How common would handwriting be in a future society?

[Brian Smaller]

I was thinking about this today when I went to write something and thought 'geez, my handwriting has got appalling'. 99% of the writing I do now is on computers and not with a pen on paper.

So, would people even know how to hand write in a futuristic society with all the advanced computers and so forth that would be available.

I was specifically thinking of a Tech 15 Imperial being presented with paper and a pen.

 

[esampson]

I was thinking about this today when I went to write something and thought 'geez, my handwriting has got appalling'. 99% of the writing I do now is on computers and not with a pen on paper.

So, would people even know how to hand write in a futuristic society with all the advanced computers and so forth that would be available.

I was specifically thinking of a Tech 15 Imperial being presented with paper and a pen.

I would have to guess that handwriting wouldn't be 'uncommon'. Sure, there are lots of tablets and hand held computers and terminals about but there's still going to be times where someone wants to just jot down a quick note and scribbling something on a piece of paper will be faster than getting out your handheld and starting up the app. Additionally I would assume that most hand held interfaces would have some sort of capability to recognize handwriting simply because it would be faster than touch typing on the screen in most cases.

Yes, people could vocalize what they want while a computer writes it down but there are probably more than enough cases where you wouldn't want to be doing that (such as making a shopping list while you are at lunch or during a boring meeting).

 

[leo knight]

I first considered this when the old West End Games 'Star Wars' rpg came out. They pointed out that the 'Star Wars' universe had no paper. Sure enough, no books, no paper, only screens. 'Star Trek' made similar mentions, usually some stuffy old fogey railing on about how books are better.

I guess it would depend on tech level. Low tech worlds without access to tech would have to resort to hand writing, or at least typing. I keep thinking of Kirk signing those pads the pretty yeomen kept bringing him. Maybe you would leave a thumbprint instead? Or maybe they teach penmanship at Starfleet Academy? Today's lessons: Warp Physics and Palmer method. Maybe everything would be talk-to-text, like the old captain's log.

I know a few people, mostly younger than me, who can't write or read cursive! And spelling, don't get me started!

 

[Carlobrand]

My first thought was, "Post-it notes will never die." Cheap technologies tend to endure. Good ol'-fashioned screwdrivers still sell, though powered versions are much more convenient. Cost is an issue: tech costs, and there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe there won't be poor people in future.

Cursive, though, is likely to join Morse Code as an odd technology that kids drag out of the history books for their own secret games but that otherwise see little practical use.

 

[HG_B]

It will become less common but, still used. As noted by others here, there are circumstances where verbal to device isn't appropriate but notes still need to be taken & typing isn't as easy/convenient.

 

[McPerth]

My first thought was, "Post-it notes will never die."

Curiously enough, that was also mi first thought on Reading this thread...

 

[robject]

I think, unless there's a compelling reason to replace appropriate-but-low-tech, then it won't be replaced.

It's hard to replace post-it notes with e-paper, until e-paper becomes foolproof... but even then you'll be able to write with your own stylus. Hand-written communication will die hard, because it's almost got a unique ecological niche.

On the other hand, steno pads are hard for me to find. Shorthand is a very small niche.

Consider shotguns and cutlasses in space.

 

[coliver988]

On the cursive thing: my 12 year old is not learning it - they no longer teach cursive writing in school, at least here in NC.

Writing, I think, will always be around: cheap, easy, no power required. The substrata may get moved: electronic paper that is cheap, durable, self-powering via motion and reusable.

And there is always graffiti - look at all the depictions of future cities. Quite a few have graffiti still.

 

[pennshome723]

Here in NJ they no longer teach it either. Most kids can't even sign their own names, they "print" it now.

I would say in the future people will know how to print but not write.

 

[McPerth]

Here in Barcelona, cursive letter is being thaught as the initial writing yet. My 10 (near 11) years old daughter uses it, and my 5 year old one is begining to use it.

Not too common (to say the least) among adults, though...

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Cost is an issue: tech costs, and there doesn't seem to be any reason to believe there won't be poor people in future.

T4 Core Rules or Millieu 0 has a writeup on poverty at TL 12 during Imperial Year 0. At work so I cannot reference it, but from what I recall poverty level people at TL 12 enjoy a higher standard of living than millionaires do at TL 7-8 now.

