80
submitted 17 hours ago by Pogogunner@sopuli.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

There's often a skill that seem interesting, but I can't see doing anything for me in my day-to-day life. What have you learned that was a lot more effort than the payoff was worth?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] CombatWombat@feddit.online 26 points 17 hours ago
[-] dmir@gehirneimer.de 4 points 7 hours ago

Hard disagree.

There's some debate to have here about neuroplasticity and whether cursive handwriting (or the process of learning something involving both the cognitive resources and some rather fine hand, wrist, fingers, a bit of an arm movement), but one thing is certain: it's a faster way to write stuff down.

I have tried journaling and other writing both in printed and cursive, and the former makes me not write at all, because there's not enough time in this world for me to be my verbose self on paper when trying to write legible printed letters.

Cursive is just that fast. Faster if you learn to write shorter forms of the same words. Even faster if you learn some special systems, but that's a different rabbit hole.

But I will admit that learning to be concise with one's words without losing meaning and gravity is also beneficial, even if only for trying to push Alzheimer's and others further into the future.

[-] tal@lemmy.today 6 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Cursive is faster (and more comfortable) than printing.

But that assumes that you're handwriting in the first place.

Typing is faster than cursive, and many people who work a lot with text can just type any substantial amounts of text that they want to write.

[-] Vandals_handle@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

I agree that cursive is faster for note taking and keeping up, but I retain the knowledge better when I print. I think slowing down is helpful in processing the information. Any writing is better for retention than typing though.

[-] dingus@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

I do get what you're saying, but most people nowadays just type rather than write.

When I write, I mostly write in print, but I actually seem to have a bid of hybrid cursive going on in there.

[-] emmanuelw@jlai.lu 9 points 14 hours ago

In France, children learn only cursive. It's kind of strange to learn how to manually write like a typewriter…

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 hours ago

I think it's a matter of how it's framed.

It was already going out of fashion in schools when I was growing up, and people did not like it when a teacher (usually older) made them practice it. The original argument of it being faster didn't apply once computers became common in schools/homes, and printed letters (writing like a typewriter) are better for clarity.

However, I think there is value to it when framed as an artistic skill. Calligraphy strengthens motor skills, and if you make the lesson less rigid then kids can have fun with it and figure out how to express themselves.

[-] emmanuelw@jlai.lu 1 points 4 hours ago

I don't understand it, to be honest. It may be cultural. To learn two ways to handwrite is a waste of time, agreed, but why choose the one which was not thought to be handwritten?

[-] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 12 hours ago
[-] ieGod@lemmy.zip 4 points 9 hours ago

How much cursive you using these days? It's pretty much useless outside of reading old letters.

[-] k0e3@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago

Every single day!

[-] StaticFalconar@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

Taking notes in interviews (job related). Allows me to scribble something down while maintaining eye contact and seeing the persons face. Does it well because i dont need to wonder how much space is in between characters like i do when hand printing.

[-] ApollosArrow@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago

Cursive is the only way I can write now. College destroyed my normal hand writing.

[-] kestrel7_7@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

I have excellent handwriting and it has been a valuable asset at almost every job I’ve ever had. So many times people have come to me and asked me to hand write a note to a client.

Also, love letters. Physical love letters written in cursive go fucking hard in the 2020’s.

[-] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 hours ago

Every day, it is how I write. It is not useless if you want to write with a minimal degree of fluency.

Don't you write at all?

[-] ieGod@lemmy.zip 2 points 7 hours ago

Extremely rarely. And when I do I don't use cursive.

this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2026
80 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

40915 readers
1513 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !uspolitics@lemmy.world


7) No Hit-and-Run questions.
Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.


8) No Bots.
Posts or comments from bots, LLM's, AIs, Neural Networks, Transformers, or Marvin the Paranoid Android are not welcome in AskLemmy. Real humans only please.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS