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Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

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Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#81

Post by upsidesinclude »

crazygringo wrote: post #35

I just want to add a gigantic caveat: NOT FOR EVERYBODY. I know a lot of people who insist writing by hand helps them. But I also know it's TERRIBLE for me personally. The article claims: > Writing by hand on paper creates a tactile, personalized experience... The complex experience of hand writing on paper contains a multitude of variable elements: the creativity of an individual’s written representation of language…

Perhaps an even bigger caveat is that you have prescribed this to note taking from a live discussion.

That isn't what you've said, but you imply that repeatedly.

And by the distinct set of circumstances (recording verbatim) in which writing is vastly inferior to typing, your position is noteworthy. I would argue that a microphone is even still vastly superior & can provide text output. However, whether or not you retain (this is about memory) all that information is another question all together.

If you take your typed notes and then read through them while writing out key elements, you're retention and memory will likely be greatly improved.

Aside, based on your complaints and the fact you said pencil, I'm guessing that your skill with a pen is poor. Writing in general takes practice to master, it is not simply literacy.

Edit: >Although typing notes can be useful and even faster for some note-takers, ultimately it does not have the cognitive, tactile, memory, or visual cognitive effects that people can get when they write by hand. Typing notes can be good, but it won’t make it easier to remember what was said later on.

Directly from the text.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#82

Post by WalterBright »

Yup. The way to attend a lecture is to leave your laptop behind. Take a cheap spiral notebook and a couple colored pens.

Take notes.

Once the notebook is filled (or the semester is over) scan the pages, toss the notebook, and buy a fresh one for the next semester.

It works, from much personal experience You're welcome!

1. yes, sometimes I fall behind the lecturer taking notes, which can be a bit frustrating

2. while the notes may not be complete, they trigger the context of the lecture which works

3. reading my notes from 40 years ago - they don't make much sense, as the context is forgotten

4. I wish I had made audio recordings of the lectures. But that was impractical, as I could not afford the cassette tapes required

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#83

Post by adameasterling »

cronix wrote: post #28
adameasterling wrote: post #22

I 100% agree with this. If I want to fully commit to learning something, physically writing it down with my hand makes it stick better, for reasons that I don't really understand. I actually started to think about it as a kind of cheat code. Like, how, in a video game you can type in a cheat code and you get special powers. That's how big of a difference it made for me. My strategy looks like this: * If there's a goo…

> for reasons that I don't really understand. I believe it's just the amount of time it takes to physically write a sentence with pen and paper, compared to spoken word or even typing which can be pretty fast in comparison. Your brain is mulling the words over several times over as you write it. That leaves more of an imprint as you are literally thinking about it more as your hand slowly writes each word out. I can…

I don't know! I think you might be right, but my intuition tells me it's a little more than that. Other ideas:

* Is it a mind-body connection thing? Writing seems to involve a lot more fine motor control and muscle engagement than typing.

* Like other people my age, I didn't grow up typing; I started learning when I was around 10 years old. I learned to write much earlier than that. Could it be that neural connections tied to writing are somehow more effectively hooked up to learning new things?

* Is it a hand dominance thing? I write with one hand, but type with both.

* Is it that writing engages a different kind of language processing than typing? To me, the "voice" I use typing feels very similar to how I speak. Whereas when I'm physically writing, the "voice" I use feels very different. It's as if there's a different language center being worked.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#84

Post by kcindric »

I'm looking into buying a iPad with a pencil for better organizing my work and personal notes with added searchability. The only thing I'm afraid off, as I have ADHD and as a result trouble learning/retaining information, is that the iPad + pencil won't have the same effect as pen and paper. Anyone made the switch from paper to iPad and can't share their experience?

