2y ago

What Is Killing Cursive? Ballpoints. Probably.

hackaday.com What Is Killing Cursive? Ballpoints. Probably.

I get it — you hate writing by hand. But have you ever considered why that is? Is it because typing is easier, faster, and more convenient here in 2023? Maybe so. All of those notwithstanding…

This article over on Hack-A-Day seemed like it would appeal here. It discusses how the physical aspects of a cheap ballpoint pen are just less well suited to cursive writing as compared to a fountain pen. Enjoy!

11 comments

Or people just don't need to write as much, especially not in cursive since it only adds legibility problems.
- I think the exact opposite, most people's (who are old enough to have learned cursive) handwriting are more legible in cursive. A huge amount of people print AWFULLY.
  
  As a university instructor, hard disagree. I hate when my students write in cursive. At least with bad print I can figure out what it means eventually. A few squiggles and a loop could be Lom, Foo, Goll, or anything else. Forget the fact they don't dot their i's or cross their t's.
  
  Meanwhile in reality... millions of documents with cursive writing on them from decades ago aren't legible enough to be transcribed. Being taught cursive DOES NOT mean your cursive is any good. It is far easier for most people to read and write in print which is why you are no longer allowed to use it on any documents of consequence aside from a signature.
  
  Every doctor signature ever disagrees
  
  how is handwriting more legible in cursive? It looks nothing like the letters we are used to in print
  
  That’s got to just be practice though, right? If you write primarily in cursive, it’s going to look better. Nowadays, people hardly write at all. As long as I can read my handwriting, it doesn’t really matter in my day-to-day life.
- Cursive is much faster to write.

Yeah ballpoint pens are probably killing voicemail, too.

Or, you know, the fact that typing is generally faster and more legible.

Or people like me have Autism and ADHD, this lacking the fine motor control for handwriting.
My "handwriting" ended up with me being the only kid in school that was permitted to hand in all my written work by typing it up on computer and printing it out. In 1990.

11 comments