because it’s such Gen-X-and-above fodder to treat it as a sign of society in decline
I think it is more of a "reliance on tech", not of any gen, but of "where society is".
The point of cursive, was writing fast and legibly. You can write far faster than typing, for example, on a smartphone keyboard.
There is no correct or incorrect thing here, however, losing cursive means we are trapped in a world where everything we write, everything we do, is tracked.
This is really more about optimal use of a medium (paper), and is equivalent to being able to type on a qwerty keyboard, which is equally learned and weird.
So for me, it is about the loss of non-electronic means.
And that may be OK, but we may also find it is not some day.
EG, we will surely want efficient paper use, if we all end up in some controlled state. You'd be nuts to use any computing device to communicate then.
>> The point of cursive, was writing fast and legibly. You can write far faster than typing, for example, on a smartphone keyboard.
Smartphone, maybe, but I average 120 wpm on a computer keyboard and I can't get anywhere near that on a phone. By hand, if I write as fast as I think, I have trouble reading it later, myself. And if I try to write legibly --let alone trying to make pretty-looking letters-- my fingers start to hurt after a while, because I have to make such an effort.
I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. Sometimes I even find some of the shapes I make as I write by hand aesthetically pleasing to look at. They're just not easy to read.
You know, I think I'm confusing "cursive" with "calligraphic". My handwriting is "cursive" in the sense that letters are connected. But it's still very hard to read, both for me and everyone else who's ever tried.
What I was trying to say was that if I write by hand as fast and freely as I write on a keyboard, my handwriting is illegible. If I try to control it and make it more legible, it slows me down very much, and my hand hurts. And btw, it's still not pretty.
So basically I confused "cursive" with "neat, tidy, calligraphic handwriting" when even my sloppy, ugly, unreadable handwriting is at least somewhat cursive. Apologies- I'm not a native speaker of English.
If you have trouble with cramped fingers, try writing and steering from your elbow. Keep the pen in the same position in your hand without clenching and only move your elbow.
I should try that. When next I can find a good place to write. One more advantage of writing on a computer keyboard, you don't need a proper desk. Mine's always on my lap, even at work where I have a desk :)
I can type about 15-20 wpm on a computer keyboard. I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong either, and yet I can help but suspect you have learned and practiced something I have not.
Maybe something similar has happened with your writing.
I grew up in the cursive age and I'm mostly incapable of writing well by hand. No decades of practice ever budged that needle.
Past that, I'm glad to see cursive go away; it is only legible from the people who are capable of doing it well.
I've been doing genealogy for some years now and I can't count the number of unreadable documents that would have been saved, had they been written in block. For each one, I am reminded that cursive begins with curse.
when has that ever mattered? I grew up well before personal computing and even then we were using typewriters and later word processors… even in college I printed my notes and kept up fine
I think it is more of a "reliance on tech", not of any gen, but of "where society is".
The point of cursive, was writing fast and legibly. You can write far faster than typing, for example, on a smartphone keyboard.
There is no correct or incorrect thing here, however, losing cursive means we are trapped in a world where everything we write, everything we do, is tracked.
This is really more about optimal use of a medium (paper), and is equivalent to being able to type on a qwerty keyboard, which is equally learned and weird.
So for me, it is about the loss of non-electronic means.
And that may be OK, but we may also find it is not some day.
EG, we will surely want efficient paper use, if we all end up in some controlled state. You'd be nuts to use any computing device to communicate then.