
How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive - samclemens
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/ballpoint-pens-object-lesson-history-handwriting/402205/?single_page=true
======
boken
It is most telling, to me, to hear people (none of them made from straw) admit
that writer's cramp is part and parcel of a single session of taking notes or
writing an hour-long exam. Professional copyists and secretaries in the early
20th century weren't biting down on their lower lips to push through the pain
every time they put pen to paper during ten- and twelve-hour workdays. They
just used better tools for _that_ job (leak as the tools might do) and were
taught how to write with focus on posture and movement, not on letterforms
alone.

I don't strictly use the letterforms or all the best practices of the Palmer
method—see the article for a link—but using a Palmer book as a guide, I
managed to teach myself to write with a relaxed grip and no movement in the
fingers or wrist, and I can go for hours now and walk away with no more
discomfort than the stiffness of sitting without relief.

It is hard to write like this using most ballpoints because you do need to
exert more force to get a consistent line out of the things. You don't need a
fountain or dip pen, however—just a soft-leaded pencil (try an art supply
shop), a good rollerball pen, or some gel pens. None of these write as
effortlessly as a fountain pen, but neither do they require the kind of cramp-
inducing force that a Bic pen does.

I've read mid-century materials on this topic before. My sense is that this
isn't a _new_ argument so much as a forgotten one.

~~~
jacobolus
The Palmer method descends from Spencerian script, an excessively flowery and
not-all-that-legible form of writing from the days when people wanted to make
their writing look difficult and fancy.

Writing in a fancy style is fine for calligraphers making wedding invitations
or whatever, but is a poor model for teaching children or for everyday use for
most people.

Italic (aka chancery cursive), a script of renaissance Italy, is a much better
model.

Here’s a great page targeted at teaching children to write, with lots of
exercises: [http://briem.net](http://briem.net)

Also see
[http://luc.devroye.org/Briem1985-IcelandicMethod.pdf](http://luc.devroye.org/Briem1985-IcelandicMethod.pdf)
and
[http://66.147.242.192/~operinan/8/2/205.html](http://66.147.242.192/~operinan/8/2/205.html)

~~~
boken
Please don't assume my ignorance on other hands, or that I would argue in
favor of teaching students the Palmer method. Teaching children outmoded
systems ill suited to the instruments they are likely to have at hand is
grossly unnecessary. (One of the reasons, incidentally, that I don't think
students ought to be required to use italic nibs.) In its time, Palmer was
taught under the assumption that a sizeable portion of each class would need a
good— _not_ decorative—hand for professional purposes at some point in their
lives. That is no longer true.

Palmer descends from, but is assuredly _not,_ Spencerian. Nor is it in any
sense of the word fancy, except perhaps in comparison to blockletter print. It
is a business hand designed for practical, quick, and legible business
communications. It is not a coincidence that Palmer books begin with posture
and movement exercises before students are even to lift a pen. It really is
meant for everyday, injury-free use.

~~~
jacobolus
I wasn’t trying to disagree with your original comment, which makes great
points.

My point is just that Palmer’s script _isn’t_ practical/legible in comparison
to italic. It’s filled with lots of little flourishes, makes it easy to write
letters in a confusable way, and is very difficult for children to learn. The
capital letters in particular are ridiculous. For someone highly trained, it
can be fast, but it’s not inherently faster than other styles. It only seemed
“professional” because it was the trendy style at the time.

As a curriculum/pedagogy, teachers using the Palmer method focused on drilling
and discipline, the same “do it correctly or I’ll hit you” style common to
instruction in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Features of handwriting technique like using muscles in the arm to move the
whole hand in preference to fixing the hand and mostly using finger motions
can be applied to any writing style.

