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

theguardian.com

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

#61

Post by duncanawoods »

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…

Out of curiosity, why do you think your handwriting is so bad? Motor skills or something cognitive? E.g. can you draw, solder, sculpt?

Do you believe its a trade-off with a different type of skill that you have as a particular strength?

Mine tends to vary. Occasionally its beautiful, mostly its average and sometimes its scrawl no matter the effort. I'm not sure about the mechanism behind the difference.

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

#62

Post by sklogic »

Jonovono wrote: post #9

Some things I wish: - I could write on paper and have that sent to a document on the computer as if it was typed out. Something like those digital pens do, but actually ocr the text. - To learn Stenography ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpv-Qb-dB6g )

LiveScribe, as far as I remember, actually do OCR the text.

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

#63

Post by Pamar »

olefoo wrote: post #50

I'm kind of surprised that the popularity of tablets hasn't enabled a resurgence of calligraphy. I mean tablets are ideal for practicing calligraphy. You draw your shapes and if they aren't good, don't have rhythm and don't sing; erase and start over.

Except that on most tablets and with most "styli" your penmanship does not really work. Most calligraphy effects depend on two elements: how much pressure you apply, and how fast you move on paper (this is especially true for Eastern calligraphy, but I suppose it holds for western styles, too)... pressure requires an expensive stylus, and a tablet that can interact with it (usually by Bluetooth) so it requires quite an investment (a cheap fountain pen will cost you 1/20th of it probably, a good roller gel pen would cost even less).

About the speed, I suppose it's less of a problem than pressure, but low-cost tablets would probably struggle with that, too.

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

#64

Post by Htsthbjig »

I use handwriting a lot, on tablets.

Handwriting lets you express in an artistic way, in some ways it is like voice, as it let's you use nuances.

We use mindmaps a lot, and graphs and drawings, storyboards. They are very powerful tools for communicating with other humans.

Text alone is so rigid, rational, absent of emotions.

(normal)Keyboards are very slow, if what you want is velocity, learn stenography.

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

#65

Post by icantthinkofone »

On the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, years ago, they had a contest between a ham radio operator using Morse code and a 20-something texting to his friend. Morse code was faster.

Therefore, I propose we all exchange texting for Morse code.

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

#66

Post by hessenwolf »

andreastt wrote: post #15

I'm constantly bewildered by this notion that writing by hand is slow and thus bad, and that typing is fast and consequently good. In my daily routine work as a programmer I find most of my work consists of thinking rather than writing. Or to twist the words a little: I don't think my typing impairs my creative ability, because the hard part of my job is thinking out the right solution. If you can't hold that thought…

Entirely as a result of my years of coding, I am an embarrassing typist. Super-quick touch-typing and rattly noises, but I live on the backspace key. I live so much on the backspace key, that I think it kills any efficiency.

I should probably play that zombie learn-to-type game or something for a while.

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

#67

Post by Al-Khwarizmi »

ohquu wrote: post #11
Xcelerate wrote: post #4

I can't stand writing. It's slow and it's messy, and I can't read a lot of other people's handwriting. I write about 30 words per minute and I type 167 wpm. Perhaps there are some cognitive benefits but I'm willing to give them up in exchange for the ease of getting my thoughts down quickly. The only case that I still prefer handwriting is doing math. It's much easier for me to write out equations and "explore" thing…

What are you typing at 167 wpm? I played on typeracer.com and topped out around 130 wpm.

I just tried, exactly 100 wpm. Wow, I thought I was a fast typer, but it seems I still have a way to go...

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

#68

Post by SixSigma »

klibertp wrote: post #54
andreastt wrote: post #15

I'm constantly bewildered by this notion that writing by hand is slow and thus bad, and that typing is fast and consequently good. In my daily routine work as a programmer I find most of my work consists of thinking rather than writing. Or to twist the words a little: I don't think my typing impairs my creative ability, because the hard part of my job is thinking out the right solution. If you can't hold that thought…

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.

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

#69

Post by moron4hire »

w1ntermute wrote: post #5
cwe wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. There's just something about the pen and paper right there, ready to go, always. Even on a phone, with the app open, you'll probably have to unlock the screen first, and tap or something to bring up the keyboard and start typing.

This assumes that you actually have a pen and paper with you at all times. I don't know about you, but there are a lot of times when I don't. Also, the amount of time it takes to unlock my phone's screen, open Evernote, and create a new note is actually less than that required to open my bag (if I have it with me), take out a notebook, open another compartment, take out a pen, close both compartments, open the notebo…

This is why I specifically use a Fischer space pen and a small, pocket-sized notebook. They go on the same pile on my dresser with my other daily wear items, like my wallet. You just have to get into a habit of wearing them.

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

#70

Post by normloman »

What a false dichotomy. Nobody's saying we should stop teaching kids to write. We're just not teaching them cursive. If writing by hand helps kids learn to read, they will still receive these benefits as they learn to write in print.

Does anyone know of a school that doesn't teach print anymore?

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