Why is it very difficult to write a card or letter with pencil or pen without stupid stuff-ups?
Can't even seem to get the address on the envelope right these days if writing by hand.
Putting computer issues aside. It seems that these days that all I am capable of is to write a card or letter on the computer & print it off when I need to send a physical letter, like for a death or other important situation.
Seemed to have lost my brain, hand, pencil skills.
dorian said
08:23 AM Nov 3, 2023
My eyesight and coordination are deteriorating faster than I expected they would. I guess I'm getting close to the end of the toilet roll of life.
I notice that I'm making many more errors these days. Recently I was thinking of an apostrophe, but I saw a question mark instead. It wasn't until the following day that I detected my mistake.
To keep track of any cognitive decline, I solve the same kinds of timed puzzles on a daily basis, both numeric and verbal. So far I am maintaining a consistent rolling average, but I can often tell when I'm having, or going to have, a bad day.
Edit:
Damn, I did it again. I meant exclamation mark, not question mark.
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 3rd of November 2023 01:05:40 PM
Craig1 said
08:35 AM Nov 3, 2023
Writing is a dying art I think. I write my diary every day, but when I go back to check something it looks like a Dr's prescription used to.
Possibly slow down when writing and let brain catch up with fingers.( attribute to Confucius)
dogbox said
09:14 AM Nov 3, 2023
Craig1 wrote:
Writing is a dying art I think. I write my diary every day, but when I go back to check something it looks like a Dr's prescription used to.
Possibly slow down when writing and let brain catch up with fingers.( attribute to Confucius)
in the same boat, made sense when i wrote it down
Magnarc said
09:15 AM Nov 3, 2023
So it's not just me then! I do crosswords every day to try to keep the old brain active but, of late I find myself wondering if that certain word is spelt with an E or an A and so on.
For a bloke who has always had pride in the fact that I had a reasonable command of the English language I find this disconcerting. As far as letter writing goes, I haven't written one in years but I know that my writing is nowhere like what it used to be.
Not a lot that we can do about it folks. The river Styx is in sight for some of us, I hope that the Ferryman is there I don't fancy swimming.
Possum3 said
10:10 AM Nov 3, 2023
I have printed, instead of writing cursive for over sixty years, I originally did it to make my writings legible when done in haste. Great for school and uni.
I used to practice letter formation by; Typing a letter "O" then practice writing my name (12 letters) inside. It's a great trick; used a finely sharpened (pointed) 2H pencil honed on the side of a matchbox, after every letter
Whenarewethere said
02:01 PM Nov 3, 2023
Basically I have always written in capitals as my first job was an awful lot of administration & everything had to be written in uppercase for head office for data entry. Even if you got a full stop wrong the form would be sent back to be redone, bunch of A holes!
I find it near impossible to do running writing.
But these days I seem to stuff up uppercase. Maybe I should pick up the pencil a bit more... not that I have a shortage of them lying around, & do an A4 worth of text every week of worthless dribble, like most other stuff!
valiant81 said
02:19 PM Nov 3, 2023
Hi all; yes its very hard to day to wright a letter with out having a few drafts first. Even worse when your phone or computer has auto correct and skews the words around some what. To make it even worse is some time you do not find out these little mistakes till it's been posted !!!
-- Edited by valiant81 on Friday 3rd of November 2023 02:20:23 PM
Whenarewethere said
03:13 PM Nov 3, 2023
I was never a confident speller, so had a dictionary at hand. I feel auto correct, apart from wrong words, has made my spelling much worse.
The number of mistakes I find after sending is out of hand. If it is a more important letter I waste the paper & print it off, often a number of times.
Amazing what one picks up on the printed copy.
msg said
05:22 PM Nov 3, 2023
Change, All the better if its been tried before, do it anyway. Change everything is todays mantra. Especially if it had something to do with the Boomers. This includes spelling and the written and spoken word.
Cupie said
11:26 PM Nov 3, 2023
Might I unkindly mention how happy I am to hear that lots of others are experiencing the same symptoms as I.
For several years I have been aware of my gradual cognitive decline, despite getting a perfect score in my annual cognitive tests associated with the driver's licence renewal. I always score 124 or higher (even got 142 a few years ago) on those online IQ tests .. for what they are worth.
Whilst I rarely do crosswords et al, I do read extensively, perhaps 3 or more novels per week.
My cursive handwriting has always been poor & when still working I changed to printing so that others could read my mis-spelt notes and that was about 25 years ago.
After reading this thread I tried to read a page of stuff that I had written yesterday. Unintelligible; but I could still pick up the gist of what I had written, perhaps not possible in a year or so after I have forgotten what I had been writing about.
These days I have great difficulty in forming & expressing my opinions .. something that was once my strong suite. The ideas are there but expressing them in writing or sometimes even in speech is a problem.
About three years ago a Geriatrician diagnosed me as not having any signs of Dementia!
