Can Handwriting Make You Smarter?

wsj.com

6 points·svenfaw··3 comments

> Note-taking with a lead pencil, first mass-produced in the 17th Century, just isn’t so different than using a fountain pen, patented in 1827; a ballpoint pen, patented in 1888; or a felt-tipped marker, patented in 1910.

Writing long notes using lead pencil or ballpoint pen was painful experience for me. You have to press the pencil against paper to leave a mark.

Then I discovered fountain pens and high quality rollerball/gel pens. Fountain pen is still the best writing instrument there is. The ability to let the pen rest on the paper on it's own weight and just move it around makes long periods of writing comfortable experience.

I have picked the habit of writing drafts and making notes by by hand again if I have to learn new things. It's interesting how much better memory works with physical things. I have lots of hand written notebooks laying around and I seem to remember what's in them much better than what's inside text documents I have written.

Same here. As a programmer, whenever I get stuck I grab my notebook, a pen and start breaking down the problem in even smaller steps. By the time I get to the second or third bullet point, everything is clear again and I can even stop writing.

I love fountain pens too, but only use mine once a day which means I'll often put pen to paper and find I have to coax ink through with tissue or blotting paper before it writes anything - kinda ruining the whole effortless quality of writing with them.

Any tips on keeping them in tippy top free flowing condition?

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