Computers And The Lost Art Of Handwriting

dsm · #1 06-02-2005, 06:24 AM

Whenever we're hiring for my department I have to look through work applications. I find that those with the most computer experience often have the worst handwriting skills. One guy I work with can probably type 100 words per minute, but when he occasionally has to write something down on paper his printing looks a little worse than the example I found below (minus the grammatical errors). As for writing in longhand...forgetaboutit! That REALLY seems to be disappearing all together (at least among males), which I'm guessing has to do with all the time spent writing on computers.

[some serial killer's writing]

thatpfunk · #2 06-02-2005, 06:40 AM

good riddance.

introv · #3 06-02-2005, 06:47 AM

yup my handriteing is awful but my speling grandma and vocaburary is good

jakethebake · #4 06-02-2005, 09:05 AM

[ QUOTE ]
writing in longhand

[/ QUOTE ]

What does this mean?

thatpfunk · #5 06-02-2005, 09:07 AM

I think cursive, but who knows.

I see no reason for decent handwriting, as long as it is legible. It pisses me off that it was graded in elementary.

jakethebake · #6 06-02-2005, 09:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think cursive, but who knows.

I see no reason for decent handwriting, as long as it is legible. It pisses me off that it was graded in elementary.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea. Agreed. Undortunately, I can't type either, though.

dsm · #7 06-02-2005, 10:10 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think cursive

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, sorry. Longhand was the expression used when I was in grammar school back in 1906.

Blarg · #8 06-02-2005, 04:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think cursive, but who knows.

I see no reason for decent handwriting, as long as it is legible. It pisses me off that it was graded in elementary.

[/ QUOTE ]

It does me, too.

Boys develop the motor skills for good handwriting later than girls do, and when I was a kid, good handwriting was equated with every good social characteristic imaginable, from friendliness to intelligence, and poor handwriting was spoken of as if it signalled conclusively the opposite. Not very fair to young kids, who have trouble writing well in the first place, and to young boys in particular, who simply develop differently than young girls do in that regard.

In Europe, I understand, handwriting "analysis," which I think has no more validity than astrology or numerology, is supposedly very commonly considered in job applications and suggested as a legitimate basis for psychoanalysis. Very sad and very scary that having better or worse fine motor control is foolishly promulgated as indicative of absolutely every sort of fitness.

My handwriting is terrible, so I learned to print instead of using cursive, as it's easier to read. Better, I learned to type, so I wouldn't have to either subject people to my chickenscratch or be judged by it.

BusterStacks · #9 06-02-2005, 10:17 AM

I always had horrible handwriting. It was like a huge weight off my shoulders when I could type as fast as I could talk. Teachers liked receiving typed papers and I enjoyed writing them as it was way faster.

rusellmj · #10 06-02-2005, 10:35 AM

I was just talking to my mom about this. She said they actually had penmanship class when she went to school. LIke most of the posters so far mine isn't so great. I actually tried to find a book or anything that would give me direction for the purpose of communicating more effectively at work. No such luck. I'm sure one of our resident linkmeisters could find something.