How do y'all feel about writing things by hand?

On one hand (heh) there's apparently evidence to suggest that handwriting activates parts of the brain which aren't typically activated by just typing something out. I can see how that would be the case and why it could sometimes be useful.

On the other, the idea of carrying a little notebook around to jot things down when I have a phone in my pocket, or using a fountain pen for longform text (trust me it would actually help you avoid hand cramps, aside from being less wasteful) all comes across as... intentionally inefficient? I struggle to see intentional inefficiency as anything but pretension. Like it's all just fetishizing living a more analogue life.

It actually makes the techbro in me think there's something to companies like Supernote and Boox and ReMarkable making e-ink tables that exist mainly so that what you do choose to write by hand can be digitized, stored and made searchable.

I suppose that's actually exactly why people tend to journal in physical notebooks? Because what you put down in there will just disappear unless you crack open that notebook again.

...Meanwhile I'm pretty sure a lot of people feel that writing things by hand gets their creative juices flowing. That's sort of interesting to me, because personally, by the time I'm finished writing a single sentence whatever I was thinking about is halfway gone. If I don't get it down real quick my thoughts will drift to something else entirely, so when I had to handwrite essays in primary school I'd get completely stuck in a way I never do just typing things.

TL;DR someone who's bad at empathy talks about handwriting as if everyone else experiences the world exactly the same way, please knock him off of his stupid pedestal

razorwiregoatlick,
razorwiregoatlick avatar

I am a software engineer and I hand write all the time. To me it is better if what I am writing is a work in progress. Typing is too constricting and makes me feel like I can’t make mistakes. I like to write it out. Cross or scribble things out etc. until it is the way I want it. Then I type it out.

ShadowRam,

Handwriting no. Waste of time.

Drawing the beginnings of a layout by hand, that makes sense and it's faster than trying to draw something with a mouse.

elleyena_rose,

I like to do both. There are times where I need to type everything, because my typing speed can keep up with my thoughts. I can get all of the thoughts out of my head quickly, and clear my head so I can focus. It's also easier to do in some places, like when I'm at work - typing myself a quick note and then emailing it to my home email (or saving it in drive), is much faster and more likely to make it where I need it to go. I tend to forget physical items at work.

Writing by hand I use for journaling. For slowing down and taking time to do something. For magic - where I want to put intention and energy into the words and sometimes burn the paper after. For when my eyes are so sick of screens that I just need a break, but still need to get those thoughts out. I'd also rather handwrite something then type it on my phone - Eventually I need to get one with a stylus so I can just write on the screen.

It's the same reason I usually draw things by hand, then scan them to digitize. I have a tablet. I use it for digitization. But my art is generally better by hand.

SenorBolsa, (edited )
@SenorBolsa@beehaw.org avatar

I like doing math problems written out by hand, it's just much nicer to have the freedom to make whatever marks you want and put things wherever you want/need, I really see the appeal in that regard. I could get good at using some of the math typing tools out there but they just don't allow the same kind of flow.

Otherwise, it really just makes my hand hurt and being left handed adds an extra level of inconvenience to it.

warhammercasey,

Definitely typing but whenever I have to take notes for a class I need to hand write it since typing equations is awful in comparison

chillybones,

I type for a living (developer) and I find that I can type WAY faster than I can write. So that is how I prefer to communicate with people and interact with most things during my day. However, when I am on a meeting or a call, I just cannot multitask well enough to capture key details on a computer. I have no idea what my disconnect with that is, but I've given up on trying to type notes and memos while I'm on a call and invested in a fountain pen and a good pad of paper. I will mention that I do really enjoy the feel of a really good pen on paper and maybe that type of feedback is what lets my brain take handwritten notes better.

Nyoelle,

Honestly, depends. I find both non-hand writing, and hand-writing to be important.

Generally, I prefer to write.. with keyboard. And, plaintext org via org-roam files with git are really pleasant to use, and organize.

But math? Or some uni stuff? Writing is a bit more.. fitting. Buut, plain paper won't work for me.

Here, e-ink devices come into the play. E.g Onyx Tab Ultra. Really comfy to make notes on. And then later, I can export to pdf, and sync them across devices via syncthing.

Kaldo,
@Kaldo@beehaw.org avatar

I loved writing on actual paper when I was younger. I miss it but the truth is that its simply inconvenient when we all have auto syncing smartphones and pcs with ability to edit and copy paste and all of that.

I only bring out paper when I need to visualize something complex and it's usually a mess by the time I'm done, and indecipherable by the next week.

nfld0001,
@nfld0001@beehaw.org avatar

Personally I've always had a strong preference and better time with typing compared to writing.

Maybe it was because I was put in front of a keyboard at a relatively early age, or maybe because I was on a computer more than many of my peers? Maybe it's related to potential traits that could come with being AuDHD that I was never raised to consider? Maybe it's being left-handed and writing in a left-to-right written language? It's probably a loose combination of all of these.

My typing is quicker than my peers, but I think that gets compounded with my writing being slower, too. I'd say that my handwriting is legible enough, but I just absolutely cannot write at an efficient speed compared to a lot of other people. I don't necessarily mind taking things slow, but it means I miss out on info that others wouldn't. Having the ability to type my notes starting around late high school and going into college was a serious boon for my notetaking. Before then, I'd have a solid idea of what I wanted to jot down, but the class would be leaps and bounds ahead by the time I wrapped up a bullet point. Getting pencil lead or pen ink all over my fingers certainly didn't help my ability to keep up, either.

I also find a lot more benefit from doing notes digitally compared to by hand. I really appreciate being able to tag things and search around loosely, and I find myself much more capable of shifting things around and getting things to look just the way I want them compared to doing so on a notebook. Sometimes there's quirks with my notetaking app of the time that'll grind my gears, but it's ultimately a better experience than doing it by hand for me. Need to shift something from one section to another? What about from one page to another? No problem, Cut-and-Paste is something that any program will have. I'm not gonna do that cleanly and quickly on paper. Need to make a table or put in an image? Most if not all of the notetaking apps I'll use will be capable of that, whereas doing that by hand will take me much longer. Is there something I really need to write or draw by hand? Likewise, most if not all notetaking apps I use let me switch between the two when I'm on a device that lets me take advantage of that. I don't have the freedom to choose how I do that on paper.

While I get that there's a lot of evidence out there that says people remember things better when written down compared to writing, that's just…never been my experience? I never felt a strong difference in how I remember something or how creative I am whether I write it or type it. If anything, I personally find it easier to remember things or explore things when I do it digitally. By all means, if someone does better with writing, I say let them write. But personally, being forced to write has only been a disservice.

All that said, there is a place in me for writing or generally working physically, however. It's still oftentimes a lot easier and privacy respecting to directly hand strangers a note jot down on a pocketbook than it is to juggle contact info and send it over. Physical notes can also be placed to be read later in a way that digital notes can't. And no matter the preparation I do, I'd say there's always a higher chance for my digital devices to die on me compared to my physical ones. It doesn't get nearly as much use as my phone, and most days I don't need it, but I keep a lil' pocketbook and a few pens on me to fill those edge cases.

RichByy,
@RichByy@beehaw.org avatar

I just like it. Writing with a fountain pen is much more HANDS ON than writing something down on a phone or (bad) laptop keyboards. Especially if your pen is higher quality. Although a nice mechanical keyboard can be quite nice (I like tactiles a lot).

The practical thing also is: If you keep your notes well organized, it can actually be much more accessible. I dunno, I have spent my entire life with PCs, but they feel "cluttered" so quickly and require so many revisions of organisation.

Having both is useful though, so I keep physical versions and scan them later to also have them digitally available AND not having to use those evil, evil printers who want me to buy more ink...

storksforlegs,
@storksforlegs@beehaw.org avatar

I dont think its fetishizing analogness to use a notebook, though I can see how someone might think that. :)

But its not impractical if someone finds handwriting to be more productive. Many people hand writing just gets their brain working differently, for whatever reason. (Also its just more enjoyable for me personally, to use a good pen, haha, Im easily impressed I guess)

Also might be a generational thing, nobody ever had computers in high school and university classes, so I hand wrote notes pretty fast in notebooks and wrote essays into my twenties. Also Im very kinaesthetic when it comes to learning so I remember far better if i physically write them on paper. However someone who went through school with a laptop in class probably would feel the opposite. And that is ok! Whatever works.

Leafeytea,

I don't see choosing to handwrite inefficient or pretentious. I see it as something familiar that I enjoy because I have had a journal since my teens.

As a trained professional working with older adults, I also know that keeping up writing can help promote brain health. There has been plenty of research published on this, including that regular practice of reading and writing can help stave off onset of dementia in older adults, so it's basically brain exercise.

That said, I write grants for work, narratives for our contracts and so forth, so I also appreciate that when under a time crunch I can bang out something fast on my keyboard after I have spent a little time drafting out initial ideas.

At the end of the day, I think a lot of this just depends on your views about writing in general (regardless of the tools you use); some people hate it no matter what they have to do on. Meanwhile, there are old gits like me that you have pry out of bookstores with a crowbar because after my scanning of the SciFi section, I get busy having too much fun snooping through the isles displaying leather journals and pots of fountain pen ink in goofy colours, and packs of stationary with cute designs. 😂

Pen or keyboard, it's all good.

KasanMoor,

None of my bookstores have journals or ink! You're very lucky wherever you live, I have to order all my stuff online.

I'm a game developer so I'm frequently in front of a computer and take a lot of notes that way, but nothing quite feels the same as a nice fountain pen, and anecdotally I feel like I do recall things I handwrite a lot better than those I type.

...for memory retention though it can go either way really, because if you handwrite it you just remember it better, but if you type it up you have it instantly indexable searchable wherever so remembering it isn't as important because you can find it immediately.

brie,

For me, I prefer typing for just plain text, however things involving diagrams and equations can be easier to write out, rather than futzing around scrolling and adjusting the layout.

Also, as a side note, I think 0.3 mechanical pencils are underrated for writing.

buckykat,

It’s simply untenable if I expect anyone else to read it. When I was in school I even had a 504 plan to avoid handwriting assignments and used an alphasmart for a while.

wildeaboutoskar,
@wildeaboutoskar@beehaw.org avatar

Writing by hand is definitely the main way I learn. The act of writing it embeds it in my memory moreso than looking at a screen.

I wonder how much of that is down to how we were taught though and it being more familiar and linked with education and cognition. Someone must have done a study on this somewhere.

nfld0001,
@nfld0001@beehaw.org avatar

I wonder how much of that is down to how we were taught though and it being more familiar and linked with education and cognition.

I'd be curious to learn more about that as well. I never felt a strong difference in embedding to memory between writing or typing something, but my dad also started putting me in front of computers as early as when I was, like, 4? I by no means can't speak on it academically, but anecdotally speaking, I'd suspect that getting in front of a mouse and keyboard relatively early on might've played a part in that?

I'd like to see some professional research into it, but I'm also interested in more anecdotes. Do you think you got into computers around the same time as your peers? Earlier or later? I'd also like to hear from anyone else if they wanna chime in 🤔.

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