Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
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Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
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Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#2I never knew why I unconsciously chose analog over digital in those cases, but it turns out there's a scientific explanation. When we write, we make our brains go through an abstraction process - separating something from a whole to analyze it by itself.- According to neurologist Audrey Van Der Meer, "It seems that keyboards and pens bring into play different underlying neurological processes. This may not be surprising since handwriting/drawing is a complex task that requires the integration of various skills."
I wrote a full article about it in the link above.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#3I disagree. Writing is helpful for thinking things through, but the writing itself doesn’t do anything. I used to take a lot of notes to remember things and it can just act as an excuse to not think hard. It’s the hard thought and periodic review that cements things
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#4The Brain That Changes Itself. Life changing book. One of the surprising studies there shows how kids with all kinds of learning disabilities can be radically transformed just by being given cursive handwriting exercises. Brain development and activation under handwriting is measurable, and very different from typing or even printing.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#5I never knew why I unconsciously chose analog over digital in those cases, but it turns out there's a scientific explanation. When we write, we make our brains go through an abstraction process - separating something from a whole to analyze it by itself.- According to neurologist Audrey Van Der Meer, "It seems that keyboards and pens bring into play different underlying neurological processes. This may not be surpris…
Every time this topic comes up, I am curious to see a cross-generational study.
I'd also be interested in seeing the result of taking notes with a less linear note taking tool, such as OneNote and its infinite canvas, compared to pure linear note taking.
Now for most math classes, and other subjects that involve lots of diagrams, hand writing (digital or analog) is better! (Ignoring the people who are so good at LaTeX they can do complex math equations)
IMHO the largest issue with modern teaching is the use of slides. I was going to college just as the transition to PowerPoint was happening, and wow was the degradation in quality of teaching noticeable.
One of my profs, whose class I had a low opinion of, used slides for all his lectures. One day the projector broke down and he had to teach on the chalk board. It was amazing! The quality of his lecture improved dramatically when he was able to go back and make changes to past diagrams, or change examples on the fly to dive deeper into something the students had difficulty grasping.
The other problem with PowerPoint is that it goes by faster than students can take notes! If the prof and the students are both writing notes, they are on (mostly) equal ground, ignoring that profs have decades of experience writing quickly.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#6I think this post just barely misses the main reason which, in my opinion, makes writing a better medium for remembering. They mention that typing is faster and easier than writing but I think the real reason this impacts memory is because you have to reduce things into their smallest form in order to keep up (with the person speaking or your own thoughts). This act of condensing makes you internalize the words into concepts, and concepts are easier to recall.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#7I handwrite my todo list at the start of everyday and scribble notes down when I’m in meetings and almost never look at them again. It definitely helps solidify things in my head for whatever reason. I’m not uptight or anything, it just seems to help me.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#8what the heck is "digital handwriting"?
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#9Current generations may perform better in various ways while handwriting because we grew up being forced to write by hand for many years while we were developing in childhood. I wonder if upcoming generations that grow up typing instead will perform the same way, or if they’ll do better taking typewritten notes.
Re: Why I’m a sucker for pen and paper
#10In my case at least, I noticed that remembering things has a strong "visual" component. I have nothing close to a photographic memory (I wish), but for example in university, I often remembered facts and formulas by also remembering where on a page they were. I wouldn't quite "read it off" the page in my mind, but just the visualization of the page helped getting to the fact, in a "oh yeah, that's where that was written down" kind of way.
Today, I write down the most important dates and facts on pieces of paper or a little notebook, and just the strong, vivid, very visual recollection of me writing it down (and where) helps tremendously in remembering what was written down.