I am Neal Stephenson, sci-fi author, geek, and now, sword maker – AMA

I changed countries and career paths about 8 years ago, and for a while, over the next 3 roles, it involved large amounts of note-taking. Tens of pages of notes per day, every day, for weeks at a time.

I switched to using fountain pens too, and found it hugely increased what you call "handwriting endurance". I can write for an hour or more with a fountain pen, without pain or difficulty or cramping.

(I am in my mid-50s now, and this was in my late 40s. That means that part of the time at school we had to use fountain pens. So it was a switch back for me.)

With ballpoint pens, be they cheap and nasty or premium high-quality ones, you can press hard. This tires the hands and causes cramps.

You can't do that with a fountain pen. It damages the nib. You have to press lightly on the paper and that makes you write better. It also encourages good cursive letter forms, which evolved for a sharp nib on paper, which snags in certain directions, also less of a problem for ballpoints.

I mostly use Pilot V-Pen disposable fountain pens. They are exceptionally reliable, the whole barrel is full of ink so they last much longer than a cartridge or reservoir pen, and they don't leak even in a backpack that's treated roughly.

I recommend trying them. It's worth the effort. It works.

Ballpoints, however fancy, are only for scribbling quick notes. A proper pen results in better writing, and writing better.

https://wordcounter.net/blog/2017/12/04/103207_the-daily-wor...

Michael Crichton at 10,000 words is a crazy outlier.

If instead he'd said something like: "I just like the feel of pen to paper." Or "I've tried both pen/paper and a computer and there's something about using a computer that just doesn't work for me." that would make more sense. But this notion of a 'buffer' just doesn't.

Perhaps "deluding" was too pejorative; I'll grant that.

I can assure you I'm talking about hypotheticals here.

> you'd set it on a pedestal in a darkened room so the spotlights make it pop

I assumed the same. You do the same with both. But which pops more? The intricate sword (which comes with its own illuminated display system) or the crumpled papers?

Pardon me, but what exactly are you disagreeing with?

> The only thing interesting about this sword is who made it.

Yes. It was made by Wētā Workshop. They are a very well known prop and special effects company. That alone increases the value of the item.

Further reducing the surprise that their work is valued higher than the loose manuscript is that they have already sold art pieces for hundreds of thousands of dollar.

“We are only aware of two other items created by Weta Workshop to have come to auction: Aragorn's sword Andúril from Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King for $437,000, and Saruman's wizard staff from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy for $125,000, both at Bonhams in 2014.”

> And the person who made it is known as an author.

Don’t know who made it at Wētā. Perhaps they are indeed authors on their own. But the sword in question was not made by Neal Stephenson.

> Plenty of actually interesting swords cost less than $55k and some have real stories and history.

Ok? So what? I’m not arguing that $55k is a good price. What I am arguing that it is not surprising that an item carefully crafted by masters of their craft to look good and be desirable sells for more than loose scribled over pages.