Cursive Writing

[JohnRM]

I use it far more than I use print. Its simply faster, takes less energy, and looks better.

 

[Tee Kay]

I use it far more than I use print. Its simply faster, takes less energy, and looks better.

Ditto.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I used to have beautiful handwriting until I took anthropology in college. What happened is that I had an instructor who always passed out a brief outline of the day's lecture at the beginning of class, then told us to "make a few brief notes in the margin." Since we never knew what points he would consider putting on the midterm and final exams, we wrote down everything. It was an unusual class where anybody had any room at all left on their papers. And we had to write fast, so there just wasn't time to be careful.

I ended up using a mix of writing and printing, plus some weird shorthand symbols I invented for myself, to take the place of specific anthropological terms. My notes were very tiny, and I defy anybody who isn't me to make any sense of them.

Since then I took steps to improve my handwriting by taking calligraphy courses. When you have to hold a nib at a precise angle before you try a single letter, you're really forced to pay attention to what you're doing. One thing I noticed in the Society for Creative Anachronism: most people who were serious about the calligraphy courses they took usually had very legible handwriting even when they were not doing SCA things.

And years later I got nerve damage in my hands to the point where it hurt to even pick up a pen or pencil, never mind write. Since I didn't want to go through life only partially literate, I forced myself to relearn. It hurt abominably - and now, years later, it still does at times - but I have regained my ability to write and print. My writing is nowhere near as nice as it was, but it's legible. And I'm happy to say that my printing has been complimented by people as being "beautiful" or "really nice."

It's so disillusioning when I see people say that they don't know why they should know how to write. What will you do if the electricity goes down and you have no batteries?

 

[Grisu]

It's so disillusioning when I see people say that they don't know why they should know how to write. What will you do if the electricity goes down and you have no batteries?

use print letters or not write at all, since I'll have no light either

 

[Valka D'Ur]

What's that big, round yellow thing up in the sky? It gives lots of light. You can also use candles or oil lamps. Or a campfire. There are lots of ways to get light without electricity or batteries. So if you needed to write something (or print, if you didn't know how to write), you could.

 

[Samez]

 

[aronnax]

I cannot read the handwriting of my teachers who were educated in the era of cursive handwriting. It's a frustrating writing style.

 

[Tee Kay]

I cannot read the handwriting of my teachers who were educated in the era of cursive handwriting. It's a frustrating writing style.

That's a problem of your teachers, not cursive writing in general.

 

[Grisu]

What's that big, round yellow thing up in the sky? It gives lots of light. You can also use candles or oil lamps. Or a campfire. There are lots of ways to get light without electricity or batteries. So if you needed to write something (or print, if you didn't know how to write), you could.

ah yes, that bright thing...terrifying I'd rather not have to write for a extended period using only light from candles or oil lamps....just thinking about it gives me a headache ...but the point is rather moot for me as I can't remember a single time in my live where power was gone for more than an hour or so.

But to be honest, I'm not quite sure what you were referring to in the first place. have you actually ever met anybody (young or old) who claimed that they don't need to know how to write? (with 'write' I assume you mean at least one of cursive or print)

 

[aronnax]

That's a problem of your teachers, not cursive writing in general.

All of them?

 

[Tee Kay]

Well, they seem to be able to read each other's handwriting...

 

[GenMarshall]

I mainly use it on signatures, and mines have evolved into a sort of doctor/bureaucrat's signature.

 

[Eniotna]

I write cursive with some print elements sometimes at the beginning or end of words. I was taught to write in cursive from the start, so that's what comes more natural to me.

 

[Mango Elephant]

Cursive's capital letters are completely asstarded.

I agree. That's why I learned how to write all these capital letters on paper. To make my writing look better.

The only one's I don't use in that set are the Qs, Os, ands Cs.

 

[brennan]

Wow, I was all 'what is this funny 'cursive' writing' and then I lolled*. We were taught to write 'properly' when I was about 5 and you were treated as an idiot if you couldn't do it after that. I had no idea this was uncommon across the pond.

I only use print if want to make something very clear to someone else (I have awful handwriting), especially anything I write on a board/flipchart etc when teaching. Most of my writing is actually typed of course these days, but I prefer to scrawl my ideas out by hand when planning or making notes so I still do a lot of handwriting.

*Okay I didn't actually lol. But I did have a quiet little chuckle to myself.

 

[SG-17]

I learned it while in elementary school and I was forced to write with it in middle school, but in high school everything transitioned to typed so over the course of my four years of high school I forget everything but how to sign my name in cursive.

 

[Tee Kay]

When I was in primary school you had to demonstrate reasonably good handwriting to be allowed to write with a pen.

 

[azzaman333]

When I was in primary school you had to demonstrate reasonably good handwriting to be allowed to write with a pen.

I was surprised I ever managed to get my pen license. And predictably, the quality of my handwriting has regressed significantly since then. Good thing the only thing I ever need to write involves mathematics, where everyone has terrible handwriting.

 

[IglooDame]

use print letters or not write at all, since I'll have no light either

What's that big, round yellow thing up in the sky? It gives lots of light. You can also use candles or oil lamps. Or a campfire. There are lots of ways to get light without electricity or batteries. So if you needed to write something (or print, if you didn't know how to write), you could.

You mean the daystar? I use it to power up my solar-charger backup to the things I type on, unless my emergency generator or car's 110V inverter is picking up the load.


Also, the below is awesome.

 

[Camikaze]

Given a lot of people apparently don't find cursive largely ineligible, it be awesome if they help me decipher these comments on an essay I recently got back. I can't for the life of me!

Spoiler :

Thanks in advance!

Or is writing cursive fast largely mutually exclusive with writing it legibly?