In recent years I have begun keeping a daily diary on our van trips. Looking back at them I find that for the first week or so it is difficult to read, but the writing gradually improves & is eventually quite OK, except of course for the terrible spelling. Thankfully I use Grammarly on my LapTop.
I accept it as part of the ageing process for some (& maybe a lifetime of far too much red wine in my case) but I'm not complaining.
BTW .. If I am writing a card (as I do every XMAS to several close friends/ex-colleagues), I write the message out several times on a notepad before doing the card.
Whenarewethere said
12:49 AM Nov 4, 2023
Cupie wrote:
driver's licence renewal. I always score 124 or higher (even got 142 a few years ago)
On 3 pedestrian crossings today, 3 drivers have obviously done the licence test braille version!
Twice me & once a couple 5 paces in front of me almost increasing crossing speed bump height dimensions!
Whenarewethere said
12:52 AM Nov 4, 2023
If one can't write in a diary. A photo each morning of a reasonably recognisable scene, landmark & or signage helps a lot.
Santa said
08:13 AM Nov 4, 2023
Cant help but reflect on the adage "use it or lose it"
one must continually engage in and practice an ability or risk losing it. Practicing a physical skill such as basketball or golf clearly leads to improved performance, I'm sure the same applies to writing.
I carry a pen in my top pocket and use it frequently.
Craig1 said
08:45 AM Nov 4, 2023
"Practicing a physical skill such as basketball or golf clearly leads to improved performance " wrote santa.
I practiced my golf to such an extent I gave up and went fishing instead
Dick0 said
10:08 AM Nov 4, 2023
It seems to affect all of us at some time as we age.
I was a cursive writer but now write in block letters.
Gundog said
07:49 PM Nov 4, 2023
It's a pointless exercise to write a letter or card mr AP is not the most reliable mob to deliver it, let alone charge like a wounded bull.
About 10 years ago just before I retired, I made a simple choice,, I only communicate by phone or email.
I do use an electronic calender these days only to record events that have or are occurring in the future, if nothing happened then there is nothing written. Like today we moved from CP to another its there, a good example we were in with cheryles specialist he asked when she last had an iron infusion, I went to our calender and gave him the information.
I can honestly say I was much of of a reader or writer during my school years and in my working career, if I could give that task to someone else, until I became a sort of computer geek, writing etc became a whole new world. Spell check was my best friend, I used to reply forum post, first with word and then cut and paste it to the reply box, now I direct entry it and wing it hoping it's all OK.
Whenarewethere said
03:58 PM Nov 5, 2023
Gundog wrote:
It's a pointless exercise to write a letter or card
People very much appreciate receiving a tangible message these days instead of a Laodicean email.
Cupie said
07:17 PM Nov 5, 2023
Whenarewethere wrote:
Gundog wrote:
It's a pointless exercise to write a letter or card
People very much appreciate receiving a tangible message these days instead of a Laodicean email.
Gee I love your use of language. Google helps me appreciate it!
watsea said
07:44 PM Nov 5, 2023
I think some of the handwritten problem comes simply comes from lack of practice in using one's hand to write.
When I attended university many decades ago, students took lecture notes by handwriting in their books or folders ie before common laptops or tablets. Regularly the long summer vacation could start in October and lecture classes resuming in late February of the following year. Some students did not spend their out of uni time doing any writing.
I clearly remember myself and many other class mates groaning in their exasperation by trying to take handwritten notes during their first few lectures on the return day. Our hand/mind coordination for writing had not been used enough during our holiday. At that time in our lives, I do not think we all had a decline in our mental abilities.
Possum3 said
07:31 AM Nov 6, 2023
I agree watsea; Both my parents wrote beautiful "Copperplate" cursive letters right up until the end of their lives. In fact my Mother could write with both hands, one forward and the other in reverse (Mirror image).
Why is it very difficult to write a card or letter with pencil or pen without stupid stuff-ups?
Can't even seem to get the address on the envelope right these days if writing by hand.
Putting computer issues aside. It seems that these days that all I am capable of is to write a card or letter on the computer & print it off when I need to send a physical letter, like for a death or other important situation.
Seemed to have lost my brain, hand, pencil skills.
My eyesight and coordination are deteriorating faster than I expected they would. I guess I'm getting close to the end of the toilet roll of life.
I notice that I'm making many more errors these days. Recently I was thinking of an apostrophe, but I saw a question mark instead. It wasn't until the following day that I detected my mistake.
To keep track of any cognitive decline, I solve the same kinds of timed puzzles on a daily basis, both numeric and verbal. So far I am maintaining a consistent rolling average, but I can often tell when I'm having, or going to have, a bad day.
Edit:
Damn, I did it again. I meant exclamation mark, not question mark.
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 3rd of November 2023 01:05:40 PM
Possibly slow down when writing and let brain catch up with fingers.( attribute to Confucius)
in the same boat, made sense when i wrote it down
So it's not just me then! I do crosswords every day to try to keep the old brain active but, of late I find myself wondering if that certain word is spelt with an E or an A and so on.
