The Demise Of Handwriting

September 20, 2013

The pen--the typewriter--electronic devices: all these are merely tools for the preservation and dissemination of our thoughts and ideas in the form of written words. Electronic devices constitute valuable additions to our armamentarium of such tools. They are often misused; but they do not have to be. The modern world does indeed present us with fewer opportunities for the practice of handwriting than the world of our fathers. This being said, I submit that handwriting remains as essential a skill as ever. Firstly, there remain, and will always remain (in all likelihood) situations in which the pen is the most efficient tool for the task at hand. Secondly, the demise of handwriting would cut us off from several millennia of our cultural heritage--which would be disastrous. Thirdly, wisdom dictates that he who utilizes computer devices for the performance of tasks must possess the skills to execute such tasks using the pre-computer technologies for which the computer is the "metaphor." If I would engrave a musical score using computerized music notation programs, I should not get very far, unless I also knew how to hand-write such a score with pen and paper. Fourthly, it is a virtual certainty, given the nature of things, that society will face cataclysmic events--perhaps of lengthy duration--in which the ability to fall back on pen and paper will be essential for both the preservation of our civilization, and for the process of recovery. The teaching of handwriting therefore remains essential for the welfare of civilization itself.

September 20, 2013

Speaking of the preservation of civilization, wasn't it the Irish monks (many of whom were also talented scribes and artists) who, located beyond the reach of the destruction of the Dark Ages, with their books and manuscripts, were instrumental in bringing "civilization" back from the brink of destruction?

September 21, 2013

When I want to learn about something, I generally do it at a computer.

When I want to *understand* something, I grab a pencil and some paper and work through it.

Oddly enough, a marker and a dry-erase board is not as effective for me as pencil and paper in regards to internalizing new understanding. I find with the dry-erase board I remember the conclusion but not the derivation. When using pencil and paper, I more clearly remember how I got to the conclusion.

I do not understand this nor do I expect that this is true of everyone else, but I wouldn't be surprised if others have noticed something similar for themselves.

--flatline

September 21, 2013

The problem here isn't really "the demise of handwriting", is it? It's the "demise of brains that have anything worthwhile to write about".

Writing requires more mental exercise than the virtual vomiting of words on the internet. Actual writing is a much slower process than typing away; average wpm typing is 40, while writing hovers around 30 longhand. Also, one is more selective of words when writing by hand; there's a different mental impact on actually writing out "go die" and typing that out.

Therefore, when one writes with a pen and ink, I think we put more value - and therefore more thought - into what we write before actually lettering out the words onto paper.

But what if your world was entirely comprised of video games, pop music that will probably be forgotten in three years, Twilight, and TV? I'm not saying any of it is bad, just like chocolate isn't a bad food per se, or an occasional chips... but just as a diet entirely comprised of junk food and soft drinks are all "empty calories", those materials aforementioned are, probably, "empty calories for the brain". If information is nourishment for the mind, you'd want some information with "nutritional" value too.

The problem, I think, isn't that people don't write. It's that they rarely have anything to write about, or the skill. A brain with no thoughts in it will not be able to produce writing, regardless of the medium.

Very true indeed