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The Case for Using a Paper Planner
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Posted by Beck
Mar 31, 2019 at 11:33 PM
Thank you, Dr Andus, for this thoughtful reply!
Dr Andus wrote:
>Considering that much of the zen type of mediation is about suspending a
>sense of a self, I had this feeling when I was looking at my hand doing
>the writing that there was more to it than just my conscious self that
>was involved in the writing process, or at least it was a different
>experience of selfhood than when typing on a keyboard.
I have a long-standing practice of writing morning pages (three pages of freewriting first thing in the morning) that I write by hand. I have experimented with typing them at times and it’s not the same for me either. Especially noteworthy is that same sort of awareness and awe at the words that materialize on paper via the electricity of thought… the tissues of muscles and arteries and limbs… the plastic, metal, and ink of the pen… and there then like magic on the page—a thought or idea or connection or total nonsense. Not every word is accompanied by this awareness, which of course makes those times that they are all the more special. It’s honestly one of my favorite experiences in the world.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Apr 1, 2019 at 09:07 AM
This strongly reminds me of a couple of experiments I run from time to time:
First, trying to identify a thought before I articulate it to myself. This is remarkably difficult, and shows why certain linguistic philosophers regard thinking as inseparable from language;
Second, trying to identify/track the process by which I articulate a thought. It’s incredibly difficult to “spot” where the words you “choose” (or don’t choose?) to encapsulate a thought actually come from, at what point they emerge from your subconscious and become a coherent (or not, of course!), relatively integrated whole.
I’m sure reams of material have been written on both thought experiments; I just haven’t had time to do my own further research on these aspects of consciousness (vs. subconscious idea processing, which is clearly fundamental to our cognition).
But it would be very interesting to extend the experiment to encompass writing - the physical act of writing - as well. I’m a touch typist, but I’d have to agree that the feeling of actual, physical, hand-to-paper writing is very different. Although in certain sublime touch-typing moments, I can feel a similar flow…
Perhaps we ought to set up a joint academic forum to pursue this research more actively!
Have a good week, everybody!
Bill
Posted by Paul Korm
Apr 1, 2019 at 11:49 AM
Thoughts are best when not-articulated, since articulation of any sort collapses understanding to grasping or i-making. Something not worth freezing for examination later.
Posted by Hugh
Apr 1, 2019 at 12:06 PM
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Apr 1, 2019 at 02:10 PM
Personally, I have a different experience of typing vs. handwriting. I find it much more effective for me to type, whether I’m recording information, or gathering it from my own mind. First of all, I am a very slow hand-writer, so it is not possible for me to record what goes on in meetings… I’m behind and asking myself, “What did she just say?”
But I also have a block when handwriting. I don’t like to cross out words to edit a sentence. It makes me interrupt my flow of consciousness to try to get the sentences “right” the first time. Knowing I can easily edit my thoughts in digital form makes it so much easier for me to just barrel ahead getting them down in my digital notebook.
Almost 40 years ago, I spent 11 months bicycling around the United States. I kept paper journals (no other alternative back then). I recently transcribed those three paper journals and found them so wanting in insight and important detail. A major part of that, of course, is that I was young and a bad writer, and inexperienced in understanding the difference between uninsightful details and important observations. But I am sure that had I had a digital journal to record the day to day of the trip, I’d maybe not cut down on the useless detail, but I would have recorded a lot more of the important stuff.
I’m not saying there is no place for handwriting in my life. In fact, I just ordered a Grow Journal from Baron Fig:
https://www.baronfig.com/products/grow-daily-journal
Something about its setup appealed to me and makes me think there is at least a reasonable chance that I’ll use it to good effect.
Steve Z