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Writing by hand is good for your brain

nealstephenson.substack.com

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Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#631

Post by nextlevelwizard »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #233

I've always been pretty skeptical of the data which says handwriting is better for learning than typing. Yes, handwriting causes more brain activity, but just because your brain is doing more does not mean it's doing the right thing! For example, if I asked you to code FizzBuzz while riding a unicycle, I'm pretty sure you would show more brain activity than if you were just sitting at a desk. This does not mean it's…

Anecdotally from only place where I have experienced both. When playing TTRPGs like Dungeon & Dragons when people fill their character sheets by hand they tend to remember their abilities, features, and spells much better than people who use a fillable PDF and print it out. Even same person with fillable sheet will have to read through it constantly versus them writing it up by hand.

Probably chunk of that is copying vs interpreting, meaning just writing the rule as written vs rewording it to make it more concise and fit your brain, but also part of it definitely is it you remembering where you wrote something down instead of having to scan through bunch of stuff just to find the place you need.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#632

Post by Hugsbox »

Diogenesian wrote: post #74
postalcoder wrote: post #20

A 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…

I buy used books: it sucks to see someone else's notes scribbled all over the page. It's like a really annoying guy whispering at you with vapid explanations while you're trying to pay attention to a lecture. "Cross out stuff you disagree with" actually makes me sick. It also seems useless for understanding and retention, since highlighting is almost always misleading and margin notes are almost always empty. If you…

Had to google "trapper-keeper". Never heard that one before, gave me a bit of a chuckle.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#633

Post by sahildeepreel »

haritha-j wrote: post #624

The core idea is really solid, but isnt half the article about finidng the right type of paper and taking care of fountain pens? I don't think my setup (free notebooks from events + ballpoint pens) will reduce yourt brain activity compared to a fancy fountain pen and fancy italian paper.

I have found writing even on my ipad with apple pencil to be wayy better than typing on my keyboard.

I am thinking of switching to a supernote which allows me to write on a paperlike surface, but mainly because it is free from distractions and notifications on an ipad.

i mainly like the idea of a blank canvas and writing and rearranging thoughts on that canvas - which pen and paper do not allow.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#634

Post by lsaret1257 »

I have used fountain pens for the past 30 years. To me, writing with a good fountain, pen and quality paper feels like an air hockey puck floating on an air hockey table, smooth and effortless, and it allows me to get into the zone and think much better than I can by typing and to a lesser extent writing with other types of pens. Whenever I have something really important that requires deep thought I always use fountain pens. They do require maintenance in the form of periodically cleaning them, but the benefits of improved thinking outweigh the minimal maintenance cost.They are inexpensive and I find the quality of the paper is also important which I did not originally appreciate. Personally, I like Pilot fountain Pens, which start at about $15-$20, and Maruman paper. Both are readily available on Amazon or from specialized sources.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#635

Post by mxmr »

haritha-j wrote: post #624

The core idea is really solid, but isnt half the article about finidng the right type of paper and taking care of fountain pens? I don't think my setup (free notebooks from events + ballpoint pens) will reduce yourt brain activity compared to a fancy fountain pen and fancy italian paper.

the point isnt that it is 'italian paper' (actually the high quality stuff is generally from france and japan), but the coefficient of friction of the paper is much reduced. It is not fancy as much as it is very well engineered

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#636

Post by killerstorm »

dhosek wrote: post #519

On the gadget front, I really love the paperlike screen protector for the iPad. This combined with the Apple Pencil made a huge difference in the usability of my iPad for writing/drawing. I still prefer to write on paper, but it’s really great for things like my writing group where we generally meet over zoom & I can give the author a marked up manuscript (with multicolor notes). I’m also opposed to getting too preci…

I used ballpoint pens in school but I don't like the process: my hand often feels too tense, and getting handwriting legible is a lot of effort. Once I switched to fountain pens I enjoy the process a lot more, and the result generally look better without much effort.

I'm sure many people are OK with ballpoint pens and might even prefer the feel.

Fountain pen (+ ink and paper) doesn't really cost more than a paperlike screen protector. So it can be entirely functional. But many people also enjoy it as a hobby, collecting pens and whatnot.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#637

Post by dust-jacket »

jacobolus wrote: post #594
Diogenesian wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I buy used books: it sucks to see someone else's notes scribbled all over the page. It's like a really annoying guy whispering at you with vapid explanations while you're trying to pay attention to a lecture. "Cross out stuff you disagree with" actually makes me sick. It also seems useless for understanding and retention, since highlighting is almost always misleading and margin notes are almost always empty. If you…

The owner of a book doesn't owe anything to a random future person who picks it up from their estate sale or whatever. Vanishingly few books are irreplaceable enough to need to be treated as special relics to carefully preserve for posterity, and those that are tend to be already in a museum, library, or the collection of someone fastidious. > sucks to see someone else's notes You don't have to buy books with notes i…

> You don't have to buy books with notes in them

Although tbf its kinda hard to check without reading the whole book, no? A bit like saying "you don't have to buy a jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing"

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#638

Post by ricardobayes »

dhosek wrote: post #519

On the gadget front, I really love the paperlike screen protector for the iPad. This combined with the Apple Pencil made a huge difference in the usability of my iPad for writing/drawing. I still prefer to write on paper, but it’s really great for things like my writing group where we generally meet over zoom & I can give the author a marked up manuscript (with multicolor notes). I’m also opposed to getting too preci…

Not a sarcastic response, instead, to double down on your point. If you show this to 99.9% of the world and require the spend of $50 for the screen protector on the $500 iPad to get the "paper feel", they will tell you might as well just get that Leuchtturm or Moleskin notebook.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#639

Post by Retr0id »

haritha-j wrote: post #624

The core idea is really solid, but isnt half the article about finidng the right type of paper and taking care of fountain pens? I don't think my setup (free notebooks from events + ballpoint pens) will reduce yourt brain activity compared to a fancy fountain pen and fancy italian paper.

I can write code just fine on a random Dell membrane keyboard I got for free, but it's much more satisfying to use a mechanical keyboard. It seems like the same idea applied to hand writing, and I think you're more likely to do more of something if it's enjoyable.

Re: Writing by hand is good for your brain

#640

Post by toxik »

nextlevelwizard wrote: post #628
haritha-j wrote: post #624

The core idea is really solid, but isnt half the article about finidng the right type of paper and taking care of fountain pens? I don't think my setup (free notebooks from events + ballpoint pens) will reduce yourt brain activity compared to a fancy fountain pen and fancy italian paper.

I don't think there is an argument in the article that contradicts you. The part about choosing a pen is to point out that pencils and cheap ballpoint pens require more effort than fancy fountain pen. Which is true, but it is mostly commentary about "writer's cramp". The part about choosing paper is about fountain pens being blotchy where better quality paper helps. You can write with anything and on anything, but ju…

Hard disagree on both accounts. Mechanical keyboards are obnoxious and tiring to use because of the insane travel. Fountain pens are nice when they work, but the ink evaporates, the nibs clog up, and accidentally bluing yourself is not uncommon among fountaineers.
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