Great advice. Didn't know Neal is left-handed.
Neal, if you're reading this, will you ever visit Germany on a book signing tour?
Writing by hand is good for your brain
21–30 of 708 posts
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#22[deleted]
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#23> I’m not an expert on how the brain works, but I can say that, Aaaaaand time to tune out.
The rest of that sentence:
> I can say that, when writing by hand, one is continually solving a series of small problems having to do with the spacing of words, how letters are connected, the crossing of the letter t (sometimes more than one in the same word) and the dotting of the letters i and j, and how to accomplish all of those things through coordinated movements not just of the fingers but of the whole arm.
Do you think he needs to be a neuroscientist to make this claim?
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#24I like handwriting, but it struggles when you need to copy it in your obsidian
Rocketbook has some products that promise to help with this here. I've tried them and found them high friction but it might be worth it to you.
There's also the pens that use cameras and special papers like livescribe (I think?) but I didn't love those either.
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#25A corollary to this is, when reading books, mark them up! Don’t be precious with them. Destroy the spine so it’s easier to read, fold pages, write the important stuff inside the front cover of the book. Cross out stuff you disagree with, draw a big circles around the stuff that resonates. Not only does it make consumption a lot more engaging, it makes a revisit of that book extremely rewarding. Don’t get caught up tr…
Michael Stevens (of Vsause fame) copies long quotes into notebooks, and he claims the act of writing it helps him remember. And if it's not worth writing, it's not a good enough quote.
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#26A corollary to this is, when reading books, mark them up! Don’t be precious with them. Destroy the spine so it’s easier to read, fold pages, write the important stuff inside the front cover of the book. Cross out stuff you disagree with, draw a big circles around the stuff that resonates. Not only does it make consumption a lot more engaging, it makes a revisit of that book extremely rewarding. Don’t get caught up tr…
Yes! 100x this. I do this all the time with my print technical books.
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#27I have been thinking about that with regards to the new generation, I forget where but I saw a YouTube video interviewing Gen Alpha and how they couldn't recognize calligraphy texts.
I was sad, of course, but at the same time, it made me think if their brain is just being shaped differently. Could it be that this sort of thesis "writing = good" applies to us because we belong to a generation that had our formative memories shaped through that activity?
Is there something inherent to writing that makes it good or is it just a consequence because we did things that way?
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#28A corollary to this is, when reading books, mark them up! Don’t be precious with them. Destroy the spine so it’s easier to read, fold pages, write the important stuff inside the front cover of the book. Cross out stuff you disagree with, draw a big circles around the stuff that resonates. Not only does it make consumption a lot more engaging, it makes a revisit of that book extremely rewarding. Don’t get caught up tr…
Depends on the edition. I lent a book years ago to someone that was destroyed by damp on a window sill. I've never been able to get another copy of it.
A less rare book in a mass market edition would be another thing.
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#29I write by hand to hack my productivity.
I buy nice notebooks and nice pens that are satisfying to use. I practice my handwriting, so the finished work is satisfying to look at. I think it gives me a bit of dopamine boost.
Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain
#30Always boggles my mind that some people can't write cursive. So you write each letter one by one?
I haven't written cursive in many years, i should try it again but since i'm out of practice i find it takes more time to write than going print. Which of course does lead to hand cramps etc
You need to practice it. It's a survival skill. You'll never know when you'll need it.