~~~
ghaff
>As a curriculum/pedagogy, teachers using the Palmer method focused on
drilling and discipline, the same “do it correctly or I’ll hit you” style
common to instruction in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Where early 20th century extended into at least the 1960s at one Catholic
grade school I could name :-)

~~~
watmough
There was a ruler poised over my knuckles well into the 70's...

------
kctess5
I've almost exclusively used fountain pens for about 5 years now, and it's
been amazing. Modern fountain pens don't generally leak much, and they are SO
much better to write with than a basic Bic/generic ballpoint. The primary
difference is that you don't have to push down _at all_ which saves your hand
from a huge amount of stress after a long writing session. I really don't
understand why more people don't use them these days. Another bonus is that
you can choose from a very wide variety of inks, so you can change it up
whenever you feel like it.

My daily driver is currently a Monteverde Invincia Deluxe Stainless Steel
($65), which looks fantastic and is a great performer. I highly recommend to
that anyone with large hands, because it's definitely not small. I also
recommend the Pilot Metropolitan (~$12) [1] and the Waterman Phileas (~$50)
all of which I have used extensively for class notes.

If I don't have one of my FPs for whatever reason, then I have been known to
go for smooth "roller ball" pens as well - they use more lubricated ink than
standard ball points and require less pressure, so they generally feel like
mediocre fountain pens.

[1] [https://www.massdrop.com/buy/pilot-mr-fountain-
pen](https://www.massdrop.com/buy/pilot-mr-fountain-pen)

~~~
sandGorgon
how would you compare them with Gel Rollerballs ? [1]

I am partial to the Parker rollerball refills - I use a Parker Chinese Laque
Ambre - but do not want the inconvenience of a fountain pen.

I believe a rollerball is like the Nespresso to the fountain pen's espresso.
Slightly worse - but much better than ball point pens.

But the best part that I like about rollerballs is how you can get an
expensive experience in a cheap pen. For example Mont Blanc refills can be
hacked to fit a cheap G2 [2]

[1]
[http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/241755-which-p...](http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/241755-which-
pen-company-makes-the-best-rollerball-refills/)

[2] [http://www.instructables.com/id/Save-$200-in-2-minutes-
and-h...](http://www.instructables.com/id/Save-$200-in-2-minutes-and-have-the-
worlds-best-wr/)

~~~
rwmj
Japanese Gel Rollerballs are also excellent. The Uni-ball UM153S Impact Gel
Rollerball 1.0mm Tip (made by the awesomely-named Mitsubishi Pencil Company)
is my go-to pen for everyday writing.

~~~
kctess5
Those actually look almost exactly like my pens of choice from the Google
supply cabinets. They are very nice, I like them better than the more common
G2 because the ink doesn't glob up as badly.

------
bambax
In France everyone uses ballpoints, and yet everyone writes cursive, so I very
much doubt there's any connection between the two.

The weird handwriting of Americans certainly has to do with how they're
taught, not what they use.

I have three kids that are currently learning to write (aged 6, 7 and 10) and
a great deal of time is spent forming nice, cursive letters (copying lines of
frequent letter pairs to lean how to join them properly and nicely for
example).

I'm not saying this is good or bad (I like cursive and am happy my kids are
learning it, but would like they would also learn to touch type, which isn't
taught in school), but I am saying that you write how you learned to write...

~~~
cocoflunchy
I wouldn't say that everyone uses ballpoints, I used fountain pens during most
of my education in France and so did most of my classmates. Many (most?)
teachers still require their students to use fountain pens (one of the reasons
is probably the fact that you can use an eraser, so it makes for cleaner
papers...). Even after getting out of school, I don't use ballpoints if I can
avoid them, because they're not as fast.

~~~
bambax
As I said in another comment, if you use a fountain pen in a business setting
(as I do), people look at you funny.

I was around 10 when erasers first appeared, and they were strictly forbidden
during all my school years, because they tended to make a big mess (or a hole)
in the paper. We were told to strike errors properly, with a ruler.

Today it's true that they are permitted, to my amazement.

Among my children's teachers, some recommend fountain pens, some say they
dislike it, but mostly kids can use what they like best.

------
fabian2k
Discussions about cursive writing on the Internet confused me quite a bit
until I noticed that there seems to be a pretty large difference between what
I learned in Germany and what people in the US learned.

What children learn in Germany for at least a few decades now looks like the
following:
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Vereinfachte_Ausgangssch...](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Vereinfachte_Ausgangsschrift.png)

From what I understand, the cursive script that was taught in US schools was
much more complicated with lots of little flourishes. The simplified cursive
script seems a lot more practical to me, and I wonder if that is a factor in
the the decline of cursive writing. The negative reactions to cursive writing
I've read on the internet from people in the US seemed a lot stronger than
anything I've ever heard from Germans.

~~~
jkovacs
Interesting, I guess there are some regional differences then, as well. This
is what I learned in elementary school in the 90s (in NRW):
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Deutsche_normalschrift_a...](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Deutsche_normalschrift_ab_01091941.jpg)

For what it's worth I still try to use it whenever I write by hand (which is
rare in the first place), but often revert to print because I can't usually
decipher my cursive a day later.

