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The End of Handwriting

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Re: The End of Handwriting

#71

Post by voidUpdate »

I generally dont handwrite large amounts anymore, however I have begun writing sentimental letters to family members by hand on occasion, but they are fully drafted out digitally first. I will keep going back and editing what I've previously written, which you can't really do on fancy paper.

Most of my handwriting these days is working out ideas on paper when I'm stuck on something in code. I keep a notepad at the side of my desk specifically for that, so I can just pull it over and work out the coordinates of cube vertices yet again, or how to generate a triangle strip, or to rearrange an equation

Re: The End of Handwriting

#72

Post by jcelerier »

postepowanieadm wrote: post #52
en wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I am mainly left-handed, I learned to like writing with a nice wooden pencil, like Faber-Castell, and a sharpener. Then, if it is something serious and if it is possible to use a felt pen, I use Staedtler or Faber-Castell felt pens in different sizes. I hate ballpoint pens.

Have you tried a good fountain pen? A good nib makes all the difference.

Fountain pen + left handed + left-to-right language is sadly a no go

Re: The End of Handwriting

#73

Post by monsieurbanana »

postepowanieadm wrote: post #52
en wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I am mainly left-handed, I learned to like writing with a nice wooden pencil, like Faber-Castell, and a sharpener. Then, if it is something serious and if it is possible to use a felt pen, I use Staedtler or Faber-Castell felt pens in different sizes. I hate ballpoint pens.

Have you tried a good fountain pen? A good nib makes all the difference.

I'd like if you address the main point of his post: being left-handed.

I've never liked fountain pens because most languages are written left-to-right, which means you will get smudged much more easily than if you were right-handed.

The seemingly best advice I've seen is to learn how to be an "underwriter", aka position your hand north to where you're writing, instead of sideways. I say seemingly because I'm not willing to spend that amount in effort when I can write fine with pens.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#74

Post by al_borland »

postepowanieadm wrote: post #52
en wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I am mainly left-handed, I learned to like writing with a nice wooden pencil, like Faber-Castell, and a sharpener. Then, if it is something serious and if it is possible to use a felt pen, I use Staedtler or Faber-Castell felt pens in different sizes. I hate ballpoint pens.

Have you tried a good fountain pen? A good nib makes all the difference.

The issue with being left handed, when writing a language that is written left-to-right, is the hand gets dragged over freshly written ink. A fountain pen has liquid ink that takes longer to dry than a ballpoint pen, it would make things significantly worse.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#75

Post by elros »

benrutter wrote: post #26
elros wrote: post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the ink to dry.

What I’ve seen being done before, not only by lefties but actually by quite a few people, is to shift your paper 45~90°, so that you’re effectively writing bottom up (right handed) or top to bottom (left handed). It can get a moment to get used to it but it alleviates the smudging significantly.

For what it’s worth, personally, I don’t like it so much, but I know people who swear by it; and had fast, clear, legible notes to back it up.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#76

Post by benrutter »

tenuousemphasis wrote: post #30
benrutter wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the ink to dry.

Try writing right to left!

This is the kind of solution I'm looking for!

Should I:

- Write in mirror image form?

- Learn to predict my line length so I can write right to left, but have the text read left to right?

- Learn arabic or herbrew?

I'm leaning towards all three personally.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#77

Post by delusional »

voidUpdate wrote: post #71

I generally dont handwrite large amounts anymore, however I have begun writing sentimental letters to family members by hand on occasion, but they are fully drafted out digitally first. I will keep going back and editing what I've previously written, which you can't really do on fancy paper. Most of my handwriting these days is working out ideas on paper when I'm stuck on something in code. I keep a notepad at the si…

> Most of my handwriting these days is working out ideas on paper when I'm stuck on something in code.

I am so glad I'm not alone there. It's hard to not feel stupid when you have to work out the winding order of some triangles for the 10th time.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#78

Post by pfdietz »

I was horrified to learn that almost no one now knows how to sharpen a goose feather to use as a pen. Very few people know how to tack a horse either. And don't get me started on cuneiform.

The world is certainly in a dark state and the end is nigh.

/s

Re: The End of Handwriting

#79

Post by endgame »

elros wrote: post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

I agree. The thing with fountain pens that many sibling commenters miss is that they run the ink so much more smoothly, which means you can use much less force when guiding the pen. It's not just pining for the old ways but that the writing feels completely different with a different class of tool.

I spent a bunch of time working through https://www.briem.net/free-books/handwriting-repair and am really satisfied with the improvement.

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