99.999% of the time the stuff you read and write is done by keyboard or touchscreen, not pen. The remaining 0.001% of the time, chickenscratch is fine. "Cursive

99.999% of the time the stuff you read and write is done by keyboard or touchscreen, not pen. The remaining 0.001% of the time, chickenscratch is fine. "Cursive" is totally obsolete, get over it. When was the last time you actually sent or received a handwritten letter? Birthday / Christmas cards don't count, I mean a real bona fide handwritten letter. I bet it's been years. The comparison to mathematics is wrong. Writing math by hand is more convenient than futzing around with LaTeX incantations, at least when solving a problem (as opposed to writing up a solution). Some people use a stylus on a tablet; but that's just the same kind of thing by digital means. The process of writing out an equation is part of the way you solve it; you cross out terms as you cancel them, you draw ad hoc arrows, little graphs, circle like terms, and so on. In that context, handwriting is not just a means of expression, it's an effective tool of thought. The day digital input matches that convenience is the day I'll abandon handwritten math; but that day has already come and gone for ordinary prose.