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Posted by Cassius
May 21, 2011 at 04:55 PM
I typed my Ph.D. dissertation (mathematics) on a small Olivetti Lettera 22 during ‘67-‘68 with much of the typing being done in bed. I also loved using and collecting fountain pens. When lightweight laptops arrived, I switched and have been much happier ever since.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
May 21, 2011 at 06:49 PM
Okay, I keep waiting for someone to chime in by saying they prefer a goose quill and parchment; or, better yet, stone tablets and chisels!
Give me a laptop computer with a nice keyboard any day! I’ve always wondered how much more I would have enjoyed college if I’d had a computer instead of an old manual typewriter.
Nevertheless, I do agree that the search for the perfect writing environment can be a major hinderance to actually writing.
Steve Z.
Posted by Gary Carson
May 21, 2011 at 10:37 PM
“...I keep waiting for someone to chime in by saying they prefer a goose quill and parchment; or, better yet, stone tablets and chisels.”
Don’t laugh. People still write with goose quills and they’re still being sold. For example: http://www.libertybellshop.com/goose-feather-quill-pen.html
You can also write with a wax tablet and stylus like the Romans did. http://www.iloveswords.com/ROMAN_Accesories_204.html
I’ve even searched around to see if you can still get papyrus scrolls, but so far I haven’t been able to find any. A lot of ancient writers produced massive works using these primitive instruments, so it’s pretty clear that productivity doesn’t really have anything to do with the specific kinds of tools you use.
As for stone tablets and chisels, they’re mostly for leaving memorials that will last a few thousand years.
Posted by Cassius
May 21, 2011 at 11:06 PM
Speaking of scrolls, scribes that hand-copy the Torah write it in sections that are later sewn together. If a scribe makes even one error in a section, he must discard it and start again.
I would think that writing with a quill was probably slower than with a typewriter or computer.
Posted by dan7000
May 22, 2011 at 02:46 PM
Today it’s hard to believe that I and most of my classmates used typewriters during the first of my college years—the alternative was going to a computer lab on campus, since few students had their own personal computer yet. In my second or third year, my parents gave me a Xerox 820 with WordStar. It was a dream compared to using a typewriter.
For me, there is no question that using a word processor is far more productive than using a typewriter. Word processors allow you to change your mind as you work - moving and rewriting sections and sentences without having to retype the entire rest off the document. In contrast, when we worked with typewriters I think we usually did this early drafting in pencil—which is very slow compared to typing—before moving to the typewriter to complete the final draft.