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The End of Handwriting

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51–60 of 338 posts

Re: The End of Handwriting

#51
post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

In Poland you started with a pencil, but as you got more proficient you could switch to a fountain pen. I never did.

As a leftie I was forced to do exercised designed for "normal" children, that were just painful. Thinking about using "normal" scissors with my left hand makes me sad and angry almost 40 years later. But I do enjoy a nice fountain pen and a thick paper - it's relaxing.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#52
post #41
post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

As I am mainly left-handed, I learned to like writing with a nice wooden pencil, like Faber-Castell, and a sharpener. Then, if it is something serious and if it is possible to use a felt pen, I use Staedtler or Faber-Castell felt pens in different sizes. I hate ballpoint pens.

Have you tried a good fountain pen? A good nib makes all the difference.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#53
post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

Any tips for lefties? I find in very difficult to avoid complete smudgification of everything I write with a fountain pen, since it takes so much longer for the ink to dry.

Try different inks.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#54

Physically written materials are such a huge part of our archaeological understanding of the human past. In my mind digital materials are always dangerously close to non-existence, even if cloud redundancy and our apparent inability to fully delete things from the internet make us feel digital materials are well protected. The persistence of this data basically boils down to magnetic fields. Without power, these will…

yeah sadly both things can be true, the data we value for privacy is incredibly sticky, and the data with sentimental value to us is incredibly fragile.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I write almost exclusively with fountain pens, and it hasn't helped my handwriting at all. Not sure why you think it would help.

That's probably because YOU use a cheap fountain pen. ;)

I use a cheap (£20) fountain pen it doesn't affect how good my writing is. That's practice not tools :)

Re: The End of Handwriting

#56
post #33
post #7

I don't see a lot of people still writing with quills, and there's a reason for that, yet there have been no catastrophic consequences, excepting maybe for "Big Quill". Personally, I think this veers into hyperbole a bit. The degradation in motor skills is barely measurable when compared to common tasks required of people today and we're talking about a skill that has less and less use cases every day. I believe this…

If you don't want to be replaced by machine you need a skill which machine can't replicate and train that skill somehow. Or become a very good machine operator.

Machines that can hand write already exist: https://bantamtools.com/collections/bantam-tools-nextdraw

Re: The End of Handwriting

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's probably because YOU use a cheap fountain pen. ;)

I use a cheap (£20) fountain pen it doesn't affect how good my writing is. That's practice not tools :)

You sound like one of the never tired shills of the Peasant's Handwriting Tools Club. Your terrible lot really knows no shame. :(

Re: The End of Handwriting

#58
post #10

PSA for people with "bad cursive handwriting" but who would like to improve it: Write with FOUNTAIN PENS. Ideally on thicker paper, with something soft below (like more paper for example). Different writing systems evolved alongside different utensils. Cursive evolved to be written with a quill or a fountain pen. Ballpoint pens are an amazing invention and they have their place, but they optimize for price and practi…

As an alternative, for people who dislike fountain pens -or stained hands-, I'd suggest a Tombow Fudenosuke marker pen. There're two variants, with a softer or harder tip, and there's a pack with both so it's easy to try both. The softer one produces a heavier result.

There are other brands, of course; Pentel has a similar marker and some other smaller brands too. I just think the Tombow is very nice and easy enough to find.

These pens are sort of the modern version of the Japanese calligraphy brush, so they're nice for writing but much more practical.

Re: The End of Handwriting

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a cheap (£20) fountain pen it doesn't affect how good my writing is. That's practice not tools :)

You sound like one of the never tired shills of the Peasant's Handwriting Tools Club. Your terrible lot really knows no shame. :(

I don't know what that is and googling gets me nothing. I'm also unclear how saying "you don't need a £200 fountain pen to write well" offended you. Have a great day anyway.
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