Discussion
Yes, I'm an old fart.
I'm also a teacher of university students, and I see first-hand how replacing paper, pens and books with screens for everything is impacting cognition and learning.
(spoiler alert: the act of learning is as much a physical activity as a mental one, and yes, writing with a pen or holding a book and turning its pages are an important part of the learning process)
@David
Human cognition has been in decline ever since we gave up stylii and clay tablets in favor of ink on papyrus.
Change my remaining working neurons.
@David TAKE. NOTES. with an ***ACTUAL PEN***
this was my "secret trick" for learning every single thing in my ME course the first time without having to do much more studying. Show up, pay attention, take COPIOUS NOTES, including EVERYTHING the professor put on the board, then go home and DO THE HOMEWORK with a pencil and paper. Done.
Dean's List. BSME with Honors. Easy. Because the *action* of moving your arm is what writes the memory in your brain.
@David
Distraction sure does sound like a prime suspect. Even back in the time of books and pens, sometimes I skipped school to have time for uninterrupted study.
Writing with a pen or a keyboard doesn't matter. In fact writing with a keyboard is better as it is more readable afterwards.
However where I'd agree with you is that there is less distraction on a stack of paper and a pen than by a notebook with all kinds of software and internet...
@agowa338 It's not about readability. It's about the act of writing itself is what helps you memorize better.
Well I don't see the difference between writing with a pen and typing with 10 fingers. Except for the result being readable or not afterwards.
One of my main issues back in school was that I just despised reading my own notes because I hated my handwriting. So I basically never read anything I wrote down...
@David had to do a vocational exam of 5h30 in one day albeit split into four modules. The hardest part was writing for that long, the mental and physical parts were challenging.
@David I'd caution against 2 things
1) Its only one study. Has it been replicated?
2) The nostalgia effect of anecdotal reports on using pen and paper
I'm not denying the reality and benefits of embodied cognition, it's been part of my research work over the last decades. But there may be other factors, for example a move to more rote learning, pushed by conservative governments.
Technology certainly has a role in learning, or millions of people like me wouldn't be able to use Logic Pro 😊 but it has to be part of a framework that encourages exploratory thinking.
Discuss.
@David as a kid/teen I wished everything in school was digital.
As an adult I know how good it was to have done everything on paper. Writing with a pen. Reiterating my thoughts and strengthening my neural pathways by writing things down or explaining it to others.
Yes, kids need to understand the digital world as well. But that is separate from the rest.
And don't get me started on how addictive and bad Smartphones are. I cannot imagine how devastating they must be when growing up with them.
@David I wrote out stuff that I needed to know for exams, too. It does help to cement it in the mind. So much lost to 'innovation'.
@David my literature teacher in high school, some 30/35 years ago, always spoke of the "memory of the wrist" when learning about something. Find rhe information, copy it, organize it, hierarchize it, so it is visually impacting to your eyes, and then read it aloud once or twice, summarize it in writing. Repeat the process one or two times (if needed) but usually, by the second time, you pretty much retain the essentials, and when you come back to it a week later, all the details will come by to you when you try writing it down from memory :)
@LetoOfTheDesert Completely. I live in Japan, learning how to write is basically what you're saying.
A few years ago, I went all digital for my planners and such, I soon realized that I couldn't remember anything in terms of schedules, meetings, and such. I went back to paper and notebook, and lo and behold, writing it makes me memorize it.
Same when I was a student, and I'm sure we all have these experiences and memories (also I remember much better a paper book than an ebook)
@David @savvykenya I remember reading about the neurology(?) of “yubisashi kakunin “ , the physical actions and verbalisation pulling your brain to properly pay attention.
1) Its only one study. Has it been replicated?
2) The nostalgia effect of anecdotal reports on using pen and paper
I'm not denying the reality and benefits of embodied cognition, it's been part of my research work over the last decades. But there may be other factors, for example a move to more rote learning, pushed by conservative governments.
Technology certainly has a role in learning, or millions of people like me wouldn't be able to use Logic Pro 😊 but it has to be part of a framework that encourages exploratory thinking.
Discuss
@cmsdengl "pushed by conservative governments."
That's some serious defaultism (poorly hidden with an "s" at government) that you're doing here.
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