The Pen Is Mightier Than The Laptop

[Chouffleur]

 

 

The researchers hypothesized that, because students can type faster than they can write, the lecturer’s words flowed right to the students’ typing fingers without stopping in their brains for substantive processing. Students writing by hand had to process and condense the spoken material simply to enable their pens to keep up with the lecture. Indeed, the notes of the laptop users more closely resembled transcripts than lecture summaries. The handwritten versions were more succinct but included the salient issues discussed in the lecture.

 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/business/laptops-not-during-lecture-or-meeting.html?_r=1

 

We're back, baby.

 

... and by the way ...

 

Pluto Planeta Est

[dogpoet]

"It's not a bug, it's a feature."

[watch_art]

Good for all us pen makers unless students start using things like the apple pencil (or whatever stylus) to write notes on their tablet with.

[inkstainedruth]

Yeah, every now and then I want to tell all the computer geeks out there: "I have a fountain pen. Your argument is invalid...."

Either that or start my (rapidly becoming usual) rant about how my 1937 Parker Vac Red Shadow Wave has been in constant rotation (just refilling when it gets low or empty, with Waterman Mysterious Blue) for over 2 years -- I think it's nearly 28 months at this point. It's never needed repairs or upgrades. Never been flushed out or had the nib flossed. Cost a fraction of my 3-1/2 year old laptop, fits in my shirt pocket, is WAY better looking , doesn't need the battery charged up, works when the power is out, and (to quote the Samuel L. Jackson line from the first Kingsman movie) can't be hacked....

And the Shadow Waves were the LOWER level model Vacs, and didn't have the warranties on them that the top of the line Pearl models did.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[dogpoet]

Myself, I'd rather use a biro or a felt tip to take notes in a lecture, but that's just me. (Though the link in the OP does not mention fountain pens at all.) If they'd let you lug a laptop into lecture halls and I could have afforded one as an undergraduate, that would have been better still: I can write faster with almost any other writing implement than with a fountain pen, but I can type faster still: that's why they call it longhand.

(The notion about assimilating information rather than just transcribing it seems utterly specious, btw: why not just ban note taking entirely and have the students memorise your every golden word if that's your approach? The point of taking notes is so that you can read them over later at a more leisurely pace and take them onboard then.)

[benbot517]

I've been taking all my undergraduate notes in fountain pen, and I find I remember things really well when I do. I have a laptop for things like research, but for note taking it has to be fountain pen.

[corgicoupe]

"(The notion about assimilating information rather than just transcribing it seems utterly specious, btw: why not just ban note taking entirely and have the students memorise your every golden word if that's your approach? The point of taking notes is so that you can read them over later at a more leisurely pace and take them onboard then.)"

 

I disagree. Understanding and conceptualizing should occur during the lecture, and notes should reflect this. This is the time to ask questions for clarity; reading the lecture "at a more leisurely pace" will not provide this opportunity.

[Runnin_Ute]

I couldn't keep up on my laptop even if I wanted to. Why go through all the hassle of setting up, when I can grab a pen/pencil and paper and I am ready to go. I have to agree with corgicoupe on this one.

[doriath19]

Some professors in my graduate degree program do not allow notetaking on laptops in their classes for this reason. The other reason is that many students still cant resist the temptation to browse during class. Personally I prefer taking notes by hand and have developed a system to scan and file my notes for later review.

[Needhelp]

I am a student and I use and love fountain pens and I can write with fountain pens faster than anything including typing and since I use fountain pens with barely any pressure I can write for hours and hours test after tests without any fatigue or anything. But unfortunately, it looks like that fountain pens are not going to last for long before the technology takes over.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Needhelp

[inkstainedruth]

"(The notion about assimilating information rather than just transcribing it seems utterly specious, btw: why not just ban note taking entirely and have the students memorise your every golden word if that's your approach? The point of taking notes is so that you can read them over later at a more leisurely pace and take them onboard then.)"

 

I disagree. Understanding and conceptualizing should occur during the lecture, and notes should reflect this. This is the time to ask questions for clarity; reading the lecture "at a more leisurely pace" will not provide this opportunity.

 

I'm with corgicoupe on this one. If that's the case (i.e., the one dog poet is trying to make), why have students take notes at all? Just print out hard copies of the lecture Powerpoint program. Or email them to the students. Because that way the students can just memorize them and spit back the notes on the exams without actually *comprehending* what they're learning....

I'm glad that when I was in college, technology wasn't so entrenched. I would not have been able to make quickie sketches of the slides shown in my various art history classes -- I would have been too busy trying to flip through the pages in the (not required) textbook, trying to match the floor plans of various buildings (my main art history professor was VERY big on architecture).

This morning I had to take my car in for an oil change. I had hoped to catch up on email, but wasn't getting a wi-fi signal (well, the repair place is down the hill from me in a hollow). So I was trying to do some much needed research -- and discovered that all three of the pens I had with me were pretty much dead.... I tried taking note on my laptop, and it was a horrible experience -- trying to juggle my laptop and the book I was working from, on an overly squishy sofa in the repair place's office. I managed to transcribe about 2 lines on my computer -- as about half a page of notes with a pen and paper, which ALSO took less time. Fortunately, my car was almost done at that point. So now, at home, I can get the pens flushed or refilled (or grab another one) and get more work done by NOT keyboarding....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for formatting

Edited November 29, 2017 by inkstainedruth

[dogpoet]

I have sat through lectures where the lecturer handed out summaries of his points to the students at the end of his spiel a quarter of a century ago, curiously enough. Possibly it's just cynicism on my part, but what that suggests to me is that he was worried that all of the scratching pens in the hall weren't paying attention to the stuff he was saying that they needed to be.

