handwriting

Handwriting

by Bob on April 16, 2007

Handwriting and penmanship largely seem to be a lost skill and art in this day and age of computers and electronic keyboards. Even the button pad on a cell phone has letters.

There are many people who, despite being physically capable and dexterous enough, are using keyboards to the near-exclusion of pen and paper.

This also goes hand-in-hand with recent studies showing that the dominator finger of the hand is becoming the thumb rather than the traditional index finger. This is because of cellphone use and small electronic games where the thumb is predominantly used. A significant side affect of this is a less fine motor skill in the hand and handwriting and drawing are less clear and precise.

Calligraphy is an important gift and practiced skill which we see in many cultures.

It would seem to behoove us to keep our fine motor skills and also to write a letter with a hand rather than a bunch of fingertips dancing all over an inert keyboard. One would hope.

Drawing Hands by M.C. Escher. 1948.