Do you enjoy writing?

Comments

[Per Olsson]

I don't like writing with pen and paper too much but after this inspiring post I will certainly try it out some more even though I can't use hyperlinks :)

[Henrik Liliendahl Sørensen]

Nice post Jim.

I remember back in 1980 when I had my first job after graduation. I was a system architect at the Danish Tax Authorities. The IT we had was mainly batch processing and some 80x24 green screens. But also letters, requirements documents, and so I wrote by hand and forwarded to secretaries who typed on a typewriter in the first years and later with the first word processors (IBM system 80 as I remember). Only after I joined a Wang Lab distributor in 1986 did I have my own (Wang) word processor.

You may compare word processors to data quality tools. A word processor helps you with eliminating some basic flaws in spelling and grammar (and I couldn’t do without, not at least when writing in English) – but the overall text quality is still a human thing.

[Jill Wanless]

Admirable post Jim! I couldn't do what you just did!

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot to say (k, maybe not as much as you :D) but I would way rather do it verbally than write it down; especially using the ancient art of pen and paper. I find it way easier to organize thoughts in my head and express them verbally than to construct them visually. I keep thinking one of these days I will attempt a video post and see if that works better for me. I think it has to do with the 'rant' in me.

I like your statement that "writing cannot be destroyed but transformed". The drawings on cave walls were just an earlier version of today's YouTube videos.

Jill

[Corinna Martinez]

To be literate, a person of letters, means one must occasionally write letters by hand.

The connection between brain and hand cannot be overlooked as a key component to learning. It is by the very fact that it is labor intensive and requires thought that we are able to learn concepts and care thought into action.

One key feels the same as another and if the keyboard is changed then even the positioning of fingers while typing will have no significance. My bread and butter is computers but all in the name of communications, understanding and resolution of problems plaguing people/organizations.

And yet, I will never be too far into a computer to neglect to write a note or letter to a loved one. While I don't journal, and some say that writing a blog is like journaling online, I love mixing and matching even searching for the perfect word or turn of phrase.

Although a certain number of simians may recreate something legible on machines, Shakespeare or literature of the level to inspire and move it will not be. The pen is mightier than the sword - from as earthshaking as the downfall of nations to as simple as my having gotten jobs after handwriting simple thank you notes.

Unfortunately, it may go the way of the sword and be kept in glass cases instead of employed in its noblest and most dangerous task - wielded by masters of mind and purpose.

[Steve Sarsfield]

To comment on Henrik's reply. It's interesting for those of us who remember when it was easier to write something down on a pad of paper than to use a word processor.

Today, using MS Word is a better way to write, hands down. It helps us correct our spelling and vocabulary and speed up the writing process. It hasn't always been that way. The tools used to get in the way of creativity.

Data quality is in a similar transition. It used to be hard to enable data quality because the tool itself gets in the way. Just like the evolution of word processors, we will see more and more DQ tools that don't get in the way of the mission.

[Phil Simon]

I'm with Jill:

Don't get me wrong, I have a lot to say (k, maybe not as much as you :D) but I would way rather do it verbally than write it down; especially using the ancient art of pen and paper. I find it way easier to organize thoughts in my head and express them verbally than to construct them visually. I keep thinking one of these days I will attempt a video post and see if that works better for me. I think it has to do with the 'rant' in me.

Plus, I can't read my own handwriting half of the time anyway.

[DP_Turtle]

I WANT to like writing by hand - I really do. I have a beautiful Mont Blanc pen and some exquisite stationery that I do use for 'thank you' notes and other important correspondence. Sadly, that's about all either get used for. My handwriting is just too poor and the process is just too slow. Now that I'm over 40 (and let's be honest, I'm pushing 50), by the time I've transferred the current thought in my head down to paper, I've lost all the other thoughts in my head.

I applaud your effort, Jim (and secretly wonder if you wrote it all on a PC then transferred it to paper). I hope handwriting survives ... just as long as it's better than mine.

[Julian Schwarzenbach]

Jim,

Another insightful posting.

To add another dimension to the handwriting theme - I have a tablet PC (a Thinkpad and not an iPad!), so some times I create content by typing and sometimes by writing on the tablet.

What I find interesting is how, over time I have developed different habits in when I write and when I type:

* When on the train I will more often write, rather than type, or I will read and comment on documents in tablet mode.

* When at my desk I will usually type, because it is more precise for longer or more complex documents.

* When in meetings I will write, because it is quicker to get down ideas and images.

* In conferences and seminars I write because it is less disturbing to neighbors.

* When sketching out rough ideas, project plans etc. I will write them out for transcribing into a more formal format later.

As some of the other comments above mention, the quality of handwriting can be an issue - your post was very legible, my scribblings in a fast paced meeting are definitely not!

The advantage I have is not the long term storage of writing in a more robust medium, but the fact I have to carry less paper when commuting.

Julian

P.S. I would have tried to write this reply, but I can't find a way to attach files to a comment!!

[Daragh O Brien]

I am with Scott Adams on the question of the power of technology....

If you lock 100 monkeys in a room with 100 typewriters you will just get a room full of dead monkeys.

You need to feed them.

[Jim Harris]

Thanks everyone for your great (as always) comments!

@Per — Maybe someone could invent digitized pieces of paper and special pens, both using some kind of nanotechnology, which would allow us to write with pen and paper that can use hyperlinks :-)

@Henrik — Nice comparison between word processors and data quality tools. I definitely agree that both help with their respective tasks, but ultimately the human user is responsible for quality . . . at least until the machines achieve sentience, then it really will be all about the technology :-)

@Jill — I hear you (metaphorically of course). I use digital recorders to capture a lot of my rambling thoughts because it is much easier and faster that way, and then transcribe those recordings into blog posts. Sometimes, I use podcasts or videos because I also enjoy ranting. You should definitely experiment with audio or video posting.

@Corinna — Special thanks for your comment, it is one of my favorites of all time.

@Steve — Excellent point on tools usually getting in the way of creativity, and how that is changing in many areas, including both writing and data quality.

@Phil — My handwriting quality has definitely declined considerably over the years from lack of practice. Trying to write as fast as my thoughts are racing through my mind also contributes to incomprehensible scribbling - sometimes even when using a computer :-)

@DP_Turtle — I have a small collection of really nice pens (I had a Mont Blanc years ago, but it got lost in one of my many moves) that have never been used to write anything. The only part that I "cheated" and typed on a computer first was the HTML to make sure I got the syntax right :-)

@Julian — I have managed to continue to resist all tablets (even the new iPad). I used to follow very similar habits as those you listed, but I am finding that I am writing less and less every day, primarily for the very reason you mentioned - having less paper to carry around - and also less paper cluttering my workspace.

@Daragh — You also need to clean up after them, after all, monkeys don't just TYPE messy :-)

[Geoff]

You're living' in the past man. Quit living in the past.

I'm going back to cave paintings myself.... sorry Jim.