How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive

[Jon Szanto]

Article in the Atlantic:

How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive

[Jon Szanto]

Yes, indeed, my mileage varies.

[Lloyd]

Yes, indeed, my mileage varies.

If you ask my wife, my mileage is excessive.

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[fountainpenkid]

EoC, I agree, the ballpoint pressure argument they make is quite flawed in its seeming assumption that most people are still using Bic crystals. However, I for one have found consistently that even between FPs, those requiring less pressure result in my characters being more connected, within a given word, at least. That leaves me with one more thought: the author elides the huge differences between FPs, and the importance of the nib's tuning in that pressureless experience they describe (most FPs you buy on amazon won't have that, I'd bet).

[Jon Szanto]

Yes, indeed, my mileage varies.

If you ask my wife, my mileage is excessive.

Are you a hybrid or all-electric?

[Lloyd]

I'm certainly not economical. So, I guess I'm a gas guzzler. Sadly, I emit excessive fumes, too, after certain meals.

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[Ugly Old Guy]

I learned Cursive in 3rd or 4th grade (or was it 2nd or 3rd grade?) using a ballpoint. I forget the brand ... if any ... but I am pretty sure it was a retractable, not a BIC and friends stick pen.

I didn't get my first fountain pen until after highschool, and aside from signatures and maybe letters to family and friends, Cursive wasn't used.
When it was necessary to write on the job, most folks descended to using a combination of print and cursive, depending on the word.

[pencils+pens]

I learned cursive in 3rd grade (1961) in Catholic School. We were required to use cartridge fountain pens and always have spare cartridges. No ink bottles were allowed. The most common brand was Scripto, usually obtained in a set with a mechanical pencil. After third grade we switched to ballpoints, usually BIC. It wasn't until much later that I returned to fountain pens, but I never stopped using mechanical pencils. I used to get lectured at because I would use mechanical pencils to take standardized tests with bubble answer sheets (SAT, GRE etc.). I was told that the pencils wouldn't work. They always did.

[welch]

The author skips over the typewriter by arguing that typewriters existed before the cheap BiC Crystal of 1960. That's a mistake. Through the mid-60s, we wrote short essays with our fountain pans, and some of us used ballpoints. We had to write so clearly that a teacher could read it. That was in junior high school and high school. I began drafting schoolwork in pencil or fountain pen, and then laboring to type the work on a second-hand manual office typewriter.

The big change came in the mid-60s as the portable electric typewriter became cheap enough that kids could take them off to college, where few professors could be bothered to read something like a 15-page page paper hand-written.

Kids carried fountain pens and ballpoints to jot notes in class, but the standards for classwork were set by mention of the typewriter. A three-page paper or a five-pager meant double-spaced pages typewritten. A term-paper meant 15 or 20 pages double spaced. We wrote blue-book tests, so we had to write clearly enough that a teacher could understand us, and we wrote letters to each other, but we no longer hand-wrote anything formal.

That was the change-over. Personal computers were treated as expensive typewriters, and then, in the late 1980s, Intel-based "clones" beat down IBM's prices to the point where IBM gave up the PS/2, the micro-channel architecture expected to be its "clone killer".

[An old bloke]

The author skips over the typewriter by arguing that typewriters existed before the cheap BiC Crystal of 1960. That's a mistake. Through the mid-60s, we wrote short essays with our fountain pans, and some of us used ballpoints. We had to write so clearly that a teacher could read it. That was in junior high school and high school. I began drafting schoolwork in pencil or fountain pen, and then laboring to type the work on a second-hand manual office typewriter.

The big change came in the mid-60s as the portable electric typewriter became cheap enough that kids could take them off to college, where few professors could be bothered to read something like a 15-page page paper hand-written.

Kids carried fountain pens and ballpoints to jot notes in class, but the standards for classwork were set by mention of the typewriter. A three-page paper or a five-pager meant double-spaced pages typewritten. A term-paper meant 15 or 20 pages double spaced. We wrote blue-book tests, so we had to write clearly enough that a teacher could understand us, and we wrote letters to each other, but we no longer hand-wrote anything formal.

That was the change-over. Personal computers were treated as expensive typewriters, and then, in the late 1980s, Intel-based "clones" beat down IBM's prices to the point where IBM gave up the PS/2, the micro-channel architecture expected to be its "clone killer".

I can agree with you that a wide-spread access to typewriters had an effect. Typewritten papers or submissions, and even business letters always looked more professional. I will add that a wider access to word processors and then desktop and laptop computers had the biggest effect on how one writes -- or doesn't.

[pajaro]

The ballpoints of the 1950s left blots of ballpoint ink behind, and people back then pressed hard. Not necessary any more. The blots are pretty much gone. It's just another writing tool. Fountain pens, however much I like some of them, have their own shortcomings. You can write with them in spite of shortcomings, which will be perceived differently by different writers.

[Seattleite]

I suspect the fountain pen itself contributed a bit to the demise. With a large ink supply, continuous writing out and about was possible. The speed of writing was no doubt affected, minus the need to pace ones' self to dipping, and the necessity of having to watch your writing to see when it was time to dip. When I write, I barely look at the paper. Not much quality control. I think that some of the last great handwriters were those who started out with dip pens. The difference between a parker 51 and a ball point when it comes to writing is not nearly as dramatic as a dip pen to either. Just a different perspective, based on nothing more than observation of a time well before my birth. I started with a Bic Stick

Bob

[An old bloke]

I suspect the fountain pen itself contributed a bit to the demise. With a large ink supply, continuous writing out and about was possible. The speed of writing was no doubt affected, minus the need to pace ones' self to dipping, and the necessity of having to watch your writing to see when it was time to dip. When I write, I barely look at the paper. Not much quality control. I think that some of the last great handwriters were those who started out with dip pens. The difference between a parker 51 and a ball point when it comes to writing is not nearly as dramatic as a dip pen to either. Just a different perspective, based on nothing more than observation of a time well before my birth. I started with a Bic Stick

Bob

That's an interesting perspective, and one not previously considered.

It alludes to another question. That is, how much of an influence was the cultural and societal changes of the post-war (WWII) era on fountain pen use? The 'Atomic Age' of the 1950s especially brought paradigmatic changes to our world, cultures, and societies.

[arrow]

There are good studies on this and from personal experience I would argue the pen tip makes a noticeable difference for writers of any age. I am not denying some have nearly flawless writing what ever they use, but for many, if not most of us, it makes a difference. The basic led pencil we need to sharpen and any good nib gives a good feel for the tip flowing across the paper. It aids both developing the skill of writing, hand movements etc. in young people, as well as anyone who needs to get their writing back in shape. Any style writing needs upkeep over the years and it is not exclusive to cursive. Changes in life has an effect on us and any skill needs to be kept up. Some ball points are almost too slippery on the paper or have an uneveness in the flow, makes the writing a bit more erratic. Gelrollers and the Parker type rollerballs (with metal Quink ink cartridge replacements) are very even, and looks nice on paper, better than the basic ballpoint, but are still almost too smooth. I use these a lot too, easy to keep on my desk, and no need to worry other people at work being careless with them. A good pen we like, choose our selves, aids the writing experience. It adds to any effort to write well and should not be ignored.

When I went to school we where given led pencils and a type of felt tip pen. They were considered optimal for the average first grader. Dip nibs and ink were too messy and hardly used anymore, ballpoints not the best for developing good handwriting and not allowed until years later.

This is a subject that comes up now and then and I don`t see any good reason not to learn cursive handwriting in school. With keyboards or tablets available, hand writing and taking notes still turn out to have an advantage when it comes to memory and learning.

[pajaro]

The fountain pen contributed? It made cursive easier to use. If anything is destroying the use of cursive it is electronic devices generally: keyboarding, texting, etc.

[An old bloke]

The fountain pen contributed? It made cursive easier to use. If anything is destroying the use of cursive it is electronic devices generally: keyboarding, texting, etc.

I'd say this is more true than not.

[Cyril]

The technology of consumer science is going further.
They are developing a programme on how our MUSCLE MEMORY" works when we use an electronic Key board.
So base on that they are creating a computer chip to integrate into the human body. It will make human more productive ... --------'so they say''---------
It'll be a real fun to see how we humans behave by " 2030 "
People even don't know what is CURSIVE WRITING IS ????