I’m Clive ThompsonI report on how people think and communicate using today’s digital tools.

“Cursive is dying!”Is handwriting somehow more natural, more suited to the brain?

My pencil fetishI started getting obsessed when they re-issued the “Blackwing”, a 20th-century classic.

My sharpener fetishI actually sit around thinking about them, too.

My typing fetishI type 94 WPM, and still miss my old IBM “clicky” keyboard.

Typing vs. WritingWhich one is better? It depends on what type of thinking you want to do ...

Taking notesListening to a lecture? An experiment pits handwriting notes vs. typing notes ...

Handwriting wins... when we take notes by hand, we recall more and synthesize more than when typing.

Big picture thinkingDrawing it out can help you look at problem from 50,000 feet in the air.

Doodling = goodDoodling seems to help us focus, retain more, and make creative, lateral leaps.

But for creating?The advantage shifts -- and typing is better. Specifically, fast typing!

Transcription fluencyWhen your fingers can’t move as fast as your thoughts, your ideas suffer.

Teach typing ...... and you raise students’ test scores by 40%. We write longer, more complex ideas.

24 words per minuteThe minimum speed, where your fingers no longer fight your brain. Even faster is better!

Cognitive diversityMatch the tools you use for writing to the way you want to think.

Thank you!www.smarterthanyouthink.netclive@clivethompson.net