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Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

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Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#91

Post by tboyd47 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #89
tboyd47 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can say that because I don't consider myself to have truly been literate until 6 months ago, when I started using cursive. If I had written a letter to someone the way I usually wrote, they wouldn't have been able to read it if they tried. And I considered my own writing back then to be pretty okay, because I made it all the way through high school and college with it. Why all my teachers allowed me to write like t…

Your definition of literacy and the popular view are dissimilar. The common definition is just "the ability to read and write." Nothing more, nothing less. I looked for a definition which contained the term "cursive" and was unable to find one.

That's true, and thanks for pointing that out. I wasn't saying that we should draft a law to redefine literacy. I was only trying to make a point, which was: if I can write, but no one can read what I write except for me, then have I really achieved the goals of learning how to write?

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#92

Post by viewer5 »

tboyd47 wrote: post #81
viewer5 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And don't come back and say, "it's perfectly fine for them to use print." I'm going to do exactly that. You having garbage print handwriting and pretty cursive hardly means that everyone is the same way. With the lack of cursive practice that most people get, you're much more likely to find someone with legibile printed handwriting than legible cursive. > If you can't write legibly unless you're using a computer, h…

I can say that because I don't consider myself to have truly been literate until 6 months ago, when I started using cursive. If I had written a letter to someone the way I usually wrote, they wouldn't have been able to read it if they tried. And I considered my own writing back then to be pretty okay, because I made it all the way through high school and college with it. Why all my teachers allowed me to write like t…

Again, you having garbage print handwriting doesn't mean everyone does. My printed handwriting got a compliment just this Sunday, and mine pales in comparison to that of most people's I've seen.

If print, on the whole, was impossible to read and write clearly, it would have died long, long ago. But it hasn't, because it's a perfectly acceptable way to convey information, without pretending that everyone's cursive (which, again, hardly anyone gets practice with--I can't even remember around 1/3 of the lowercase letters, or most of the capitals, like G) is so much nicer, and the only way to 'properly' go about things.

I'm glad that you're happy with cursive. Nice cursive handwriting does indeed look quite nice. But it's fallen out of favor and out of practice, and it's not, and I say this without hyperbole, the one true way that you insist it is.

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#93

Post by klibertp »

SixSigma wrote: post #68
klibertp wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your style of work is of course OK, but I'd like to point out that it's not the only one possible. For example I tend to experiment with code as soon as I think I know what a given task is about. I fire up the REPL, create a new file and start writing. This code is of course never meant to go into production: it's just a way of structuring my thoughts. Often I do this "prototyping" in a different language than the on…

Do you keep a log of your experiments? I found doing so improved both my ability to recall and I also planned ahead about what I was going to test / learn. Drawing diagrams of process flow before coding, mapping code after bashing away, though of course there are tools that automate this, help me. Drawing and writing reflectively is different to doing.

> Do you keep a log of your experiments?

Not always, but when I investigate something particularly interesting or just learned something generally useful I usually convert my playground - be it a dump from the REPL or a file I was scribbling in - into Literate Programming style document. The process of inventing narrative for the code indeed makes it easier to remember. LP is actually a very neat tool I'd like to see more people use.

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#94

Post by eveningcoffee »

What? Are you saying that writing by hand is not taught in US any more?

Are you telling me that American children are cut off from a most basic and easily affordable ability to express their thoughts where only things necessary are pen and paper?

Do I miss something?

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#95

Post by makeset »

KaiserPro wrote: post #56

Handwriting is only good if you can actually read your own handwriting. My handwriting is shit. Terrible. Infact it is so bad I almost failed school. At the age of 5 I was told by various authority figures that I was thick because I couldn't write. I vividly remember being told that some people have dyslexia, and that why they can't write, however I'm just slow, and that I'll have to just try harder. Fortunately my m…

You were lucky. I also almost failed school, 7th grade when they introduced a mandatory handwriting class. As a remedial project, I had to spend that summer copying down encyclopedia pages in cursive, instead of working on my programming projects. My fine motor skills are great though, I just dislike handwriting with a passion.

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#96

Post by godDLL »

grimman wrote: post #84
nathanb wrote: post #77

I hate it that there's such a large dichotomy between typing and handwriting. I hand-write stuff all the time. Not because I'm a doddering fossil or because I'm a luddite or anything like that...I find that hand-writing notes from class helps me remember them better, and hand-writing letters and cards gives a much more personal touch. But then I have all these sheafs of dead trees that I have to deal with. I need to…

One of the best things I did personally was to overhaul my shitty handwriting into something I'm actually happy with, and isn't just "how things panned out". I'm saying this because doing such a thing, in your case, could very well turn out to work towards making your handwriting tech compatible as well, thus eliminating that hurdle. Win-win, really. Edit: As a further advantage, I actively think of the way I write a…

Could you please post an example of your handwriting?

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#97

Post by grimman »

godDLL wrote: post #96
grimman wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the best things I did personally was to overhaul my shitty handwriting into something I'm actually happy with, and isn't just "how things panned out". I'm saying this because doing such a thing, in your case, could very well turn out to work towards making your handwriting tech compatible as well, thus eliminating that hurdle. Win-win, really. Edit: As a further advantage, I actively think of the way I write a…

Could you please post an example of your handwriting?

Sure, here's a small sample: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19268997/20141218_013221...

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#98

Post by KateGladstone »

cafard wrote: post #60

I learned cursive many years ago, and Handwriting was a reliable C- (or maybe D) for me during most of the primary grades. I can write a legible hand now, but find that I use cursive for Christmas cards and notes of condolence. I do take notes with pen and notebook, but generally not in cursive. If a genie showed up offering only one of clearer cursive or better typing, I'd choose the latter.

An alternative to genies: http://www.HandwritingThatWorks.com

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#99

Post by nathanb »

grimman wrote: post #97
godDLL wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you please post an example of your handwriting?

Sure, here's a small sample: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19268997/20141218_013221...

I find all caps / block letters slower to write and harder to read. What made you decide to go with that approach?

Re: Handwriting vs. typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard?

#100

Post by grimman »

nathanb wrote: post #99
grimman wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, here's a small sample: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/19268997/20141218_013221...

I find all caps / block letters slower to write and harder to read. What made you decide to go with that approach?

I think the term is small caps. :) In either case, I went for it when I was 15-16, so it's more than half a lifetime ago. The underlying reason was simply that my handwriting was absolutely terrible, and if notes were left for too long, even I couldn't decipher them.

So... I saw a problem, and I fixed it. ;)

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