~~~
quintusq
This is also what I was tought during the 90'ies in NRW. However, I know from
my parents that during their time (somewhere late 60'ies) it was possible to
take an additional course in “Schönschrift” (nice script) which translated to
the handwriting Germans have been using for centuries before:
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deutsche_Kurrentschr...](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deutsche_Kurrentschrift.jpg)

My grandparents have letters that are written in this script, and I’ve seen it
used in official documents from around 1900. I fell in love with this script
and try my best and learning it currently. Just looking at it will make it
obvious that it’s pretty impossible to write with a ballpoint pen.

------
Grue3
I call bullshit, in Russia people still write in cursive long after
introduction of ballpoint pen, because that's what people are taught in
school. It also happens to be much faster than print, regardless of the
writing implement, so that helps too.

~~~
IshKebab
Same in the UK.

~~~
benplumley
We were certainly taught cursive, but I don't know a single person who still
uses it other than me. Their writing is (for the most part) slow and legible,
mine is fast and almost unreadable. More so when I use a fountain pen.

Still, it's moot - as the article author said - because I haven't had to
handwrite more than my own name in the last 6 months.

~~~
alextgordon
There are three styles...

    
    
                       AmE         BrE
                       =========== ===========
        Italic         Cursive     Calligraphy
        Connected      ???         Handwriting
        Unconnected    Print       What you do on forms...

------
jonah
If you want to try fountain pens but don't want to spend $$ on a nice one at
first, check out the Pilot Varsity line.[1] They're cheap and disposable and
seem to write pretty well. (I'm no expert on fountain pens though.)

I use them for note taking at meetings and whatnot. You do want a fairly
fine/tight paper to write on though - the same as any other liquid-ink pen.

[1] [http://pilotpen.us/categories/fountain-
pens/varsity/](http://pilotpen.us/categories/fountain-pens/varsity/)

~~~
kctess5
I can recommend the Pilot Metropolitan [1]! I have two and they are better
than some "very nice" fountain pens I've used/had. Very smooth, very little
issues with leaking, pretty cheap at <$20.

[1] [http://www.gouletpens.com/Pilot-
Metropolitan/c/191](http://www.gouletpens.com/Pilot-Metropolitan/c/191)

~~~
tacticus
I'll second this recommendation. the metropolitans are great pens.

------
vsbuffalo
I love fountain pens and highly encourage everyone to try them (with a good
notebook helps). First, ballpoint pens are wasteful — 1.6 billion pens a year
are thrown away[1]. Fountain pens are reusable, ink is comparatively cheap and
lasts forever, and finding your ink is a fun and personal experience (I really
like the "bulletproof" Noodler's inks which are waterproof, bleach proof,
etc.). Fountain pens last forever — which is why folks still hunt around for
40+ year old used ones.

Second, it really does make writing fun. I _hated_ writing — my handwriting is
messy, it's slow, and it's not as easy as typing. As the article argues, a
good fountain pen makes it much, and in my experience much more enjoyable.

Third, it doesn't need to be expensive. Get a Lamy Safari (EF), a Lamy
converter and a bottle of Noodlers ink. I also love my Faber Castell Loom[2]
(it's the smoothest pen I own), and I carry around a Kaweco Al-Sport[3]
everywhere (it's the perfect pocket pen).

[1] [http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/haz-
ed/ff06.p...](http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/haz-ed/ff06.pdf)
[2] [http://www.gouletpens.com/faber-castell-loom-metallic-
orange...](http://www.gouletpens.com/faber-castell-loom-metallic-orange-
fountain-pen/p/FB-Loom-MetallicOrange-FP) [3] [http://www.jetpens.com/Kaweco-
AL-Sport-Fountain-Pen-Fine-Nib...](http://www.jetpens.com/Kaweco-AL-Sport-
Fountain-Pen-Fine-Nib-Matte-Blue-Body/pd/9495)

------
jacobolus
Nice HN discussion about handwriting from a few years ago:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2500864](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2500864)

I like this comment
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2501152](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2501152)
– a partial quotation:

> _Almost all US schools have standardized on forms of looped cursive (e.g.
> Parker Penmanship, Zaner-Bloser) -- a set of letterforms designed not for
> handwriting, but for the movable type printing press! Looped cursive was
> made to be attractive with the fewest unique joins possible so that printers
> needed to stock fewer pieces for their movable type presses. Looped cursive
> is slower, less legible, and more difficult to learn than forms of writing
> actually made to be written (such as cursive italic)._

------
colinsidoti
Any lefties here? I'm a lefty and feel stuck with the basic ballpoint because
any other pen I try ends up with everything smudged. Not sure if that's just
poor form on my part.

