Let’s face it. Entering a meeting room today, it is easy to see the meeting participants armed with tablets, smartphones, obviously laptop to follow and take notes, as well as take pictures and record. And it is increasingly difficult to find someone who, in a teamtakes out the classic notebook from his briefcase and starts writing down with pen or pencil words, key concepts or simply thoughts to remember.
Let’s be clear. Digital has changed our lives and technology certainly shouldn’t be demonized. But perhaps, sometimes, going back to the old “paper, pen and inkwell”, perhaps choosing the fountain pen which allows us to flutter slightly on the paper or the classic pen always ready in the pocket, could help us. And not only to maintain a more or less pleasant handwriting. But also to improve some performances.
Why not forget pen and paper?
Although it may seem strange, hand writing has important advantages on the learning front as well as impacting (obviously) on the graphological path of the subject, thus becoming an indirect tool for monitoring skills and paths. In this sense, it must be said, forgetting or in any case relegating pen and paper to limited spaces may not be the best choice. If you are not convinced, try to see what happens to children. and then, perhaps, translate into adulthood the teachings that come from a study published in Psychological Sciences.
The research was conducted by the team of Brenda Rapp, professor of cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University. And it clearly shows how at the moment there are aspects in which handwriting far surpasses the opportunities offered by computer technology.
For example, arming yourself with pen and paper could be very useful for the memory. When aiming at learn languages and so he wants learn to read. Thanks to manual writing on a sheet of paper, the learning times of a different language are speeded up in adults, and perhaps (at least this is the hypothesis of the experts) also in children. When writing by hand, in fact, different mechanisms are set in motion that involve the nervous systemboth on the side of perception and manual ability. And with this approach a sort of “framework” is defined that allows to make the definition of visual information such as the shape of letters easier.
But that’s not all: the sound stimulations linked to the reading of a vowel or a syllable are also increased, and important results can be achieved. psychological information, related to handwriting specific to each individual. The experts led by, therefore seem convinced: by writing by hand one could “represent” more strongly in the mind what one is doing on the sheet, obviously in comparison to other methods, so much so as to be able to improve the possible performances also in other activities not connected to writing itself.
Let’s start as children
Without demonizing technology, even in early childhood, it can still be used to its fullest. Without making it a single “totem” to be used, but rather integrating the paths that must not do without traditional writing. The research, in particular, reveals how study, reading, spelling and comprehension go hand in hand and writing words by hand, more or less quickly, would have a positive impact on these functions.
The habit must start from childhood: according to the dictates of pediatrics, writing by hand especially in italics, would produce benefits for cognitive development in childhood or adolescence. With advantages that continue into adulthood. When you write by hand, you think more in units of meaning (words, sentences) and different areas of the brain are activated and put into operation at the same time. Therefore, more complex neural capacities are used and the brain is exercised to a greater extent than when you write on a keyboard. The latter involves only the visual and verbal areas, while theHandwriting involves the visual, verbal, and graphic areas and the area that integrates these three brain areas.
In short, let’s remember that handwriting cannot be replaced by typing on a keyboard, which has different functions. A child or an adult who writes by hand tends to have a better knowledge of spelling. Above all, let’s not abandon the habit of “notes”. Handwriting should be practiced continuously through motor exercises, even using small tools to develop a tactile sensitivity that materializes in writing. And let’s remember that people who write by hand tend to have a greater fluidity of ideas when writing long texts, in addition to the fact that this practice increases memory and improves reading comprehension
Watch out for cramps
Final curiosity: Those who exaggerate, in the end, can face the writer’s cramp, condition related to a muscular problem that appears precisely while working with the pen, but can also be present if you type for a long time on the tablet screen. In practice it is a “focal” dystonia, that is, localized to the arm, which involves an abnormal muscular contraction, such as to force you into positions that are not exactly optimal.
Those who suffer the most are adolescents and young adultswho see their ability to resist writing by hand progressively decrease.
On the scientific front, while investigating the possible genetic components that seem to play a role, it should be remembered that to speak of this specific condition, the disorder must not be present when one is at rest or when doing other activities that involve the hand and upper limb.
Chapter treatment: having said that some solutions to be adopted even at school can be helpful, from the use of special pens to trying to have the child write with the other arm or perhaps preferring block letters instead of cursive, it must be said that specific treatments must be set by specialists, once the diagnosis of the problem has been defined.
