XX/XX/2008, at the Library....
Me: How do you spell "existentialism"?
Friend: Hmmmm..."E"...."X".... (waves and wiggles fingers in the air)
Me: Wait, stop, what are you doing?
Friend: (ignores me)..."I"...."S" (continues to do a sort of horizontal 'spirit fingers-' movement in the air)
Me: STOP THAT
Friend: What? Didn't you want to know how to spell the word?
Me: Yes but what are you doing?
Friend: (stares at her now frozen fingers in mid-air)
Me: Well?
Friend: (matter-of-factly) Typing
Me: I don't get it
Friend: You know how kids at spelling bees write out the letters of a word in the palm of their hands in order to remember how to spell it?
Me:...yes?
Friend: Well typing it out helps me remember the letters.
Me: (incredibly interested) ...how very interesting...
I'd like to call it phantom typing. It is an interesting practice used by tech-savvy kids who now wiggle their fingers in the air in order to recall letters and words. I attribute this phenomenon to laptops, computers, schools, and well, the Internet/Digital expansion.
Writing Today
Physical writing with pen and paper has now become a major hassle. It's too slow, it's too messy, and most of all, writing kinda hurts. This is true. After attempting to take notes in one of my professor's insanely fast PowerPoint presentations, my hand felt contorted, mangled, and bruised beyond healing. My hand was simply NOT used to writing anymore. Writing felt unnatural.
Fingers are meant to push buttons (such as typing on keyboards or pushing an elevator button).
Fingers are not meant to hold a pen and press out small intricate markings on white paper. Hence the unwanted middle finger callouses. Writing has now become an archaic and on-the-verge-of-becoming-obsolete practice. And I have to say, I welcome this change and progress towards a penless society.
Imagine, me actually writing this blog by hand. I can already see the results of this hypothetical but horrific attempt: an enormous whiteout stain on my forehead, bleeding pen marks, ripped out sheets of paper, and an unrecognizable disfigured right hand.
I've just repressed the urge to shiver.
Why Writing Might Linger Despite Impending Doom
1. People who do math (As I'm typing, a young man next to me is furiously doing his math homework- he has brought this particular group of 'writers' to my attention)
2. Short hand writing (Such as taking down a phone number etc.)
3. Artists, Traditionalists, and People who Like to Write (pshawww but seriously, some people love writing)
4. Notebook/Memo pad industries won't just roll over and give up (I can already see their "Writing is Cool" marketing campaign)
5. As well as other related industries that advocate writing:
Whiteout companies
Finger cushion companies
Chalk and Chalkboard companies
Cute pen/pencil holder companies
Whiteboard companies
A Simple Evolution Schema Depicting Writing Change
Writing -> Typewriters -> Computer Keyboards -> Touchscreen
Even in the mathematical world where writing is imperative in solving formulas -> electronic calculators have now eliminated the need to write out math problems
A Dramatic Speculation From Observing the "Phantom Typing" Phenomenon
Writing will become extinct once the tech savvy children grow up and teachers figure out how to edit student papers on Microsoft Word. Pens will become ancient relics to our "writing culture" past and the idea of calligraphy will become a myth. Rich people will pay thousands of dollars for handwritten documents because writing will dissolve from ritual to art.
In all this dramatic and incredibly far-sighted prediction: will READING (or words, letters, vocabulary) also become obsolete?
A Case For the Other Side
For those still in shock from all the outrageous things I've been saying so far, well, this has all been extreme "what-if" Dramatic Talk. But in all seriousness, I believe writing will undoubtedly evolve into something completely different. With the advent of touch screens and of Palm Pilots, there is a strong suggestion that handwriting may veer towards an incredibly detailed motion capture/electronic touch screen-esque path.
Although typing seems like the likely future in replacing handwriting, I believe that we as humans still crave to insert personality in our work. We won't be satisfied with point-12 font Times New Romans as a representation of our written creation. As there are different handwritings and signatures out there that add flair and close precision in directly representing our work, in terms of psychology, we want to write things down as ways to express ourselves.
Changing the font to Comic San might hint playfulness, however it does not fully capture the personal touch: flaws and all.
I do believe that writing is on a decline, with all the computer technology out there, hand writing has certainly become a chore for those who can type faster than write. I find it fascinating that there is a whole tradition and culture to writing now due to these events. Handwritten notes signify intimacy and concern:
- A company that sends you a handwritten note of apology is more likely to receive a positive response, no?
- Would you rather get a printed out phone number or a nervously scrawled number from your crush who seems desperate to ask you out?
As print books become electronically stored, all forms of media have now moved online, and the general craziness catalyzed by the digital movement- physically writing papers seems like an archaic practice. This might be coming from a college graduate bias standpoint (who has spent the last four years typing out research papers and typing notes) however nowadays children's toys emulate the iPad and laptop so much so that the future of writing comes into question.
Will writing exist thousands of years later? How will it change? Are we at the cusp of change?
Hmmmm... I wonder
Dramatic Talkin',
SJ
