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Tell HN: I'm a programmer who bought a typewriter

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Re: Tell HN: I'm a programmer who bought a typewriter

#21

Post by mkovach »

While I love typing on typewriters, it doesn't compare to writing with a good fountain pen loaded with excellent ink. But more and more, for writing that I intend to end up is some where in the digital void, I have found myself writing writing using WordStar, running DR DOS 7.0 on a ThinkPad T23, using a clone of an IBM M13 keyboard.

So, for my major writing projects it is: * Outline, snippets, and drafts with a fountain pen. * Writing, re-writing, etc. on WordStar. * Typeset (i.e.: prepare digitally) on my regular systems. This is the only place I get distracted.

Re: Tell HN: I'm a programmer who bought a typewriter

#23

Post by randerson »

m463 wrote: post #6

reminds me of when I used a film camera. Looking back a the shots I took... I would just take ONE photo. Group photo with 30 people? One picture. Nowadays I take a ton and pick the best, because they are "free", but suspect I might think less about composing. I think there is something to be said for the need to get it right. Maybe it makes you more mindful.

I recently bought a cheap used Canon 35mm film camera which fits the same EF lenses I already had for my digital SLR. It has proved to be the far more fun camera to take on a photo walk. Not just because I have to think about each shot, but for the delayed gratification of having to wait days/weeks before seeing that it came out as planned.

Re: Tell HN: I'm a programmer who bought a typewriter

#25

Post by agentultra »

veddox wrote: post #12
ivvve wrote: post #11

For me, a fountain pen has fulfilled this function, but in my teens I had a typewriter collection. I still wonder where they all went...

Ditto for the fountain pen. For the past few months I've been trying to switch off the computer as much as possible and do as much writing as I can by hand. I can concentrate a lot better and I enjoy the physicality of handling a good pen and actual paper.

If you want to try something wild: take a side project and do your programming on paper.

Type the code in and run it if you must. But go back and write in pen and ink.

It sounds weird. Programming languages have a lot of funky syntax. You’ll find the impulse to either find short-hand or else you will start structuring the program such that you can keep (parts of) it in your head.

Re: Tell HN: I'm a programmer who bought a typewriter

#28

Post by mberlove »

taylodl wrote: post #3

Having grown up at a time where I was forced to use typewriters and listen to vinyl LP records, I don't wax so nostalgic over those old technologies. As soon as I got my Commodore 64 and my Star Gemini 10x dot matrix printer, I never used a typewriter again! Vinyl took a little longer to get off of as I had (and still have) a fairly significant vinyl collection.

Can I ask, do you find that the benefits that other respondents are claiming (maybe younger respondents) are artifacts of a wishful thinking? Is it possible that the benefits are somewhat real, but come with downsides? I'm not leading in any one direction, but I am curious if the experience is more objective or subjective.
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