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The only advantage of paper notebooks I've seen so far is that in certain specific corporate settings, you'll be seen as more professional/serious/"executive".

The only advantage of paper notebooks I've seen so far is that in certain specific corporate settings, you'll be seen as more professional/serious/"executive". Otherwise, for me, if you want to do art, then sure, paper like any medium is a valid matter of stylistic choice. And I fully understand the tactile and visual pleasure of choosing and touching and interacting with a finely crafted physical product. But if you want to do practical / functional, digital beats paper the way paper beat clay tablets. Just the sheer convenience of having all of my notes and tasks, EVER, organized effortlessly, on any device I happen to be near, is a pure slam dunk. Shareability, automation, reminders, analysis, updates, backups... list goes on. (I'll still be more excited to receive a nice paper letter than a quick text, of course :)

kstrauser 5y ago
Which setting did you have in mind? I’ve brought my iPad with keyboard case to C-suite meetings and felt good about it, but I’m imagining a TV-style board meeting with no electronics to be seen. You summed up my own relationship with paper very well. I don't begrudge people who use it as their primary system, but all the advantages you describe (plus the fact that I can type for infinity while my hand cramps up after a page of writing) make digital the clear winner. I still write paper letters to my mom, but typically by printing them from text and including a picture of the grandkids.
- beckingz 5y ago
  On digital devices it's not clear if you're taking notes or writing an unrelated email. Paper notebooks can't send email, so if a person sees you interacting with it they'll think you're taking notes, which means you're taking them seriously.
  - kstrauser 5y ago
    Yeah, I could see that. Good point. I deal with that in other contexts, like Zoom meetings, by narrating what I’m doing: Coworker: Could you do X for me? Me: OK. I’m writing a reminder to myself here… type type type …which seems to get a positive response from people I’m talking to.

kstrauser 5y ago

Which setting did you have in mind? I’ve brought my iPad with keyboard case to C-suite meetings and felt good about it, but I’m imagining a TV-style board meeting with no electronics to be seen. You summed up my own relationship with paper very well. I don't begrudge people who use it as their primary system, but all the advantages you describe (plus the fact that I can type for infinity while my hand cramps up after a page of writing) make digital the clear winner. I still write paper letters to my mom, but typically by printing them from text and including a picture of the grandkids.

beckingz 5y ago
On digital devices it's not clear if you're taking notes or writing an unrelated email. Paper notebooks can't send email, so if a person sees you interacting with it they'll think you're taking notes, which means you're taking them seriously.
- kstrauser 5y ago
  Yeah, I could see that. Good point. I deal with that in other contexts, like Zoom meetings, by narrating what I’m doing: Coworker: Could you do X for me? Me: OK. I’m writing a reminder to myself here… type type type …which seems to get a positive response from people I’m talking to.