For a bloke who has always had pride in the fact that I had a reasonable command of the English language I find this disconcerting. As far as letter writing goes, I haven't written one in years but I know that my writing is nowhere like what it used to be.
Not a lot that we can do about it folks. The river Styx is in sight for some of us, I hope that the Ferryman is there I don't fancy swimming.
I used to practice letter formation by; Typing a letter "O" then practice writing my name (12 letters) inside. It's a great trick; used a finely sharpened (pointed) 2H pencil honed on the side of a matchbox, after every letter
Basically I have always written in capitals as my first job was an awful lot of administration & everything had to be written in uppercase for head office for data entry. Even if you got a full stop wrong the form would be sent back to be redone, bunch of A holes!
I find it near impossible to do running writing.
But these days I seem to stuff up uppercase. Maybe I should pick up the pencil a bit more... not that I have a shortage of them lying around, & do an A4 worth of text every week of worthless dribble, like most other stuff!
Hi all; yes its very hard to day to wright a letter with out having a few drafts first. Even worse when your phone or computer has auto correct and skews the words around some what. To make it even worse is some time you do not find out these little mistakes till it's been posted !!!
-- Edited by valiant81 on Friday 3rd of November 2023 02:20:23 PM
I was never a confident speller, so had a dictionary at hand. I feel auto correct, apart from wrong words, has made my spelling much worse.
The number of mistakes I find after sending is out of hand. If it is a more important letter I waste the paper & print it off, often a number of times.
Amazing what one picks up on the printed copy.
Might I unkindly mention how happy I am to hear that lots of others are experiencing the same symptoms as I.
For several years I have been aware of my gradual cognitive decline, despite getting a perfect score in my annual cognitive tests associated with the driver's licence renewal. I always score 124 or higher (even got 142 a few years ago) on those online IQ tests .. for what they are worth.
Whilst I rarely do crosswords et al, I do read extensively, perhaps 3 or more novels per week.
My cursive handwriting has always been poor & when still working I changed to printing so that others could read my mis-spelt notes and that was about 25 years ago.
After reading this thread I tried to read a page of stuff that I had written yesterday. Unintelligible; but I could still pick up the gist of what I had written, perhaps not possible in a year or so after I have forgotten what I had been writing about.
These days I have great difficulty in forming & expressing my opinions .. something that was once my strong suite. The ideas are there but expressing them in writing or sometimes even in speech is a problem.
About three years ago a Geriatrician diagnosed me as not having any signs of Dementia!
In recent years I have begun keeping a daily diary on our van trips. Looking back at them I find that for the first week or so it is difficult to read, but the writing gradually improves & is eventually quite OK, except of course for the terrible spelling. Thankfully I use Grammarly on my LapTop.
I accept it as part of the ageing process for some (& maybe a lifetime of far too much red wine in my case) but I'm not complaining.
BTW .. If I am writing a card (as I do every XMAS to several close friends/ex-colleagues), I write the message out several times on a notepad before doing the card.
On 3 pedestrian crossings today, 3 drivers have obviously done the licence test braille version!
Twice me & once a couple 5 paces in front of me almost increasing crossing speed bump height dimensions!
If one can't write in a diary. A photo each morning of a reasonably recognisable scene, landmark & or signage helps a lot.
Cant help but reflect on the adage "use it or lose it"
one must continually engage in and practice an ability or risk losing it. Practicing a physical skill such as basketball or golf clearly leads to improved performance, I'm sure the same applies to writing.
I carry a pen in my top pocket and use it frequently.
I practiced my golf to such an extent I gave up and went fishing instead
It seems to affect all of us at some time as we age.
I was a cursive writer but now write in block letters.
It's a pointless exercise to write a letter or card mr AP is not the most reliable mob to deliver it, let alone charge like a wounded bull.
About 10 years ago just before I retired, I made a simple choice,, I only communicate by phone or email.
I do use an electronic calender these days only to record events that have or are occurring in the future, if nothing happened then there is nothing written. Like today we moved from CP to another its there, a good example we were in with cheryles specialist he asked when she last had an iron infusion, I went to our calender and gave him the information.
I can honestly say I was much of of a reader or writer during my school years and in my working career, if I could give that task to someone else, until I became a sort of computer geek, writing etc became a whole new world. Spell check was my best friend, I used to reply forum post, first with word and then cut and paste it to the reply box, now I direct entry it and wing it hoping it's all OK.
People very much appreciate receiving a tangible message these days instead of a Laodicean email.
Gee I love your use of language. Google helps me appreciate it!
When I attended university many decades ago, students took lecture notes by handwriting in their books or folders ie before common laptops or tablets. Regularly the long summer vacation could start in October and lecture classes resuming in late February of the following year. Some students did not spend their out of uni time doing any writing.
I clearly remember myself and many other class mates groaning in their exasperation by trying to take handwritten notes during their first few lectures on the return day. Our hand/mind coordination for writing had not been used enough during our holiday. At that time in our lives, I do not think we all had a decline in our mental abilities.