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Cursive is awful, with no practical redeeming values. The only reason to learn cursive is if you are a historian who has to delve into primary sources where it
by douche 10y ago
Cursive is awful, with no practical redeeming values. The only reason to learn cursive is if you are a historian who has to delve into primary sources where it was used. If you want to fuss with it, fine, but like calligraphy, it should be an art form, rather than something we waste time teaching universally.
It'd be better if everyone learned mechanical drafting lettering[1]. It's not particularly difficult, and it is clear and unambiguous and everyone can read it with ease.
[1] http://rvhs-denyer.com/web-back/cad/units&tasks/led-ch-5-lettering/led-lettering-ch-5-text.htm#5.1_Single-Stroke_Lettering_ http://rvhs-denyer.com/web-back/cad/units&tasks/led-ch-5-let...
- zeveb 10y ago> Cursive is awful, with no practical redeeming values. Being able to write quickly seems pretty redeeming. Note too that there are different forms of cursive. I'd agree that the Palmer method is awful (seriously, the letterforms are grotesque), but Italic cursive (e.g. http://s226.photobucket.com/user/caliken_2007/media/zapf5601-1.jpg.html http://s226.photobucket.com/user/caliken_2007/media/zapf5601...) is beautiful.
- Nullabillity 10y ago> Being able to write quickly seems pretty redeeming. Then use a keyboard.
- Grue3 10y agoWhich you carry everywhere with you?
- mordocai 10y ago> Cursive is awful, with no practical redeeming values. I've not seen a study, but the classic advantage of cursive that is still brought up today is that it is faster than print. Personally for fun and potential faster writing I've just started learning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencerian_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencerian_script. My handwriting is awful (both print and cursive) so unfortunately I won't be a good test case on whether it is easier to write fast legible cursive than print unless I also go relearn print.
- joezydeco 10y agoMy son has attention issues and his handwriting is atrocious. Strays off the lines, regularly forgets letters and punctuation, lots of errors. We've discovered that making him write his homework in cursive slows his mental processes down enough that his accuracy and concentration are easily an order of magnitude higher than if he was printing. Cursive has a highly practical value for some people.
- tjr 10y agoDon Knuth has said that he prefers writing on paper instead of writing on the computer because he types much faster than he thinks; handwriting is closer to the speed of his thoughts.
- pjc50 10y agoCursive is a compromise between speed and readability when writing with a pen. I'd be very surprised to see someone write drafting lettering at the speed of cursive. (There's a case to be made for Pitman shorthand, but it was never popular since it can't be read without training either) It feels rather weird that cursive might be dying out; while I never had "copperplate" handwriting and always struggled a bit as a left-hander, I did all my exams in cursive and I still find it encourages a slightly different mode of thinking from typing.
- Nadya 10y agoAs someone into calligraphy, I agree entirely. People claim it is faster to write - but there is no way I can write faster than I can type and in the past 12 years, I've had zero reason to write at all, outside of practicing calligraphy (Chancery Italic to be specific). If the only supporting argument is cursive is "faster" and you must write, not type, then you will absolutely not beat shorthand. Learn Gregg shorthand [1], not cursive. If you want your handwriting to "look nice", treat it as an art form, because that is what you are doing when aesthetics supercedes practicality. [0] https://calligraphyalaphbets.imgur.com/ https://calligraphyalaphbets.imgur.com/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_shorthand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_shorthand
- antisthenes 10y agoComparing shorthand and regular writing is a disingenuous way to make an argument, to say the least. It's like comparing a text file with the same file, but compressed in some obscure format, like ACE. You'll spend orders of magnitude more time finding a single person who can read your shorthand than learning it and writing whatever it was that needed to be written. The advantage of normal writing (whether cursive or hybrid cursive/print) is that, in theory, barring extreme cases, everyone can read it or at least guess the context from the words. The Gregg shorthand you linked looks like a bunch of scribbles and might as well be Chinese glyphs or Hebrew to a layman. If the goal is to write notes for personal use, I think that time's long gone and most information is available online and can be easily referenced in seconds with search queries (unlike a hand written notebook, where you must store a mental index of the contents). > If you want your handwriting to "look nice", treat it as an art form, because that is what you are doing when aesthetics supercedes practicality. It doesn't need to "look nice", just legible enough to convey information or a part information, from which the rest can be inferred by context.
- jdietrich 10y agoCursive is pitifully slow compared to modern writing systems. The basic Teeline shorthand alphabet can be learned very quickly; with practice, speeds of over 100wpm are easily achievable. Cursive is, quite simply, obsolete. It's slower than shorthand or typing and less legible than print. It is enormously time-consuming to learn and can cause a great deal of confusion for children who are already struggling with print letterforms. Teach typing, teach shorthand, teach stenography, but stop wasting classroom time with an archaic writing system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeline_Shorthand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeline_Shorthand
- mordocai 10y agoI guess if everyone was taught shorthand like everyone is taught regular writing that might work out. However, in the current world if you want other people to read your writing either good cursive or good print are your best bets. If you just want to write for yourself, do whatever you want.
- gumby 10y ago> Cursive is awful, with no practical redeeming values. I guess you never learnt what it was for. Your statement is like saying "functional programing is awful, with no practical redeeming value" (or microservices, or goto). It has a role that is quite useful for some purposes. Apparently you don't have the need.
- chadgeidel 10y agoIt's unfortunate that your opinion is being downvoted and refuted with other's opinions.
- douche 10y agoIt's always fun to see the way people react when you attack one of their sacred cows.
- joezydeco 10y agoIn my particular case above, I have concrete evidence it has value. Not really an opinion at all. Teachers and therapists have independently confirmed it works for my son's case.
- chadgeidel 10y agoI appreciate your specific comment with evidence, but it originally was unnecessarily hostile. I see you've edited it to remove that. Most people replying here are not citing specific examples - just spouting their anecdotes.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- joezydeco 10y agoIf one chooses that as a username, I'd figure it was hostile to begin with.
- ad-hominem 10y agoAd-hominem.