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The End of Handwriting

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Re: The End of Handwriting

#81

Post by Dilettante_ »

bayindirh wrote: post #63
tbrownaw wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, fountain pens have a "cool" factor and can be made for decorative stuff, but that's it. Sure the super cheap bic pens that come in boxes of 100 aren't great, but that's because they're cheap (besides being inexpensive). Something like those G2 gel pens that are also available everywhere for not very much (fairly inexpensive, but not pejorative-cheap) these days work just fine.

> No, fountain pens have a "cool" factor and can be made for decorative stuff, but that's it. I would not disagree more. A fountain pen writes with zero pressure. In contrast modern rollerballs and gel pens have a little spring to prevent contact leaking. Uni might have a patent on that. Famously Pilot's Hi-Techpoint pens doesn't have that and it stains the place where it touches. A fountain pen can outlast any dispo…

>becomes tuned to your handwriting

I didn't know that, what's the noticeable difference?

Re: The End of Handwriting

#82

Post by zarzavat »

My father has dozens of notebooks in which he writes prose. I couldn't imagine doing the same. I want my writing to be searchable and digitalized. It's easier to edit text when it's not committed to ink.

Nevertheless, I still handwrite an awful lot, but it is annotated drawings, mathematics, the things that can't be done easily with a QWERTY keyboard.

I don't want to input LaTeX on a keyboard, I want to handwrite on an iPad and have AI transform that into LaTeX for me.

Technology therefore is killing handwriting in some contexts and enabling it in others.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#83

Post by swannodette »

voidUpdate wrote: post #69
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…

As a left handed person, fountain pens are basically a no-go. What actually helped improve my handwriting was not doing cursive, but writing each letter individually, which forces me to pause between each letter. Still using the lower case forms (though I did try all caps for a while), but just forcing myself to slow down. Still have problems with 9 vs 4 though

I’m left handed, with the right ink and paper this isn’t a huge problem. I picked up fountain pens a year ago and I will never go back to regular pens for my own writing.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#84

Post by al_borland »

jerrysievert wrote: post #15

for me, the end of handwriting wasn't where/when I learned it, I learned cursive in kindergarten, and continued it for many years. it wasn't until I ran into teachers who valued time over accuracy that I faulted (it's not defaulted) and started writing scratch (which I can't even read!), and then typing. now, while I have decent typing skills, I can't write a sentence in cursive, let alone in non-cursive - my goto is…

I hate seeing teachers destroy a child’s good handwriting.

I still think about a kid who transferred into my class in elementary school sometimes, over 40 years later. Our school taught D'Nealian handwriting. When this kid came in he didn’t write this way, but his handwriting was incredibly clean and looked really good; I was jealous and wanted to write like him. The teacher told him he was writing wrong and forced him to change and learn the D'Nealian way. He struggled a lot and I felt really bad for him. Sorry you had a similar experience.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#85

Post by phrotoma »

delusional wrote: post #77
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.

When I find myself coding in circles (admittedly, I spend less time coding these days so fairly infrequent) I know it's time to get a big piece of graph paper and start drawing boxes and arrows.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#86

Post by meander_water »

I've tried for years to keep a regular journal. But everytime I stare at a blank screen I can't summon up enough activation energy to write anything.

On a whim, I tried writing in a physical journal, and to my surprise I found it a lot easier to be consistent and write down my thoughts before they disappear. It also improved my handwriting over time, and also your hands hurt less the more you write.

One theory I have is that writing is just slow enough for me to buffer my thoughts in memory. Typing is too fast, and by the time I've written a sentence I've lost track of my train of thought.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#87

Post by jmclnx »

For me, cursive ended decades ago when I started college. Printing I can still do and do it rather quickly. But as always, I am the only one who can read it. This devolution started will before Email became a thing.

But I wonder how many young people are comfortable with writing in general, printing or cursive.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#88

Post by pjmlp »

I still write lots of stuff by hand, and I am still looking forward to tablet user experience where the pen suffices as input, instead of worrying about having to carry an external keyboard.

This is what would be a great use of AI, not stuff like Recall.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#89

Post by voidUpdate »

delusional wrote: post #77
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.

A lot of my doodlings are remembering which trig operator I have to use. It's usually tan
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