Well, I learned cursive and I can't even read most cursive text..

Ditto. Anyone who's ever dabbled in genealogy will have come across this fundamental flaw with cursive handwriting. It can be lovely to look at. But also very ambiguous to interpret.

Trying to decipher old birth or death certificates often involves trying to guess what they say. Was Great-Grandad a butler, a builder, a butcher, a banker, a baker... or a burglar?

Often, only the first and maybe a middle letter are identifiable for certain and the rest are just insert squiggle which could be almost anything.

I've long been amazed that, even on such important documents of historical record, clerks were expected to fill in details in cursive, rather than printing each individual letter.