After using a keyboard for circa 50 years, I can't read my own handwriting. I can't even give a reproduceable signature.
Me too, and I used to be proud of my handwriting back in the 90's. Definitely a loss in self-expression.
Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
41–50 of 267 posts
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don’t think I believe that OCR can’t do it but random humans can Considering the people involved are experts in their field, are certainly aware of OCR capabilities, and have publicized a need thusly: ... the National Archives is looking for volunteers who can help transcribe and organize its many handwritten records ... Perhaps "random humans" can perform tasks which could reshape your belief: > OCR is VERY good
There are conceivable reasons why they may be telling a half truth here. Just engaging the public is a worthy goal here.
> There are conceivable reasons why they may be telling a half truth here. Just engaging the public is a worthy goal here.
Asserting an ulterior motive without supporting proof is to engage in conspiracy theories.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.[0]
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#43I don’t think I believe that OCR can’t do it but random humans can OCR is VERY good
Actually I think in 2025 you are correct, we just haven’t got the best tech into the OCR software that’s out there in the real world. I just pasted the letter from the article into ChatGPT (4o) and asked “what does this old letter say?” The response:
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The following is the declaration of James Lambert, a soldier of the Revolutionary War in North America.
The said James Lambert on this day personally appeared in the Probate Court of the County of Dearborn in the State of Indiana and at the November Term of said Court (1841), it being a court of record established by the laws of Indiana and made oath that:
On the 25th day of March 1842 he will be eighty-five years old; that he was born in the State of Maryland; that he is now a resident of said county and has been for the 27 years last past; that he has lived in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania…
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Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#44The handwriting in some of these snippets, while sometimes difficult to read for one reason or another, is nonetheless beautiful: did everyone who wrote have such great handwriting back then? I'm looking at the piece in the Instagram post linked by the page, which begins, "honor of holding in their service". The lines are so straight, the letters are so uniform!
Handwriting is a skill, you get better with practice!
A lot of bad handwriting stems from using it to write down things quickly (see: https://imgur.com/doctors-strike-5ANma ).
If you instead focus on doing slow calligraphy, your handwriting can improve rapidly.
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#45This is all very cool so I’m not trying to be dismissive. In a lot of ways, giving a hobby out as a way to participate in the national archives is an end in itself. But…computers can definitely do this way better, right?
I had the same thought but maybe on old hand writing they can't? EDIT: I tried giving the sample to 4o and it gave: The following is the declaration of James Lambert, a soldier of the Revolutionary War in North America. The said James Lambert this day personally appeared in the Probate Court of the County of Dearborn in the State of Indiana and at the November Term of said Court (1841), it being a court of record cre…
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Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#46This is all very cool so I’m not trying to be dismissive. In a lot of ways, giving a hobby out as a way to participate in the national archives is an end in itself. But…computers can definitely do this way better, right?
> This is all very cool so I’m not trying to be dismissive. In a lot of ways, giving a hobby out as a way to participate in the national archives is an end in itself. > But…computers can definitely do this way better, right? No. Cursive writing is analog and fluid, lacking consistency across authors and often inconsistent by an individual author as well. When done well, it could be classified as its own art form. Whe…
Current LLMs can absolutely do this as well as you can, probably better.
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don’t think I believe that OCR can’t do it but random humans can I do. > OCR is VERY good Uh, my experience is extremely different.
I would challenge you to find a picture of text that you think a human can read and OCR cannot. I’m happy to demonstrate. The text shown in this article is trivial.
> I would challenge you to find a picture of text that you think a human can read and OCR cannot.
Are you aware of CAPTCHA[0] images?
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#48Isn't this like a bread-and-butter AI task? “The following is the declaration of James Lambert, a soldier of the Revolutionary War in North America.” “The said James Lambert, on this day personally appeared in the Probate Court of the County of Dearborn in the State of Indiana, at the November Term of said Court [1841], it being a court of record created by the laws of Indiana, and made oath that on the 25th day of M…
I've seen people do that, and the results are.. just sad. These modern models insert their twitter-era "what grabs attention must be true" view into the very little authentic past we still possess.
What did 4o get wrong about the title image in the transcription I just gave you?
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#49I’m interested to give this a go because I want to practice reading cursive. I do a lot of longhand writing including writing all my notes in cursive. It’s exciting to watch my binding fill up with all sorts of different subjects!
I like to write in cursive for a few reasons
1. I find it makes my hand cramp less 2. It offers some shallow privacy in public 3. I don’t want to lose the skill 4. It’s fun!
Re: Can you read this cursive handwriting? The National Archives wants your help
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would challenge you to find a picture of text that you think a human can read and OCR cannot. I’m happy to demonstrate. The text shown in this article is trivial.
> I would challenge you to find a picture of text that you think a human can read and OCR cannot. Are you aware of CAPTCHA[0] images? 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA
Solvable with the right tools.
https://github.com/noCaptchaAi/NoCaptcha-Ai-Browser-Extensio...