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#85

Post by [deleted] »

crazygringo wrote: post #35

I just want to add a gigantic caveat: NOT FOR EVERYBODY. I know a lot of people who insist writing by hand helps them. But I also know it's TERRIBLE for me personally. The article claims: > Writing by hand on paper creates a tactile, personalized experience... The complex experience of hand writing on paper contains a multitude of variable elements: the creativity of an individual’s written representation of language…

[deleted]

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#86

Post by filchermcurr »

randomdata wrote: post #71
crazygringo wrote: post #35

I just want to add a gigantic caveat: NOT FOR EVERYBODY. I know a lot of people who insist writing by hand helps them. But I also know it's TERRIBLE for me personally. The article claims: > Writing by hand on paper creates a tactile, personalized experience... The complex experience of hand writing on paper contains a multitude of variable elements: the creativity of an individual’s written representation of language…

I was always told in school that I needed to take notes. So I did. And then I had no idea what was going on because all of my energy went into taking notes. Eventually I gave up. It's amazing how much you can learn when you simply listen. I wish I would have realized that sooner.

I find it odd that we were always encouraged to take notes, but never once taught how to do it. Most people tried to furiously write what was being said verbatim, which is definitely not ideal. A simple introduction to note taking would have helped so many people.

More to your point, that's definitely a strategy that works for some people. When I had two weeks of jury duty, everybody was pretty consistently scribbling notes on the various complexities of the case except one woman, who was staring off into space and looked like she wasn't paying any attention. I figured she'd be a dud, but when it came to deliberations, she was probably the sharpest one in the room.

You just have to find what works for you.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#87

Post by Bilal_io »

emodendroket wrote: post #61
crazygringo wrote: post #35

I just want to add a gigantic caveat: NOT FOR EVERYBODY. I know a lot of people who insist writing by hand helps them. But I also know it's TERRIBLE for me personally. The article claims: > Writing by hand on paper creates a tactile, personalized experience... The complex experience of hand writing on paper contains a multitude of variable elements: the creativity of an individual’s written representation of language…

I think the slower, deliberate nature is the point here. The article does at least attempt to cite some research rather than just relying on anecdote.

As a person with ADHD, that slower, deliberate nature goes against everything my brain wants. Even when learning from video, certain speakers seem too slow, and my brain prefers speedy information intake otherwise it wanders off to another universe.

I think my brain has a pretty wide bus, but no guarantees it has the next gen processor, and definitely no ECC memory, information gets corrupted and lost all the time. That's ADHD.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#88

Post by m_eiman »

kcindric wrote: post #84

I'm looking into buying a iPad with a pencil for better organizing my work and personal notes with added searchability. The only thing I'm afraid off, as I have ADHD and as a result trouble learning/retaining information, is that the iPad + pencil won't have the same effect as pen and paper. Anyone made the switch from paper to iPad and can't share their experience?

If you're going to be writing a lot, I'd recommend something like the Paperlike screen protector - the increased friction makes writing noticeably easier.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#89

Post by emodendroket »

headbee wrote: post #4

I can attest to this and took all of my notes on paper in college. However, once I started a real job I realized that this strategy doesn't scale to all situations. In college, I needed to be able to recall all of the information I had ingested: it was low-write, high-read. In the workplace, there's much more information, but I'm unlikely to need most of it: it's high-write, low-read. I need to be able to reference t…

I keep a text document for things like code snippets but I still find paper notes helpful when I have meetings or just to keep track of what I’m trying to do as I work.

Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information

#90

Post by emodendroket »

Bilal_io wrote: post #87
emodendroket wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the slower, deliberate nature is the point here. The article does at least attempt to cite some research rather than just relying on anecdote.

As a person with ADHD, that slower, deliberate nature goes against everything my brain wants. Even when learning from video, certain speakers seem too slow, and my brain prefers speedy information intake otherwise it wanders off to another universe. I think my brain has a pretty wide bus, but no guarantees it has the next gen processor, and definitely no ECC memory, information gets corrupted and lost all the time. T…

I don’t have ADHD but I find writing is helpful to keep my mind from wandering as well.
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