(Bonus points to anyone who knows the origin of this idiom…without the help of a Google search!)
I was sitting in church taking notes a few weeks ago – *hint* – and I got to thinking about handwriting.
- Cursive. I use a mash-up of printing and cursive that I find more efficient than exclusive cursive, but I am so, so thankful I grew up in an generation where everyone had to learn cursive in school. It’s so much faster (for me at least) than printing.
- Legibility. I tend to write quite quickly, but generally have neat(ish) and legible handwriting.
- Forensics. Isn’t it bonkers that people can determine some aspects of human personality based on the characteristics of their handwriting? (Bonus points for anyone – who without consulting Google! – can tell me the official name for this admittedly imperfect assessment tool.) I analyzed my personality using a few online handwriting assessments and it was rather startling how much it got right! (Here’s a good overview from Reader’s Digest.)
- Shorthand. I wish I knew more shorthand, but I do quite frequently use a closed triangle “Δ” for change, a three-dotted triangle “∴” for therefore, “c̅” or “w/” for with, and shapes like hearts and stars along with up and down arrows to denote increases and decreases.
Your turn.
- What does your handwriting say about you?
- What are your go-to shorthand tricks?
- Do you print? Write in cursive?
- Is your signature messy or legible?
Header photo by Jay-Pee Peña 🇵🇭 on Unsplash
Discover more from The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
mbmom11
The abbreviations that you listed are math and science oriented. Bonus points!
My handwriting, a mix of print and cursive, is a mess. Grad school ruined any hope of my writing being neat. I use writing mostly for personal notes and lists, so the mess doesn’t matter too much.
And I think that’s what my writing says about me- I’m a mess, in a rush, and chose the expedient way rather than being careful. Pity my udents who havecto read my writing on the wall (aka the whiteboard).
The story of Daniel in the Bible for the idiom – can I have my bonus point? And graphology! I love extra credit.
mbmom11
Students! And have to! Even my typing is bad.
Coree
I have gorgeous, elegant cursive… and have discovered the wonder of fountain pens. To my horror, my students can’t read it. I’ve always got a blockpad in my office and write things down that students need to look up, consider, etc, (b/c they are so annoyingly bad at taking notes) and someone finally said “Erm… I can’t read this?” My printed handwriting is bubbly and clear (someone says it’s primary school teacher handwriting) but definitely takes more effort, and I’ve got arthritis in my hands.
I use the delta for change, ups and downs.
I tend to write when I’m brainstorming, and always have a paper daily to do list on a bit of scrap paper, etc.
Jan Coates
Horrible handwriting! Getting worse as arthritis moves in. I taught shorthand at Acadia in the 1980s and could take dictation accurately at over 100 wpm🙂 Now I encourage young writers to learn touch-typing ASAP!
Jenny
I did learn cursive in school, but somewhere along the way I stopped using it, and now I always print… very messily. I can attest to the fact that your handwriting is beautiful and neat, Elisabeth!
Reading Coree’s comment bove- it’s sad but true, kids can’t read cursive anymore.
Jacquie
My handwriting is abysmal – both cursive and printing! This is due to several things – years of taking class notes from instructors who spoke way too fast, from taking a speed writing class in order to take meeting minutes, and years of keyboarding in my jobs. My husband had to stop using cursive at work because the younger employees couldn’t read it!! Times change 🙂
I prefer typing over printing, but still do both for personal lists. No one else has to see my messy writing and I can read it.
Elinoora
On cursive writing: my youngest is learning print only at school, and now she complains we have secret writing. She thinks it’s very unfair that she can’t read what we write, even when it’s just groceries.
My shorthand is mostly in Dutch 🤔 but it would be useful to have more available in English.