The phenomenology of writing by hand

Abstract

Abstract This paper argues that people differ in their underlying orientation to the experience of using writing media. Such differences can be mapped onto a continuum, at one pole of which ‘Planners’ regard writing primarily as a tool to record or communicate ideas whilst at the other extreme ‘Discoverers’ tend to see themselves as engaging with the medium as a way of discovering what they think. This phenomenological dimension may play a subtle, neglected but perhaps important part in influencing writers' preferences for, and sense of ease in using, particular tools.