4 ms·

Maybe it's just as well. Ballpoint pens are terrible. How The Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pen

by jonah 11y ago

Maybe it's just as well. Ballpoint pens are terrible. How The Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pens-object-lesson-history-handwriting/402205/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpo... Discussed earlier this year: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141874 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10141874

civilian 11y ago
As a lefty, cursive can stay dead.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  Hello fellow lefty. What do you use to write on paper these days? I've got the last remaining good Bic Reactive pens stashed at work, but I don't think I can get any more.
  - pocketstar 11y ago
    Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink 0.5(Made in Japan) is the best left friendly pen I have used to date, ink dries instantly so no lefty smudge. The sharpie pen is a close second.
  - a_e_k 11y ago
    I usually carry around a Pilot G-2 these days. I've been pretty happy with them and they're easy to find in stores when I need more. In general, I'll favor a gel pen with fast-drying ink.
  - rtpg 11y ago
    I buy boxes of Uni Jetstream 0.5mm (black) pens, they're really great (major problem being I put them in my pocket so they tend to travel between bags/desks). just the right feel for my left hand. http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Standard-Ballpoint-Pen-0.5-mm-Black-Ink-White-Body/pd/3232 http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Standard-Ballpoint-Pen-...
- metafex 11y ago
  I write cursive with a Pilot G-Tec C4 and am a lefty. I also tend to write very small and generally never had a problem with fine tips, thicker tips and fountain pens OTOH disagree with me. So i guess it's just a matter of trying things (and pens) out :)
- fractallyte 11y ago
  That's because you're writing incorrectly! The sinistrous among us should be writing right-to-left. Yeah, OK, so most people may need a mirror to read it - but it's natural for you. Aside: the world is terribly 'right biased'. With all the other individualist movements of our era, why not a 'Sinistra Liberation Front' or something similar...?
  - dTal 11y ago
    Kind of off-topic, but it might interest you to learn that adults are left-hemispace biased - consistently, we tend to scan the left side of our field of vision first, and in video games preferentially shoot at targets on our left. This holds true to a surprising degree across all the potential causes people have thought to test for so far - lefties do it, people in countries where they drive on the other side, people in countries where they read right-to-left... So, while I'm sure the world is annoyingly biased against lefties, not all of the asymmetry you see is because of handedness.
- keithpeter 11y ago
  I was brought up on italic handwriting like many in the UK, it works for me. I personally can't write for a long time with a biro / ball point pen of any make or expense because of the tightness of the grip needed as mentioned in the article cited above (not the OA). My test is simple, can the pen make a mark on the paper when I drag it down the page without any pressure other than the weight of the pen? If so, its fine, if not, I can use it for forms but not much else.

by jonah 11y ago

civilian 11y ago

As a lefty, cursive can stay dead.

voltagex_ 11y ago
Hello fellow lefty. What do you use to write on paper these days? I've got the last remaining good Bic Reactive pens stashed at work, but I don't think I can get any more.
- pocketstar 11y ago
  Pentel EnerGel Liquid Gel Ink 0.5(Made in Japan) is the best left friendly pen I have used to date, ink dries instantly so no lefty smudge. The sharpie pen is a close second.
- a_e_k 11y ago
  I usually carry around a Pilot G-2 these days. I've been pretty happy with them and they're easy to find in stores when I need more. In general, I'll favor a gel pen with fast-drying ink.
- rtpg 11y ago
  I buy boxes of Uni Jetstream 0.5mm (black) pens, they're really great (major problem being I put them in my pocket so they tend to travel between bags/desks). just the right feel for my left hand. http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Standard-Ballpoint-Pen-0.5-mm-Black-Ink-White-Body/pd/3232 http://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Standard-Ballpoint-Pen-...
metafex 11y ago
I write cursive with a Pilot G-Tec C4 and am a lefty. I also tend to write very small and generally never had a problem with fine tips, thicker tips and fountain pens OTOH disagree with me. So i guess it's just a matter of trying things (and pens) out :)
fractallyte 11y ago
That's because you're writing incorrectly! The sinistrous among us should be writing right-to-left. Yeah, OK, so most people may need a mirror to read it - but it's natural for you. Aside: the world is terribly 'right biased'. With all the other individualist movements of our era, why not a 'Sinistra Liberation Front' or something similar...?
- dTal 11y ago
  Kind of off-topic, but it might interest you to learn that adults are left-hemispace biased - consistently, we tend to scan the left side of our field of vision first, and in video games preferentially shoot at targets on our left. This holds true to a surprising degree across all the potential causes people have thought to test for so far - lefties do it, people in countries where they drive on the other side, people in countries where they read right-to-left... So, while I'm sure the world is annoyingly biased against lefties, not all of the asymmetry you see is because of handedness.
keithpeter 11y ago
I was brought up on italic handwriting like many in the UK, it works for me. I personally can't write for a long time with a biro / ball point pen of any make or expense because of the tightness of the grip needed as mentioned in the article cited above (not the OA). My test is simple, can the pen make a mark on the paper when I drag it down the page without any pressure other than the weight of the pen? If so, its fine, if not, I can use it for forms but not much else.