Ask HN: Has anyone else found their handwriting skills have deteriotated? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Has anyone else found their handwriting skills have deteriotated?

4 pointsCM303 comments

Due to how often they use a computer now? Because while I admit I was never too good for calligraphy or what not, I definitely remember being able to use a pen or pencil for longer without feeling like my hand was about to fall off, as well as being able to have handwriting that a normal person could actually understand.

It makes me wonder (given how many people are used to keyboards and phone touch screens) how many of us could actually write a full letter or essay by hand anymore.

So does anyone else here feel like they've lost their ability to write on paper due to how often they use a computer?

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More than the quality of my handwriting, I find that my ability to write for longer periods has diminished. When I was a kid, we used to hand write 3 hour exams without breaking a sweat. Now I can write continuously for maybe 15 mins before having to stop. Kinda sucks.

I never had a good handwriting in school(2010), but it was legible atleast. I never wrote much in college(2014) other than for exams. Since then, I've rarely picked up a pen.

Recently in December I was doing an online course and taking notes, and noticed how atrocious my handwriting had become. I tried to fix it and write "neatly", but it was a slow process.

Something really helped though - changing the pen I used.

The previous pen was a Parker ball point pen with a relatively thin and tapering bottom. Hard to hold, didn't glide well, and had to put pressure to write.

I bought a much cheaper(<$1) gel pen with a thicker and non-tapering bottom - that really helped my handwriting and helps me write for much longer without any pain.

Sorry for making it sound like a marketing pitch. Lack of sleep made me revert to my previous profession. It's one of the reasons why I quit marketing actually, but that'd be digressing.

Try out a few pens to see what fits comfortably in your hands. If you haven't written for a while, it'll take a few minutes to warm up but it'll be back to normal soon.

It's just like how using a keyboard of a different size is difficult at first.

Absolutely. I type much better than I ever have, yet my handwriting has degraded to the point I have to really concentrate or its illegible even to myself - and that is print. My cursive is a total loss.

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