How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pens-object-lesson-history-handwriting/402205/

by CraneWorm • 8 years ago

14 10 8 years ago

Isamu2• 8 years ago

I thought this was an interesting article although I doubt the argument.

My experience with fountain pens suggests a new answer. Perhaps it’s not digital technology that hindered my handwriting, but the technology that I was holding as I put pen to paper. Fountain pens want to connect letters. Ballpoint pens need to be convinced to write, need to be pushed into the paper rather than merely touch it.
Sassoon’s analysis of how we’re taught to hold pens makes a much stronger case for the role of the ballpoint in the decline of cursive. She explains that the type of pen grip taught in contemporary grade school is the same grip that’s been used for generations, long before everyone wrote with ballpoints. However, writing with ballpoints and other modern pens requires that they be placed at a greater, more upright angle to the paper—a position that’s generally uncomfortable with a traditional pen hold.

That is an interesting observation, but then I grew up learning traditional cursive with ball-point pens, and it wasn't really a big deal. Really all I remember as a downside is that the school-issued ballpoints would still have ink problems where a few of them would be leaky or broken and then you got ink over everything anyway.

I really think it just became seen as not such an important skill, when you have so many other things that are pretty important to learn. Remember penmanship was one of those things that continued into the upper grades, and advanced skill.

Typing became more important. Although the typewriter had been around forever, they were becoming cheaper and easier, because they were becoming electric. More schools taught typing. More people had a typewriter and more students knew how to type, and submitted papers typed. Previously if you didn't type (which was usual) you would need to submit a paper in pen, in cursive. Now that vanished.

SamReidHughes• 8 years ago

I learned using pencils. Angle wasn't a problem then.

gknoy• 8 years ago

A fountain pen is noticeably different from writing with a pencil or ballpoint, because you do not have to exert significant pressure, and because there is a lot less friction of your pen on the page.

Writing with ballpoints and pencils has conditioned us to Press Hard (whether for exam books or carbon copies). This leads to our hands feeling tired and cramped much more easily.

You're very right about the impact of typing, but even now I miss using a fountain pen after discovering them years ago. (I tend to use gel pens, as they are close, less messy, and cheap enough that I don't worry about losing them, but they're not as nice to write with.)

Isamu2• 8 years ago

I enjoy the Uniball Micro, for the ease of use that you mention. It is fluid, the stroke width tapers with pressure, it just feels more civilized than the old ballpoint pen.

But I agree fountain pens are pretty nice, I may be getting one to control the inks I use in art projects.

kevindong• 8 years ago

Personally I hated learning cursive and writing cursive in school in the mid 2000s. What's the point? For me, it took more time to write in than normal handwriting. Even the "good" cursive handwriting was overly ornate which actually made it harder to read. Bad cursive handwriting is just outright unreadable.

eigenstuff• 8 years ago

I spontaneously starting writing in cursive in my 8th grade math class one day and never turned back. I can write extremely fast, having written in cursive exclusively for 15 years. I have no idea how quickly I wrote when I started off, but I was probably pretty slow. It's definitely something to get used to, you can't expect to write lightning fast overnight, but isn't that true of most things?

Now my problem is, whenever a form says "please print," it morphs into cursive halfway through...

Doxin• 8 years ago

For me, it took more time to write in than normal handwriting.

This is generally true when using anything other than a fountain pen. A fountain pen has a much lower friction with the paper which makes lifting your pen a bigger hassle compared to with a ballpoint.

comonad-colaboy• 8 years ago

I think people were waiting for a reason to kill out cursive handwriting. It seems it was on the rise or being promoted in schools because of some weird myth that intelligent folks and cursive writing were a thing and established some causal relationship going from cursive writing to higher form of intelligence

calvertdw• 8 years ago

Has the author tried the Pilot precise v7? I'm sure there are more brands with a similar performance that provide low pressure writing without smudges. There is a HUGE selection of pens these days and I would think nearly every issue has been resolved.

How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive

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