6 ms·

I think handwriting is a very personal trait. Some people value good handwriting and they write neat even when they write fast. Others don't. Sadly, a vast majo

I think handwriting is a very personal trait. Some people value good handwriting and they write neat even when they write fast. Others don't. Sadly, a vast majority if the world exists in the other camp. This is why they invented typewriters. If everyone conformed to good handwriting and could agree upon a good writing style standard, the world would have been very different.

eru 2y ago
> This is why they invented typewriters. Historically, that didn't seem to be the main reason for the many inventions of the typewriter. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter#History
- imoverclocked 2y ago
  That wikipedia article was a great read but I have to agree with GP. > According to the standards taught in secretarial schools in the mid-20th century, a business letter was supposed to have no mistakes and no visible corrections. Certainly, there were other reasons like speed, repeatability, official-looking, etc... too. Most typewriters wanted to be cheaper and on-demand printing presses. Some even managed variable width fonts! :)
  - eru 2y ago
    Oh, the original comment is certainly right in spirit, I just wanted to be pedantic. But I'm not sure why you quote something about the md-20th century, when we are talking about the (many) invention(s) of the typewriter? They were already old and well-established technology at that point in time.
sfilmeyer 2y ago
I've known people who valued good handwriting but weren't particularly capable of writing neatly, and others who didn't particularly value it but were capable of staying neat while writing quickly. I think you might be overestimating how much of it is tied to what people value.
solveit 2y ago
I like good handwriting, but good, fast handwriting takes thousands of hours of practice. We used to spend a good chunk of school drilling it into kids, but now it's really hard to justify everyone spend that kind of time when we can technology our way around it and there are other valuable skills to learn.
- imoverclocked 2y ago
  That’s the same argument for using calculators in the past 30 years and ChatGPT in the last few years. At some point, we lose far more than we gain by “technology our way around” our early development. Why bother having campfires when we have portable space heaters? Heck, why bother camping at all if we have a nice comfortable space at home? More generally, why do any of the things that connect us to our past? Personally, I think it’s important to learn by doing and then provide a “here is how we made that easier, and now you know why” type of foundation. Perhaps better is having people develop versions of those solutions for themselves so we don’t just expect someone else to solve all of our problems.
  - Neonlicht 2y ago
    If you live in an urbanised country you don't build a lot of campfires- besides there are rules on air quality that prohibit them.

eru 2y ago

> This is why they invented typewriters. Historically, that didn't seem to be the main reason for the many inventions of the typewriter. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter#History

imoverclocked 2y ago
That wikipedia article was a great read but I have to agree with GP. > According to the standards taught in secretarial schools in the mid-20th century, a business letter was supposed to have no mistakes and no visible corrections. Certainly, there were other reasons like speed, repeatability, official-looking, etc... too. Most typewriters wanted to be cheaper and on-demand printing presses. Some even managed variable width fonts! :)
- eru 2y ago
  Oh, the original comment is certainly right in spirit, I just wanted to be pedantic. But I'm not sure why you quote something about the md-20th century, when we are talking about the (many) invention(s) of the typewriter? They were already old and well-established technology at that point in time.

sfilmeyer 2y ago

I've known people who valued good handwriting but weren't particularly capable of writing neatly, and others who didn't particularly value it but were capable of staying neat while writing quickly. I think you might be overestimating how much of it is tied to what people value.

solveit 2y ago

I like good handwriting, but good, fast handwriting takes thousands of hours of practice. We used to spend a good chunk of school drilling it into kids, but now it's really hard to justify everyone spend that kind of time when we can technology our way around it and there are other valuable skills to learn.

imoverclocked 2y ago
That’s the same argument for using calculators in the past 30 years and ChatGPT in the last few years. At some point, we lose far more than we gain by “technology our way around” our early development. Why bother having campfires when we have portable space heaters? Heck, why bother camping at all if we have a nice comfortable space at home? More generally, why do any of the things that connect us to our past? Personally, I think it’s important to learn by doing and then provide a “here is how we made that easier, and now you know why” type of foundation. Perhaps better is having people develop versions of those solutions for themselves so we don’t just expect someone else to solve all of our problems.
- Neonlicht 2y ago
  If you live in an urbanised country you don't build a lot of campfires- besides there are rules on air quality that prohibit them.