Also there is mention that everything is "smart" and having miniature batteries including clothing, paper and pens. Or at least that was the 1990's view of TL 12.

 

[Brian Smaller]

So there would be serious wedge to be made running pallets of paper into say, Glisten, in your opinion?

 

[aramis]

On the cursive thing: my 12 year old is not learning it - they no longer teach cursive writing in school, at least here in NC.

Writing, I think, will always be around: cheap, easy, no power required. The substrata may get moved: electronic paper that is cheap, durable, self-powering via motion and reusable.

And there is always graffiti - look at all the depictions of future cities. Quite a few have graffiti still.

it's a required subject for grade 4-6 in Alaska. In at least one district, some schools require it for both English and Russian...

 

[lspitz]

The world lost a great opportunity when handwriting recognition systems appeared for PDAs. The Graffiti alphabet and other systems for the Palm Pilot were usable, but clumsy and slow compared to what could have been achieved with a cursive shorthand using vectored strokes, like the Gregg system.

Vectored-stroke shorthand systems are perfect for handwriting recognition devices, but no one, as far as I know, has ever written an app for this. And given the drastic decline in the number of people who know shorthand, probably no one ever will.

 

[aramis]

The newton had functional (and pretty decent) natural cursive and hand-printed text recognition deployed in 1993, before the Palm OS (1997) with Grafiti. I often wished for a Newton port for Palm hardware.

My android tab (A Samsung Note 10.1) has natural handwriting recognition as an input system as well.

 

[CosmicGamer]

Voice recognition hasn't taken off and become as common as I thought it would. A good mic that can pick up a whisper in a noisy environment; not just for voice recognition, but for general public phone usage. The voice recognition needs to be build into the OS and made easily accessible to developers so that it is integrated into everything. Maybe lip reading as an input at the OS level too. I don't want to just see handwriting go away, I want to see typing and texting go away too.

 

[HG_B]

I don't want to just see handwriting go away, I want to see typing and texting go away too.

I don't think that will happen in my children's lifetime. There's nothing to take the place of all those.

 

[Carlobrand]

...Vectored-stroke shorthand systems are perfect for handwriting recognition devices, but no one, as far as I know, has ever written an app for this. And given the drastic decline in the number of people who know shorthand, probably no one ever will.

I don't know about the specifics of the program used, but our state experimented with handwriting recognition in the tablets used during surveys of nursing homes. The teams wander through the facilities collecting observations and interviews, so it's pretty common for them to be standing and holding the tablet in one hand while entering information with the other; the program was supposed to make it easier to write in the little computers. The system was poor enough that every member of 5 teams gave it up and started typing one-handed.

Of course, that was TL7-8.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Good ol'-fashioned screwdrivers still sell, though powered versions are much more convenient.

Old-fashioned screwdrivers also still sell because a powered one makes a lousy pry bar. Also a bad idea to check whether your spark plugs are getting power using an electric one. :smirk: Oh, and the electric ones don't make nearly as good a shiv in a pinch. End functional fixedness now!

Voice recognition hasn't taken off and become as common as I thought it would. A good mic that can pick up a whisper in a noisy environment; not just for voice recognition, but for general public phone usage. The voice recognition needs to be build into the OS and made easily accessible to developers so that it is integrated into everything. Maybe lip reading as an input at the OS level too. I don't want to just see handwriting go away, I want to see typing and texting go away too.

Lip reading will only work if the tech is as smart as a human brain - way too many bits of speech go on behind the lips. As to voice entry for everything? I certainly hope not! It's a horribly inefficient method of communication for many things. And I absolutely don't want to live in a world where everyone is constantly muttering. Ugh!

 

[McPerth]

Some thoughts about those alternative systems:

voice recognizing: never having used one, IDK how can they filter sounds in a noisy environment (as a market or a busy office). I also guess they can have problems with foreign accents, mostly from othrr races (Vargr, Aslan, etc...).

lip reading: aside from the same problema with alien races, I guess just the fact of bearing bread or having scars that affect your lips movements (as someone that had cleft lip and palate may give problems for it). I guess Santa could have problems with someone that attempts to lip-read his words .

See taht in none of the cases explained tiping would be a problema, if they know the alphabet and language.