc86 »

cgag wrote: post #15
news_to_me wrote: post #3

I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.

Maybe, but I don't think so. I haven't figured out what the root cause is but I love high quality pens and paper, and I love mechanical keyboards. I just like high quality input devices. There's something very satifying about the physical feel of this kind of thing. I think if I were born earlier I'd be into typewriters instead of mechanical keyboards.

I love mechanical keyboards as well. I recently (a few months ago) got a WhiteFox with MX Clears and I look forward to typing on that when I get home.

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#18

Post by frosting »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #10
niftich wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article makes a very astute point: that people are attracted to the physicality, the tangibility of "analog" things. Whether out of nostalgia (because we've been there) or retro fascination (when we haven't lived it firsthand), we can develop an emotional connection with a single physical objects that succinctly and permanently hold an abstract concept in a physical package -- like a letter, a book, a music recor…

You've just made a very astute point. I've been thinking for some time now that we are reaching a critical mass of technology. An era when people will start to become bored and detached from technology, and yearn for something tangible, and able to wrap their heads around. For me the allure of a typewriter is the fact that I can see how it works, I can fix it myself, and I can tinker with it.

Same with myself and fointain pens, I can fix them, tweak them, and know exactly how it works.

Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters

#19

Post by kurlberg »

news_to_me wrote: post #3

I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.

There is a quite nice web comic in which a Hermes 3000 typewriter plays a big role - The Guy I almost Was, see

electricsheepcomix.com/almostguy/

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