Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking • Hacker News Board

Re: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking

#21

Post by SiVal » Mon, Dec 22, 2014, 2:52 AM UTC

pandaman wrote: post #20

SiVal wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been measured by researchers, and cursive provided no speed advantage over printing. That's why it's so easy and common for people who know how to write in cursive to revert to printing all the time even after years of cursive in school. Cursive as a non-art, general writing system was developed because of the need to keep the pen nib in contact with the paper as much as possible to draw the ink drop forward…

Have researchers ever published they research? Also, appreciate downvotes from the illiterate :)

Yes, it has definitely been published in academic journals in the education field. I apologize for being lazy about looking it up, but if you're interested, go to scholar.google.com and search for cursive writing and whatever else makes sense to you. The question of whether or not to teach cursive in school has been an ongoing controversy in the education field (in the US) for many years, so it has been formally researched in various ways.

Not surprisingly, of course, the research doesn't simply settle the policy issue. People's opinions about educational policy are strong and the general quality of research in the field is, IMO, pretty weak, so it's only quoted when it supports your opinion and doesn't change anybody else's opinions.

Also, I'll give you a couple of upvotes to hopefully neutralize any downvotes.

Re: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking

#22

Post by tjl » Mon, Dec 22, 2014, 3:50 AM UTC

agumonkey wrote: post #14

tjl wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I improved my grades in the later undergrad years by taking the notes from class and re-writing them in a nice form (like you using colour and cleaning it up) into bound notebooks, like the kind used for log books. Then, if I needed to review for a test, I just grabbed the book. Now, I have a handy set of books on my shelf.

I'll add that the constraints forced me to focus on what was new and counter-intuitive to me. Limited space meant I'll have to trim away what felt obvious, and only keep the obscure.

The only problem with trimming away something you feel is obvious is that if you need to go back to the notes quite some time afterwards, it might not appear obvious at that time. It's just like when you don't comment something in code and when you go back to it, you're wondering what you were thinking when you wrote it.

Re: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking

#23

Post by pandaman » Mon, Dec 22, 2014, 3:36 PM UTC

SiVal wrote: post #21

pandaman wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have researchers ever published they research? Also, appreciate downvotes from the illiterate :)

Yes, it has definitely been published in academic journals in the education field. I apologize for being lazy about looking it up, but if you're interested, go to scholar.google.com and search for cursive writing and whatever else makes sense to you. The question of whether or not to teach cursive in school has been an ongoing controversy in the education field (in the US) for many years, so it has been formally rese…

I actually read many articles on the topic of handwriting so saying "go to google and find my arguments for me" is wasted on me. There is no research that is simultaneously believable and saying what you are saying. Most I could find that was supporting your opinion were people comparing some canonical cursive script to other forms of cursive writing and saying that fastest writers are not using the canonical script the schools in the USA are teaching but are writing connected letters as opposite to typing each letter separately. But just to be sure I did a search as you suggested and found that cursive is now the new enemy of the Left in the US (the Common Core thing, right?). This explains the hostility and points to the futility of any further discussion so I will bow out.