~~~
munificent
Me too. I love nice pens, paper, calligraphy, the works. I practically
fetishize it and drool over Moleskines every time I'm in a bookstore.

But as a lefty, I feel like the proper experience of using them is pretty much
off limits to me.

~~~
bane
Whatever kind of paper they use in moleskines and gel pens have been a saving
grace for me. For some reason it works much much better.

------
rmason
I learned cursive writing in first grade in 1958 (in Detroit) and we were
already using ballpoint pens. But the desks we used had working inkwells,
emptied of the ink, so I'd guess the change was fairly recent because a few
years later the inkwells had been removed just leaving big holes in the desks
where they'd resided.

The biggest thing back then was that I was left handed and the teachers forced
me to write right handed. My mother ended up getting me 'permission' to write
left handed and I have been happily ever since ;<).

~~~
amouat
My primary school (UK) had desks with inkwells in the 80s. I have no idea when
the inkwells had last been used. The idea of giving 4-11 yo kids ink seems
crazy now.

~~~
scholia
I was an "ink monitor" at school in the UK in the 1950s. My job was to go
round and fill up empty inkwells. It was the pinnacle of my career ;-)

I don't remember any problems. We were very well-behaved.

------
jane_is_here
I have a nice Baoer 79 Montblanc Starwalker clone that I paid under $4 for (
delivery included ) Here is someone's review
[http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/240914-baoer-7...](http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/240914-baoer-79-review/)

If you prefer something larger,the Jinhao 159 is a clone of the Montblanc
Meisterstück 149
[http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/216230-jinhao-...](http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/216230-jinhao-159/)
and is under $6 on ebay

------
ryandrake
Is there even a point to learning cursive anymore? Seems like a waste of time
if they're still teaching it to kids. I can't think of any practical purpose
for it. Knowing cursive is about as useful as knowing how to use an abacus.

~~~
bane
I think it's useful for being able to read old documents. My parents and
grandparents wrote only in cursive and I'm finding I have to read their
writing to younger people who can't read it.

~~~
cdash
I am not sure learning how to read cursive is very hard and teaching that may
still be a good thing to do. Learning how to write it seems the difficult part
though considering most people who do not know how to write cursive can read
it just fine.

Note: Some cursive is much easier to read than others

------
cheetos
I'm surprised no one has mentioned felt tip pens as an alternative to fountain
pens.

The Paper Mate medium point felt tip pen is my favorite writing tool. It
provides a good-looking and effortless stroke and you can buy them pretty much
anywhere.

------
fsloth
Fountain pens rule. But the problem with acquiring them is that nowadays a lot
of fountain pens seem to be made to look fancy and not to write well.

------
drakonka
I learned this when I bought my first and only fountain pen last year. The
difference in writing experience is amazing - I take so much more notes now,
and actually carry a notebook with me.

------
WhoBeI
Sustained fine grained and fluid hand movement is more difficult to learn then
drawing a sequence of geometric shapes and a lot more challenging to read.
School should be about understanding ideas and the value of critical thinking.
Using or requiring the use of an inefficient presentation method does not help
with that mission.

I suppose the mass move away from cursive writing started with the printing
press. By simplifying the symbols we gained a powerful tool to spread the
ideas they convey. This has just become more true with the computer which,
much like the printing press, has a much easier time with distinct
disconnected symbols.

I believe it's more important to learn how to write and express your ideas
using all available technologies then spending time learning the particulars
of one.

The hammer doesn't need to be beautiful to build a beautiful house it needs to
be efficient. Writing does not need to be elegant to convey a beautiful
message.

------
muddyrivers
In my hometown in the 80's, elementary school kids were not allowed to use
ballpoints. Fountain pens were allowed from the 3rd grade. Before that, wood-
based pencils only. Even mechanical pencils were forbidden. It was said that
ballpoints and mechanical pencils, especially the former, would have very
negative effects on developing one's handwriting.

This was the case for Chinese, in which a good handwriting was highly
regarded. As far as I know, there are no studies to prove or disprove the
claim. It was true for me personally and for my classmates. I could execute
many handwriting forms in pencils and in fountain pens easily while extremely
hard, if ever possible, in ballpoints. After using ballpoints for a pretty
long period, I couldn't write as well even if I picked up my fountain pens
again. It had to take some time and some writing to get it back.

------
rodgerd
This is rubbish. Ballpoint pens had long been in existence before I went to
school, and I learned cursive. My daughter's French classmates are all, today,
taught superb cursive handwriting.

