Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
nealstephenson.substack.com
Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
1–10 of 11 posts
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#2"Don’t use a pencil (or a cheap ballpoint)"
I think that at this point, the idea becomes just a gatekeeping.
I have been writing notes in notebooks by my hand for years. But gradually I switched to typing notes in a notepad or drawing with a stylus on a gadget - and I don't notice any real difference.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#3"Don’t use a pencil (or a cheap ballpoint)" I think that at this point, the idea becomes just a gatekeeping. I have been writing notes in notebooks by my hand for years. But gradually I switched to typing notes in a notepad or drawing with a stylus on a gadget - and I don't notice any real difference.
This could explain his aversion to pencils:
> I am left handed. … When I was a child, writing at length with pencil, the side of my hand sometimes became gray from graphite picked up as my hand rubbed across the page.
Writing with pencil is fine. I prefer it, and its variations in line weight can be quite attractive. Moreover, it can be done without pressing hard and causing cramps: either accept a lighter line weight or use darker graphite.
I agree with you about the gatekeeping. Handwriting is simple but the Internet has fetishized it. Just write a lot: in a notebook, on index cards, on scraps, wherever. And don't think twice about it: in my experience, most of the time what's written has little if any long-term importance and its greatest virtue is rather to trigger the aware mind to release the idea for the mind's more-mysterious parts to then process, combine, and assimilate effortlessly in the background.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#4"Don’t use a pencil (or a cheap ballpoint)" I think that at this point, the idea becomes just a gatekeeping. I have been writing notes in notebooks by my hand for years. But gradually I switched to typing notes in a notepad or drawing with a stylus on a gadget - and I don't notice any real difference.
I don’t understand, where do you see gatekeeping? Are you saying that some people cannot learn to write by hand or something else?
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#5"Don’t use a pencil (or a cheap ballpoint)" I think that at this point, the idea becomes just a gatekeeping. I have been writing notes in notebooks by my hand for years. But gradually I switched to typing notes in a notepad or drawing with a stylus on a gadget - and I don't notice any real difference.
I don’t understand, where do you see gatekeeping? Are you saying that some people cannot learn to write by hand or something else?
If anyone has an opinion on the best way to do something, it is "gatekeeping" to some people.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#6If you need a good reliable recommendation for a fountain pen since this post spends more time on the why and not the what of fountain pens, the lamy safari will treat you well for a very long time.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#7If you need a good reliable recommendation for a fountain pen since this post spends more time on the why and not the what of fountain pens, the lamy safari will treat you well for a very long time.
Pilot Kakuno is ridiculously awesome for the price too.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#8If you are learning for sure. If you know what you are going to write, that's just typing.
I am will punch a baby squirrel if I ever have to hand-craft another login or contact form. I've done it with 20 different languages and frameworks. I am out.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#9While this is probably true for some/most people, the very thought of writing by hand makes me cringe. I've been typing (typewriter, computer, etc) since forever. I learned cursive but despised every moment. Once I got my hands on my first keyboard it was like a revelation. Funny how different people are, how each unique brain adapts and responds to different experiences.
Re: Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain
#10Writing is a forcing function for thinking.