I wonder if when writing started to become the preferred method of transmitting information between humans, some people suggested that the methods of oral tradition were superior.
Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
191–200 of 297 posts
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#192I wonder if when writing started to become the preferred method of transmitting information between humans, some people suggested that the methods of oral tradition were superior.
Well, that's definitely true.
Having someone tell you something is vastly better than reading it.
Aside from the intonation and stresses in tone there's also a plethora of body language and cues to pick up on.
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#193I wonder if when writing started to become the preferred method of transmitting information between humans, some people suggested that the methods of oral tradition were superior.
Socrates on the Forgetfulness that Comes with Writing: https://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-1/socrates-...
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#194No joke, I took my passion in computing seriously because of my hatred towards writing by hand!
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#195I wonder if when writing started to become the preferred method of transmitting information between humans, some people suggested that the methods of oral tradition were superior.
Well, that's definitely true. Having someone tell you something is vastly better than reading it. Aside from the intonation and stresses in tone there's also a plethora of body language and cues to pick up on.
This might be a function of how passively many people read, though – particularly as compared with the highly interactive posture of speech.
There are reading strategies which we can employ to engage the brain quite effectively.
Plus, writing is immediately replayable. Some would rather abuse this than rely on a more holistic reading strategy, but that doesn't discount the value of having a concrete, immediately-accessible, and yet persistent record of the communication.
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#196I'd be curious if anyone had good advice on how to improve your handwriting ability well into adulthood (I'm 35). My penmanship was so bad in grade school that I attended special education classes to improve it, but it still was and remains horrible. This is a source of insecurity for me and since I've always been glued to a keyboard it has been easy to handwave away as "screw this, the world is all typing-based anyh…
Have you tried the D'Nealian Pencil Grasp? It might not improve your handwriting but it’s way more comfortable because you apply virtually no tension on your fingers: https://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/pencil-held-betwe...
Can confirm this improved my handwriting. It also made it not degrade over time as my hand got more tired and lazy from using the pen.
That said pen width is important. My hand writing tends to be more legible with ultrafine tips
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#197If you're in charge of other people, it's worth noting that some very common cognitive problems like ADHD, Dysgraphia, and Dyslexia negate these benefits in some affected people. The cognitive load of making legible marks can become high enough to become the focus, rather than the actual content. Pressuring someone already struggling with working memory to do things like this, is counterproductive, if not demoralizing. Work style advice is great, but make sure you listen if they say it doesn't work for them rather than getting into the "it worked for me so you must be doing it wrong" mindset.
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#198I 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 came to the same conclusion, however, here’s how I handle that: I carry around a folder with just a bunch of printer paper, and some index cards in it. I write my todo lists on an index card because it’s intentionally small so I can’t overload it, and it feels good to cross out the last thing and just throw it away. I take notes through the day on the printer paper, and then I review them frequently and type up wha…
Have you considered buying loose leaf notebook paper instead of printer paper? You get lines and I’d imagine it’s even cheaper.
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#199I 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 came to the same conclusion, however, here’s how I handle that: I carry around a folder with just a bunch of printer paper, and some index cards in it. I write my todo lists on an index card because it’s intentionally small so I can’t overload it, and it feels good to cross out the last thing and just throw it away. I take notes through the day on the printer paper, and then I review them frequently and type up wha…
What sort of folder do you use? Is it something you can lean on when writing?
Re: Writing by hand is still the best way to retain information
#200If you're in charge of other people, it's worth noting that some very common cognitive problems like ADHD, Dysgraphia, and Dyslexia negate these benefits in some affected people. The cognitive load of making legible marks can become high enough to become the focus, rather than the actual content. Pressuring someone already struggling with working memory to do things like this, is counterproductive, if not demoralizin…
I don't think you can lump those 3 together like that, though you did qualify it. I don't know anything about dysgraphia, but dyslexia is probably the standout thing in that list that make writing very stressful.
With ADHD, I've always struggled with consistency and memory, and what's been helping for a few months is to start my day by writing it out in detail, so I'm forced to work out the kinks.