111–120 of 132 posts
In university I noticed that some of my classmates just sat there and didn't take notes. So I stopped as well. I sat there, listened and then took pictures of the blackboard. This method worked better for me and I noticed that I performed better. The lesson here is that people learn in different ways.
How could you afford that much film on a college student's budget?
Anyone had success with improving a kid's handwriting? My son's writing is 2/10. I myself am only 3/10. With reading and math I am able to help him. I have not found anything effective for penmanship.
If he doesn't want to learn the Palmer method (what you probably learned if you grew up in the US), then perhaps Getty-Dubay?
I think I need to actually read the studies for this, because this has been completely contrary to my personal experience on this. I'd like to see how they're controlling their variables. I cannot read my own handwriting anymore, so I almost never write anything by hand now, but when I was in college the first time I took notes by hand in a notebook, and later moved to typing on a laptop. I don't feel like I retained…
I have spent time working out how to most effectively learn news things. Associating the learning with something you enjoy is critical, I hate physical writing, it can only hinder learning for me.
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There’s a common saying amongst audio enthusiasts that audiophiles listen to their gear, not the music. Good tools are good, but let’s not forget what they’re actually for.
All the gear and no idea. Yeah. I’m a bit of an audiophile (used to be a music producer) and have almost no interest in audio hardware other than how it sounds. But it seems strange to me to apply the same reasoning to stationery. With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. With pens, it isn’t so easy to quantify. How do you measure what it means t…
I’d argue that that’s not what matters. What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good.
The measurement that you’re talking about is precisely the bit that obsessive audiophiles get wrong, and it’s the parallel that I’m drawing with folks who obsess over stationary too.
I’m not saying that hobbies and interests are wrong, just that often they miss the point that makes the tool useful in the first place. A cheap pen can write nicely without needing to obsess over then pen, paper, ink, etc, just as much as a song can sound great without obsessing over which particular tube amp sounds warmer.
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> It sounds like you've found some other pens that work well for you if you managed to hand draw hundreds of diagrams. Yes! Technical pens are great. My first book was all done using a Faber-Castell Pitt pen and my second book was Pigma Microns. I think Pitt pens are my favorite. I also have some Copic Multiliners which I was very excited about but ended up being a little too narrow for my taste.
Ah, yeah, I prefer the Faber-Castell Pitt's with the fine point to the Microns as well. The Microns do seem to be easier to find here in my end of Canada though, so there are tons in the house and my wife enjoys them as well. Have you tried the FC Pitt brush pens [0] at all? They seem like a lot of fun for diagrams and doodles. [0] https://fabercastellshopcanada.ca/collections/pitt-artist-pe...
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I love handwriting. As in, I hand-lettered every single one of the hundreds of diagrams in my two books [1]. I am also a sucker for nice pens and fancy paper. Office supply stores are like toy stores for me. (What can I say, I was a teacher's pet growing up.) So I am 1000% the kind of person to get into fountain pens. But I'm also a lefty. :( I know it is possible to learn to use a fountain pen while writing left-han…
When I read the second sentence, I suspected it was you, and then it was confirmed by your username :) Those diagrams are beautiful, and I think anyone who picks up that book and holds it in their hand can appreciate the work that went into it. Thank you for creating it!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
All the gear and no idea. Yeah. I’m a bit of an audiophile (used to be a music producer) and have almost no interest in audio hardware other than how it sounds. But it seems strange to me to apply the same reasoning to stationery. With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. With pens, it isn’t so easy to quantify. How do you measure what it means t…
> With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. I’d argue that that’s not what matters. What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good. The measurement that you’re talking about is precisely the bit that obsessive audiophiles get wrong, and it’s the parallel that I’m drawing with folks who obsess over stationary too. I’m not saying that…
Good point. I still think there’s very little scope for customisation though. Once you find what sounds good, you can stop.
With stationery, there’s no such thing because the question isn’t as simple as ‘does it sound good?’. It’s more like ‘does it feel good?’, ‘does it inspire me in my work?’, ‘does it work well for this particular situation?’.
I personally think you’re wrong to write all of this off as fetishism; it can be a life-enriching interest. Of course there are people who take it too far, and you only have to go to Reddit to find those people.
To some extent it’s also a matter of fashion, and if you’re one of those people who doesn’t ‘get’ fashion (in clothes, or in anything else) then there’s not much to be reconciled — it just doesn’t please you and that’s fine.
> obsessing over which particular tube amp sounds warmer.
I agree that that kind of thing is just boring as hell and detracts from any possible discussion or enjoyment of music.
Seeking perfection actually is particularly boring to me, which is why it’s not what I do with stationery either. It’s more appreciation of an object, flaws and all, than it is a pointless never-ending (and wallet-draining) search for some fictional nirvana like it is with speakers.
I was late to this game of "going backwards" to improve my memory and understanding of what I read and wrote. Being raised by two technologically forward engineers, we jumped on the palm-pilot/laptops/tablets/phones/e-readers bandwagon very early. 5 years ago I started turning back to calligraphy, fountain pens, and hand writing. I buy books and fill up my bookshelf. It wasn't just for the memory recall, it was the p…
I can never get over the "scratching" feeling of fountain pens. It gives me a weird goosbump feeling and makes them impossible to use. Am I using them wrong? Using the wrong brand/type?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
All the gear and no idea. Yeah. I’m a bit of an audiophile (used to be a music producer) and have almost no interest in audio hardware other than how it sounds. But it seems strange to me to apply the same reasoning to stationery. With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. With pens, it isn’t so easy to quantify. How do you measure what it means t…
> With sound, there is literally only one thing that matters: how accurately and precisely you can vibrate the air. I’d argue that that’s not what matters. What matters is does the song you’re listening to sound good. The measurement that you’re talking about is precisely the bit that obsessive audiophiles get wrong, and it’s the parallel that I’m drawing with folks who obsess over stationary too. I’m not saying that…
I have a 3d printer because I wanted to play with a 3d printer. Same with a drone, zero-turn lawn mower, welding machine, oscilloscope, and a host of other things my wife would be more than happy to tell you about.
Most of us here are engineers of one sort or another. We tend to have disposable income and a predisposition for gadgets.
I doubt many of us are truly ever under the delusion that we need these things.
I was late to this game of "going backwards" to improve my memory and understanding of what I read and wrote. Being raised by two technologically forward engineers, we jumped on the palm-pilot/laptops/tablets/phones/e-readers bandwagon very early. 5 years ago I started turning back to calligraphy, fountain pens, and hand writing. I buy books and fill up my bookshelf. It wasn't just for the memory recall, it was the p…
I love handwriting. As in, I hand-lettered every single one of the hundreds of diagrams in my two books [1]. I am also a sucker for nice pens and fancy paper. Office supply stores are like toy stores for me. (What can I say, I was a teacher's pet growing up.) So I am 1000% the kind of person to get into fountain pens. But I'm also a lefty. :( I know it is possible to learn to use a fountain pen while writing left-han…