I’ve been a professional for 10+ years and I have always used a notebook to work out issues. I fill a notebook in about 3 months. It’s really helpful for working through a problem in a free form way. I draw diagrams, tables, pseudo code, etc. Often forcing myself to think of the problem in a different way (writing it down) helps me understand what needs to be done.
I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
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Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#32I'd like to ask how you used the notebook. diagrams and drawings? quick notes and thoughts? what was it like and what was your thought process like?
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#33I am the exact opposite. I type 150+ WPM and can’t write to save my life. Writing things down with pen/paper does nothing for me.
> I type 150+ WPM and can’t write to save my life.
Same, but writing still helps me think better.
Maybe typing is too guided, and having to organise my thoughts on paper makes the process more efficient.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#34I'd like to ask how you used the notebook. diagrams and drawings? quick notes and thoughts? what was it like and what was your thought process like?
In this particular problem, I simply noted "what I know" on one side, and "what I need" on the other, then, trying mechanically prove my goal from my hypothesis. Being able to "see my bricks" was the key part. On a screen, those bricks while exist, are separated by scrolling distance.
But in general, I never do drawing, but yes, definitely diagrams of some state machines for example. It's simply impossible to hold them in the head.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#35I can attest to having seen papers on this, but am not able to track them down right now. The theory is not dissimilar to rubber ducking- using your brain to work in the problem space- which helps transition your mental model to solution domain.
Like you and others this experience with paper has also been my experience for decades. Perhaps of interest is that I transitioned from using paper to a Remarkable tablet, which is surprisingly great from a writing experience perspective, but which is deficient in the "paging through" experience that is so important with paper. Its still preferable to me to work digitally, and to unify around a device I can read on, and I am able to use it to work in problem domain reasonably effectively.
HTH.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#36Honestly, due to my perpetual difficulty with writing both neatly enough to read and quickly enough to keep up with my thoughts (it's always been an either/or thing), I feel much smarter when typing (on a physical keyboard; I also can't type that quickly on a phone keyboard). Adding in the ability to arbitrarily jump around and edit stuff, I feel like I can always express myself in a way I'm happier with at a computer than on paper.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#37Without all the context, I think it is due to structure of the problem. Some problem can't be understood clearly with just text, but needs diagrams etc. Coq problem seems like one that could fall in this category. And if you are like me, rough diagramming in computer seems slower/harder than with pen and paper. For these kind of things, I found apple pencil+ipad to superior to both as you don't need to worry about sp…
Interesting, i never thought about e pen and a electronic pad. Will think about that
There’s a whole industry of devices around that: of course the iPad, but there’s the reMarkable, AirNote, Boox Note…
I carry my own Smallish notebook and pen but the convenience of having everything already digitized and available everywhere is so tempting.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#38Pen & paper provide the opportunity to use the full 2D plane for laying out your thoughts. I find this extremely valuable during conceptualisation, for sorting ideas, finding and highlighting connections etc.
Typing however is one-dimensional. Thoughts need to be serialised in order to type them out. Sometimes this is exactly what you need. For example, a linear narrative tends to make it much easier to explain your ideas to others. And of course code is just a serialised version of a program.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#39I'd like to ask how you used the notebook. diagrams and drawings? quick notes and thoughts? what was it like and what was your thought process like?
In this particular problem, I simply noted "what I know" on one side, and "what I need" on the other, then, trying mechanically prove my goal from my hypothesis. Being able to "see my bricks" was the key part. On a screen, those bricks while exist, are separated by scrolling distance. But in general, I never do drawing, but yes, definitely diagrams of some state machines for example. It's simply impossible to hold th…
I have wondered if it's the lack of manipulation and input ability that computers have in comparison to paper that makes it superior. by manipulation I mean right down to being able to crumple the paper, throw it across the room then go and pick it up again to check something.
I use a notebook as well btw, for leetcode as well. it's simple better. limited in it's distractions, requires a greater amount of lingering on thoughts rather than quickly typing in whatever words have come to mind, freedom of input and manipulation. it does one thing slowly, not everything fast and the interaction it requires is beneficial to then thought process.
even tablets are not as good. anyways, I agree with you.
Re: I feel dumb(er) when typing, and smart(er) when writing
#40Honestly, due to my perpetual difficulty with writing both neatly enough to read and quickly enough to keep up with my thoughts (it's always been an either/or thing), I feel much smarter when typing (on a physical keyboard; I also can't type that quickly on a phone keyboard). Adding in the ability to arbitrarily jump around and edit stuff, I feel like I can always express myself in a way I'm happier with at a compute…
Same here! I have never felt comfortable hand writing things but the act of typing in an editor such as vim feels very liberating.