[Orthostylos]

Call me crazy, but by taking notes by hand (usually with a fountain pen), I feel I have somehow "imprinted" the information, and more often than not, do not need to refer to the notes I have taken, to recall and act on the information.

 

Using a stub, it sometimes is a little artistic too.

 

Granted, much of what I do is review a massive amount of email that have come in overnight, (over my first and second cup of coffee). I will respond to some (though I have found that I sometimes regret the quick responses what I have typed, while reflecting in the shower).

 

By the time I reach the office, I can jump right in and triage and guide my coworkers with the days tasks. I do not usually even bring in my notebook.

 

I have on occasion tried keyboarding some notes into apps like One Note, etc., but that doesn't quite do the trick.

 

Just my experience.

[Chouffleur]

Call me crazy, but by taking notes by hand (usually with a fountain pen), I feel I have somehow "imprinted" the information, and more often than not, do not need to refer to the notes I have taken, to recall and act on the information.

 

Using a stub, it sometimes is a little artistic too.

 

Granted, much of what I do is review a massive amount of email that have come in overnight, (over my first and second cup of coffee). I will respond to some (though I have found that I sometimes regret the quick responses what I have typed, while reflecting in the shower).

 

By the time I reach the office, I can jump right in and triage and guide my coworkers with the days tasks. I do not usually even bring in my notebook.

 

I have on occasion tried keyboarding some notes into apps like One Note, etc., but that doesn't quite do the trick.

 

Just my experience.

 

My experience is similar. Often when I write out a shopping list (and then forget to bring it along) I can close my eyes and "read" the list while in the store.

[MHBru]

Good discussion. It's been too many years since I was a student however I still attend a variety of meetings and sit on many conference calls at work... Writing by hand wins for me everytime. Besides speed, making corrections is faster and see how you do w diagrams,charts, etc. To each their own but I write.

[Charles Rice]

Too bad articles like the above won't change anything

[corgicoupe]

Never say never, Charles.

[OMASsimo]

I've read that article with interest when it appeared in the NYT and it wasn't breaking news. I've read a book by a neuroscientist many years ago describing this very effect. It's way more than just the speed of writing and processing the information. I won't go into details but one key aspect is that the actual motion of our body apparently assists in processing and memorizing thoughts. When I need to think deeply about a tough problem, I often walk around in my office or take a walk outside. That's essentially in the same line.

 

And here are my two cents about studying since so many of you referred to it. I provide lecture notes for all my classes so that no student needs to copy down what I develop on the blackboard. I'm amazed that the vast majority of my students still notes down everything by hand instead of using a printout of my lecture notes. Apparently they know that this works better. Some of my students even write with fountain pens.

 

In my case, typing is not competitive with writing by hand because everything is written in complicated mathematical equations with tons of weird symbols and indices everywhere. I can typeset equations very quickly, having years and years of experience. But I'm way faster writing down equations by hand. And when deriving things, it's key that the flow of thought isn't hampered by the need to typeset everything. So, my fountain pens are at least as important of a tool for me as is my massive super computer.

[Arkanabar]

Myself, I'd rather use a biro or a felt tip to take notes in a lecture, but that's just me. (Though the link in the OP does not mention fountain pens at all.) If they'd let you lug a laptop into lecture halls and I could have afforded one as an undergraduate, that would have been better still: I can write faster with almost any other writing implement than with a fountain pen, but I can type faster still: that's why they call it longhand.

(The notion about assimilating information rather than just transcribing it seems utterly specious, btw: why not just ban note taking entirely and have the students memorise your every golden word if that's your approach? The point of taking notes is so that you can read them over later at a more leisurely pace and take them onboard then.)

And yet, it squares with my experience. I was used to not needing to review my hadwritten notes in order to pass tests. I started using a laptop for notes when I was taking Anatomy and Physiology, and for the first time, my retention was really poor. I didn't remember what the professor had covered in class. I had to write down everything I'd typed up in class. I went back to just writing it down in the first place.

 

I did still use the lappy for composing and handing in assignments, and it was great for that. But for retention, I need to write stuff down.

 

I am a student and I use and love fountain pens and I can write with fountain pens faster than anything including typing and since I use fountain pens with barely any pressure I can write for hours and hours test after tests without any fatigue or anything. But unfortunately, it looks like that fountain pens are not going to last for long before the technology takes over.

Given the way the Chinese are selling fountain pens, I think we're likely to see them retained for a decent while yet.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

Alas the time of fountain pen super-fast note-taking is over for me.

I stopped doing it in my second-to-last year of high school. I wanted to write everything the professors said to be as prepared as possible during exams, but my wrists and fingers would ache terribly after each class, and sometimes I had to bit back tears of actual pain. I'm a weakling, I know.

 

So I started recording my classes and I drew conceptual maps in my notebook instead. Then I'd replay the recordings and write down the lecture on my computer. Then i'd use the lecture as any other chapter of the textbook, underline and highlight the important parts.

 

This simbiosis between computer and pen&paper is why I love both writing instruments now, both pens and keyboards. Thanks to this method I memorized the layout of my keyboard and I type quite fast if you excuse my arrogance in saying so.

 

I can't say "nothing beats typing on a good mechanical keyboard" or "nothing beats writing with fountain pens" because I get to use both on a daily basis and it's the best. : )