~~~
christianmann
Okay. So was I, but primarily I don't see people using it for everyday
writing. Why do you suppose that is the case? Most people know how to use
cursive, but they choose not to do so.

------
mcguire
" _And since the thin ink flows more quickly, I have to refill the pen
frequently._ "

While technically true, that fountain pens will use more ink, keep in mind
that (a) ink is cheap, (b) refilling is easy, and (c) some[1] pens have a
larger ink capacity.

[1] [http://asapens.in/eshop/fountain-pen/gama-ebonite-
pens/gama-...](http://asapens.in/eshop/fountain-pen/gama-ebonite-pens/gama-
demostrator-fountain-pen)

------
Htsthbjig
"Fight for your Write” campaign—brought up an fMRI study suggesting that
writing by hand may be better for kids’ learning than using a computer."

How about writing by hand ON a computer?

For me is totally stupid to teach kids to type on a keyboard, when in the
present and near future you could use other faster and better means for
writing, like this speech recognition I am using now or stenotype.

The other day I saw a friend using a new prototype of a new digital stenotype
on a maker space and I was sold instantly. This is the future.

But children need to learn how to draw, and train their hands in precise
manipulation. If you lose handwriting training when you are kid you also lose
the ability of doing precise work with your hands as your brain will prune the
neural connections with your hand as you don't use it.

You can do that on a computer. Today we have affordable galaxy notes. I use an
expensive Cinqiq, that will become much more affordable in the future.
Training kids looking at the rear mirror makes no sense to me.

------
ctdonath
The Apple Newton was the last chance for cursive. Having two, I found that was
the easiest and most accurate handwriting input. Alas, "egg freckles" rued the
day and no more tech used cursive input.

~~~
nirvdrum
Microsoft's handwriting recognition is surprisingly good at understanding
cursive. I have a Lenovo Helix and use the built-in digitizer with some
frequency due to RSI issues with typing. I don't think it's a huge use case,
but it's nice to see the technology carrying forward in some capacity.

------
TazeTSchnitzel
This is why I started using Uniball Eye pens. They require so much less
pressure, it's quite a relief for my hand. And when I picked them up, I
started using cursive again in my handwriting.

------
philip1209
I love fountain pens. Like automatic watches, they create a certain attachment
and appreciation for function.

------
anigbrowl
...in America.

~~~
gus_massa
At least in Argentina, the children at school still use a fountain pen and
learn cursive. In secondary they usualy switch to a ballpoint.

~~~
guard-of-terra
Wow, why would they torture children that way? Even ballpoint pen is obviously
outdated and should be held back, keyboard is the king.

~~~
rdsnsca
Cost.

~~~
guard-of-terra
Cost? Fontain pens are very impractical devices. Ink wells, ink spills,
carrying pens around, fixing them - this ends up.

------
scholia
Has anybody switched to writing on a screen as a regular thing?

------
hinkley
What about gel ink?

------
CurtMonash
I used to get very sore neck muscles, not pain in my hands.

If an essay exam final was truly 3 hours, rather than twice the length of a 1
hour midterm, I came out in agony.

------
guard-of-terra
I say good riddance. Leave it to people who make a job out of it. We should
admit it and move on, removing stuck bits of handwriting from where it doesn't
belong anymore.

I personally never liked writing on paper, it was ugly and time-consuming; I
would never be able to express myself on paper: I'll compress the meaning away
or just quit halfway through.

~~~
Glide
I have yet to find diagramming software that lets me express myself faster
than a couple of quick doodles on a piece of paper.

I find myself loathing to explain something with a "simple" chart that can
take 5 minutes to draw by hand but far more on a computer.

~~~
bootload
_" lets me express myself faster than a couple of quick doodles on a piece of
paper."_

... and then take a digital photo. Which is the process I've adopted. This is
a hard problem to solve with the clumsy digital tools we have at our disposal
at the moment. Probably not with this generation of input.

