Slashdot Asks: Do You Prefer To Handwrite or Type Notes? (npr.org)

A study published by Psychological Science and transcribed on NPR explores the science behind note-taking. As technology becomes smaller, cheaper and more functional than ever before, it's not uncommon to see people taking notes on their laptop or tablet, especially in a school or work-related environment. In fact, it may be even more common to see people taking notes with an electronic device than with a pen and paper. The study shows that the process of taking notes by hand is slower, thus allowing the information being written to better soak into your brain. However, it's a double-edged sword. While using something like a laptop to type notes may be faster and allow for people to better transcribe what they're hearing, writing longhand generally allows people to better process the information they are writing, but at the expense of length. That is to say, writing longhand doesn't provide people with as much to look back on since the process is slower.

Now everyone is different and everyone has their own formula and routine that works for them, so we thought we'd ask the question: Do you prefer to handwrite notes or type notes on a computer? Does one form of note-taking work better than the other or is it a combination of the two that is best?

Comments

Depends on the content surely

[Harlequin80]

Good luck managing to type complex equations as fast as you can write them.

If you are talking about transcribing something, then yes typing is faster. But if your note taking requires you to jump around the page, annotate diagrams, sections of text or anything else then writing wins.

Having things electronic makes things easy to file and refer to, but that is why I use a tablet and stylus.

Handwriting for security

[the_other_one]

My cursive writing is so unreadable it is better than encryption.

It's the way you take notes, not the tech

[AthanasiusKircher]

Numerous studies have shown better retention and understanding when people "take notes," as opposed to simply transcribing large chunks of what they hear.

This is a general issue with learning in general -- the more your brain "works" to understand something, the better you retain it. (Numerous studies suggest that too.) And even if you're not going for retention in your brain, if you actually listen and comprehend, then write down short "notes" (i.e., summaries), you'll probably do better than if you attempt to transcribe spottily and perhaps miss some critical detail in your transcription.

The problem is that many people type so fast that they naturally tend toward chunks of transcription, rather than processing the information and then summarizing in "notes." If you take the same kind of notes while typing that good note-takers do by hand, you'd do just as well... perhaps better, because sometimes the speed will help.

But of course there are other advantages to handwriting, especially when it comes to math, chemical formulas, drawing diagrams, flow-charts, whatever. Handwriting is still usually much faster for everything other than plain text -- and thus, it's still my preferred medium, whether on paper or with a stylus on a tablet or whatever. (Also, I don't believe in linear note-taking: connections are generally complex between ideas, and a blank sheet of paper allows a lot more flexibility in drawing various sorts of connections than text arranged in lines.)

Paper & Pen for Flexibility

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a paper-based note-taking system that has served me well for my entire career.

I always write down the date and time I arrive, and the time leave for the day, with a margin-to-margin line delineating days.

Whenever I change tasks, I jot down the time and what I'm doing next. Huge help when I'm working on projects where to-the-minute timecards are required.

In meetings, I write down the key points being made. If the point applies directly to me, I put a box in the left column, to indicate that it is a "to-do" item.

If a point is something I can/should contribute to, but not during this meeting, I put a circle to indicate I should probably send an email.

If there is a change in policy, or a new direction or project, I put an asterisk to the left.

Most of the above merely help me prioritize my work.

But there is one more massive reason to take notes compulsively, and not just in meetings: Patents. While I have no patents to my name, my notes have twice been used as "prior art" to help defeat or limit other patents, or to help negotiate far better licensing terms.

From a personal development perspective, I also make not of my mistakes. Writing them down makes it harder to repeat them.

As I get older and my memory grows ever weaker, I find it hugely beneficial to be able to go back 6 months or a year, and be able to perfectly describe what I was doing and why.

Paper rocks. Plus it's way easier to carry around, and needs "recharging" only about twice a year.