Curse

REDdelver · Dec 13, 2009, 04:47 PM // 16:47

So today, I was typing some things on a forum. After that, I had to write down some information on paper(yes paper!). Wow has my quality of penmanship fallen.

I used to have decent penmanship (for a guy). I look at my writing now...its darn near terrible. Dont get me wrong, I dont care what other people think. I guess it just slightly "saddened" me to see how it has degraded over the years to the point where its almost annoying to write anything. (at least of decent length...ie a couple lengthy paragraphs)

There in lies the quandary. Is our general quality of penmanship ledgibility slowing degrading as we move into the future. With so much usage of computers, texting, emails, twittering, etc....surely we in general just do not write as much. Surely a majority of people just don't write as much after their high school and college years.

All the writing I used to do through my college years led me to having decent penmanship. After that, I just have written less and less. How will this play out in the future where we could have very little writing. I remember all those "round, round, ready...write" lessons for cursive writing...omg!

Will we get to the point where we will teach children "round, round, ready..type?"

My writing style used to be cursive. Now its more of a jumble of cursive and print. I wonder how much typing(always seeing print letters) has influenced that.

Where will be as far as writing goes in the next 100 years? Is it something thats a pressing issue. NO. Is it important?? I think it is right now. Who knows writing might not even be barely used come a 100 years from now.

Something I thought was interesting to see other peoples thoughts....please share.

gone · Dec 13, 2009, 05:00 PM // 17:00

My writing style consists of all caps, printed. Cursive is for signing checks. However I do write a lot of stuff down, probably more than I should, as my ink cartridges always seem to go bad. I go months w/o ever turning on my printer, yet I'll save tons of .txt files to a flash drive. I guess I do both, or whichever seems more convenient at the time.

Tyla · Dec 13, 2009, 05:20 PM // 17:20

I rarely ever wrote, and always typed. As a result, my hand-writing is more than terrible.

Abedeus · Dec 13, 2009, 05:21 PM // 17:21

I don't give a crap about my penmenship. I could write out prescriptions, it's that bad.

Winterclaw · Dec 13, 2009, 05:46 PM // 17:46

Even back when I used a pen, I almost never used cursive as I think that it's ugly and illegible. Of course thanks to tweeter and texting, now it's the people that are ugly and illegible too.

I have noticed that my signature has changed over time as I've stopped writing; I've noticed that I don't bother with the letters in my last name as I've used to so my signature changes a lot between writing it.

Xenomortis · Dec 13, 2009, 05:57 PM // 17:57

Still being in education (1st year of Uni now) means I still write a lot (lots of note-taking).
My hand-writing has been fairly difficult for others to read for a long time though.

Cursive because it's quicker and I've always written like that.
Printing is really slow for me (block letters). I generally save that for labeling or filling in forms.

gone · Dec 13, 2009, 06:12 PM // 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abedeus

I don't give a crap about my penmenship. I could write out prescriptions, it's that bad.

If I were to ever go along with "Sig a quote" crowd this would be in the top 2. I know exactly what you mean by it. ;-X

Divinitys Creature · Dec 13, 2009, 06:18 PM // 18:18

I write like Edward from the Twilight saga...

bebe · Dec 13, 2009, 07:27 PM // 19:27

Meh. I guess I can see how that would work.. But for me I'm always writing stuff down even at the computer because writing stuff down for me has a better memorability for me and yeah.. xD

However since I've graduated college i've missed writing stuff down by hand a lot.. ):
Dare I say.. I miss homework? Haha.. anyways.. yeah.. ><

My penwomenship (lol) hasn't gone down.. infact I think it's gotten better since i'm not writing constantly to where my hand is tired of writing and just kinda gets lazy.. Haha..

Verene · Dec 13, 2009, 07:43 PM // 19:43

My handwriting has always been terrible. It certainly didn't get worse when I got a computer and started typing things. If anything, it looks neater these days than it used to.

I don't really like writing by hand, though, because I've always been a slow writer. I can type much, much faster than I write.

Snograt · Dec 13, 2009, 11:42 PM // 23:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by flubber

... my ink cartridges always seem to go bad. I go months w/o ever turning on my printer...

The bane of my life, that. Whay can't someone invent a printer with hermetically-sealed ink reservoirs that will keep the ink usable indefinitely?

Snow Bunny · Dec 14, 2009, 01:18 AM // 01:18

My script is beautiful and elegant.

Bobby2 · Dec 14, 2009, 01:21 AM // 01:21

My writing seems to have become less deliberate, more chaotic. Still perfectly legible though, so I'm not worried - I just cbf being neat any more.

distilledwill · Dec 14, 2009, 08:54 AM // 08:54

My handwriting is alright actually, I do a hell of a lot of typing in my current job but when answering calls I will often have to jot down fairly detailed notes very quickly. Plus I like to leave myself little reminders everywhere - I suppose it isnt the same as writing out a whole paragraph, but it keeps me writing each day.

On a normal day I probably handwrite about 1/4 of the amount I type.

glacialphoenix · Dec 14, 2009, 09:05 AM // 09:05

I'm still a student, so my writing is (relatively) in practice.

I type faster than I write, so when I want to keep up with a steady stream of ideas in my head, typing's far more reliable. I've found, however, that when it comes to note-taking, good old-fashioned writing works better for me. (And yes, I do write fast enough for note-taking, but not, say, dictation.)

End · Dec 14, 2009, 09:06 AM // 09:06

Personally for me its horrible...I don't take notes in class (yet still have the highest grade in all my classes when it comes to tests) I don't do any homework that requires handwriting (my major grade sink) and spend a majority of my day behind a computer. As a result many people find my handwriting illegible and many times I do to...however my signature has always been the same and always will be i would suppose...But looking at my handwriting these days I firmly think my years typing has degraded my style...However i still consider myself better then the people I took my SAT with...Theres a section where rather then your signature you had to copy over an entire section in cursive...guy next to me didn't have a clue what any letters outside the letters in his name looked like in cursive...
Sorry if I'm rambling and seem to not makes sense I'm extremely tired and avoiding writing a paper...

glacialphoenix · Dec 14, 2009, 09:10 AM // 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_end_is_near

Theres a section where rather then your signature you had to copy over an entire section in cursive...guy next to me didn't have a clue what any letters outside the letters in his name looked like in cursive...

Oooh, ouch.

I had a friend who flunked his chem practical because of his bad handwriting. He wrote a '9' and the teacher misread it as 4 - and since this was the bit where you note down your results, goodbye half your marks... but I think the guy next to you takes the cake.

Sorrowless · Dec 14, 2009, 12:13 PM // 12:13

I'm a student currently, I hardly ever write anything. But everyone says I have near perfect hand writing :| I guess because when I do have to write its usually something Important so I put effort in.

But still typing > writing

moriz · Dec 14, 2009, 03:16 PM // 15:16

my handwriting is perfect and legible... only to myself.

it hardly matters, since typing has more or less replaced writing. obviously writing with a pen and paper will never disappear since it offered a viable alternative when a keyboard is not nearby, but i believe the need to ever write anything will soon disappear as technology advances.

Yang Whirlwind · Dec 14, 2009, 05:54 PM // 17:54

My handwriting is as it always has been: torturously slow to put down on paper,- but very neat and legible

I have however wondered the same thing several times.
Logic says penmanship is doomed to decline when not used regularly.