Daring to Return to Pencils Now

1. Even though my handwriting is messy, I returned to pencils

I have recently started using pencils to write in my notebooks when studying math and English.
As I mentioned in a previous article, I went through a phase of being obsessed with taking notes using LaTeX and Obsidian, partly because my own handwriting is hard to read.

It's not that I've stopped using those tools entirely now.
However, I find myself holding a pencil more often than a computer lately.

2. The stages leading back to pencils

I didn't return to pencils all at once.
At first, I went back to ballpoint pens, then switched to mechanical pencils because they are easier to erase and write with, and finally, I settled on a combination of pencils and Frixion ballpoint pens.

It happened naturally, but aside from the Frixion pens, it feels like I gradually regressed to older writing instruments.
I didn't really think about it much at the time, but I decided to reconsider why that happened.

3. It's hard to write down unorganized thoughts digitally

I believe the biggest advantages of digital note-taking are readability and searchability. If you use Obsidian, you can even network your notes. I think these are significant benefits.

However, there is a weakness: you can't write things down if you don't have a PC or smartphone nearby when inspiration strikes. In that regard, pencils and paper are easy to carry and quick to pull out when an idea comes to mind.

And an even greater advantage is that it's easier to keep track of unrefined, undigested ideas.
When typing on a computer, you can't really input anything unless it's somewhat formed, and while you're thinking about how to write it, the idea might evaporate, or you might force it into a structure just to get it down.

4. Writing instruments allow you to leave your thought process as is

While a computer pushes you to input things as "text,"
a pencil allows you to leave thoughts that haven't become words yet right there on the paper.

Drawing arrows
Writing small notes on the side
Circling or erasing things
Writing the same thing in different words

These things happen naturally.
When you use a writing instrument, the notebook isn't a finished record, but
a workspace where thoughts are in the process of taking shape.

5. Why pencils?

I mentioned the freedom of writing instruments as a benefit,
but as for why I went all the way back to pencils,
it's because you can erase what you've written and rewrite it,
and while mechanical pencils have a fixed thickness, pencils change
the expression of the line just by tilting or standing them up.

Back when I was using mechanical pencils,
I happened to see the pencil notes of someone who does calligraphy,
and that was one reason I thought pencils were great.

Also, realizing that pencil sharpeners have evolved without me noticing was
another reason.
There were electric pencil sharpeners when I was a kid, but
modern sharpeners have a hole on top where you insert the pencil,
and it pops up when it's finished sharpening.
I was fascinated by that technology.

However, perhaps because the machine was acting up,
there was a time when I tried to sharpen a pencil with a broken lead,
and it turned almost entirely into wood shavings.

6. Pencils come in many varieties

At first, I used the ones you can buy in packs of 10 at a 100-yen shop,
but using something like a Uni really does feel better to write with.
I hear there's an even higher grade called Hi-uni, but I'm still too intimidated to try it.
I'm hoping to give it a try once my handwriting gets a little better.

7. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses

This has been a rambling discussion, but
perhaps I have been trying too hard to make one tool do everything
.

I use a pencil when exploring ideas that haven't taken shape yet, and
I use digital tools when refining things that have taken some form.

For a while, I think I will continue this back-and-forth.

I previously wrote about how, because my handwriting was poor, I started making math notes on my computer,
and that led me to resume studying English.
The vector is the opposite of this time, but
both are stories about how "the tools you use change your thinking and behavior."
If you'd like, please read that as well.