Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
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Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
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Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#2It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me.
I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than that of whiteboard markers. So I wonder if we had big ass whiteboards with big ass tips on the markers if the writing style would be more similar. Or if it's more a function of the resistance you get with chalk+chalkboard. Could we make a whiteboard+marker that had more resistance? Like some hall effect or something. Sounds too complex relative to just using chalkboards.
That being said, a downside I didn't see mentioned was chalk dust. I have asthma but still prefer chalk, but I did not appreciate having to pound the dust out of the erasers when I was in grade school. I wonder if they could make the chalk magnetic and have magnetic trap at the bottom or something. But again too complicated.
Any
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#3It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me. I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than…
My hand writing is poor and my handwriting with a stylus is worse but screen annotations on zoom have been life changing for me at work. I don’t really care that I cannot write legibly. Quick iteration on diagrams is king.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#4Chalk, the Emacs of boards.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#5It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me. I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than…
> Could we make a whiteboard+marker that had more resistance? Like some hall effect or something. Sounds too complex relative to just using chalkboards.
I think that whiteboard vs chalkboard is just personal preference/cultural, and that the explanations in the article are just trying to justify it (which is totally fair IMHO). So I don't think that there's any need to "fix" that problem with whiteboards.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#6Chalk, the Emacs of boards.
I tried extending this analogy to dry erase boards, and all I could come up with was MS Paint
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#7I enjoy using chalkboards so much more than whiteboards. Other than the chalk dust, I just can't understand how anyone would prefer whiteboards over chalkboards.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#8It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me. I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than…
I did not appreciate having to pound the dust out of the erasers when I was in grade school.
I wonder if they could make the chalk magnetic and have magnetic trap at the bottom or
something. But again too complicated.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#9It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me. I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than…
I did not appreciate having to pound the dust out of the erasers when I was in grade school. I wonder if they could make the chalk magnetic and have magnetic trap at the bottom or something. But again too complicated. The Russian solution is to use water - wipe the board with a wet sponge.
Germans also squeegee their blackboards.
Re: Why do Stanford math professors still use chalk? (2021)
#10It's like writing on paper vs writing on a digital tablet. The difference in tactile feedback leads to better handwriting, at least for me. I'm curious about the phenomenon they mentioned of "circles being smaller with markers". I definitely noticed that when teaching my overall font size decreased on markers vs. chalk, even when using the skinny chalks. But the effective tip size even with small chalk is larger than…
I did not appreciate having to pound the dust out of the erasers when I was in grade school. I wonder if they could make the chalk magnetic and have magnetic trap at the bottom or something. But again too complicated. The Russian solution is to use water - wipe the board with a wet sponge.
The german way seems to be a wet sponge followed by a squeegee to wipe off excess water. Here's a masterclass from Frederic Schuller (and a rigorous advanced course in quantum mechanics)