To be fair there are only two reasons I can think of to write in cursive. The first is when writing quickly. It’s wayyyyy faster. Usually in that case what you’re writing is your notes, for you, so you can be sloppy as long as you can read it.
The second reason is to impart elegance in the written word. Love letters, thank you’s, invitations, parting letters….. I’m sure those would look really meaningful in standard print or typed. 🙄 It’s just another loss of culture. No big deal….
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
In his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Steve Jobs said:
“Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed... I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.”
Maybe the kid at McDonald’s took a long time to count out the change because he was actually looking for valuable coins.😉
He found some filled Ps, doubtful dies, and CAC on the surface of the error coins.
" doubtful dies"
Spellcheck hits again! Most likely you intended "double."
Nope. Doubtful dies is what they find on coins.
Double die is something else— it means dice—derived from the resemblance of the gouges on the coin to the pattern that the pips make in Yahtzee when you throw five dice at one time.
Both my parents had beautiful handwriting like this. Here is a letter President Truman wrote to my father in 1953. This type of handwriting was common before computers, text messaging and MS Word.
The longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice is it possible for an empire to rise without His aid? Benjamin Franklin
Fun discussion everyone! The mention of it being a foreign language was a joke, but understanding the cursive was not.
For a younger person like me [early 30's], cursive was phased out in school. The only cursive I use today is in my signature.
It's an interesting observation that cursive is an important skill for researchers. Since I started researching coin albums, it has been difficult to comprehend old letters and documents. I could only read around 30% of the letter in my post. These days I upload a photo to ChatGPT to transcribe. It tends to be pretty accurate.
@AlbumNerd said:
Fun discussion everyone! The mention of it being a foreign language was a joke, but understanding the cursive was not.
For a younger person like me [early 30's], cursive was phased out in school. The only cursive I use today is in my signature.
It's an interesting observation that cursive is an important skill for researchers. Since I started researching coin albums, it has been difficult to comprehend old letters and documents. I could only read around 30% of the letter in my post. These days I upload a photo to ChatGPT to transcribe. It tends to be pretty accurate.
If you can't read it, how do you know that AI is "pretty accurate"? 🤔
I guess my brain works sort of like that AI stuff you use. I assume the app looks for words that it can identify and then identifies the way the individual letters are written and their relationship to other letters. Once you get a feel for how someone wrote/writes the letters and words, the rest of the words start to reveal themselves.
This letter was included in one of my old Dansco albums. But it appears to be written in some foreign language. It is almost bordering on hieroglyphics. I think the author of the letter may have been Greek.
Has anyone seen this before? How would I go about translating this?
Please for the love of all that’s holy - please tell me you are joking? Have the schools failed this miserably?
They have. My 2 grandkids have no idea how to write in cursive (Jr. High). So, we have begun teaching them and they are actually happy to learn this secret code.
bob
Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
This letter was included in one of my old Dansco albums. But it appears to be written in some foreign language. It is almost bordering on hieroglyphics. I think the author of the letter may have been Greek.
Has anyone seen this before? How would I go about translating this?
Please for the love of all that’s holy - please tell me you are joking? Have the schools failed this miserably?
They have. My 2 grandkids have no idea how to write in cursive (Jr. High). So, we have begun teaching them and they are actually happy to learn this secret code.
bob
I taught my son how to read cursive. Even if he never has a need to use it in writing, reading it is a useful skill.
This letter was included in one of my old Dansco albums. But it appears to be written in some foreign language. It is almost bordering on hieroglyphics. I think the author of the letter may have been Greek.
Has anyone seen this before? How would I go about translating this?
Please for the love of all that’s holy - please tell me you are joking? Have the schools failed this miserably?
They have. My 2 grandkids have no idea how to write in cursive (Jr. High). So, we have begun teaching them and they are actually happy to learn this secret code.
bob
Tell them if they pass notes written in cursive in class and their teacher intercepts it, she won't be able to read it if she's fairly young.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
@SilverEagle1974 said:
I do genealogy as a hobby.
Trying to figure out things is sometimes hard.
So, for the know-it-all's here, maybe you can help me transcribe this image.
How about a closeup that I can expand and actually read?
Ah, you must NOT be tech-savvy.
Simply right-click the image, open up a new tab, & "ctrl+" to increase the size of the image.
I love when the generations argue about who knows what.
The young ones tell the old ones they need to get with it & the old ones tell the young ones we learned that in school so you should know it, too.
Funny.
How many people here were taught Latin in High School ?
@SilverEagle1974 said:
I do genealogy as a hobby.
Trying to figure out things is sometimes hard.
So, for the know-it-all's here, maybe you can help me transcribe this image.
How about a closeup that I can expand and actually read?
Ah, you must NOT be tech-savvy.
Simply right-click the image, open up a new tab, & "ctrl+" to increase the size of the image.
I read the forum on my phone. I don't think any of that applies. In any case, I was offering to help, but since I am not tech savvy enough for you I won't waste your time. 🙄
At one time I collected old letters, primarily Civil War era. The problem with cursive is that it can be VERY difficult to read, as has been alluded to by a few posts above. Some were nearly illegible and I got pretty good at parsing out the words. I agree that reading it can come in handy, and it can look elegant, but getting rid of it in our daily lives is progress in communication.
@AlbumNerd said:
Fun discussion everyone! The mention of it being a foreign language was a joke, but understanding the cursive was not.
For a younger person like me [early 30's], cursive was phased out in school. The only cursive I use today is in my signature.
It's an interesting observation that cursive is an important skill for researchers. Since I started researching coin albums, it has been difficult to comprehend old letters and documents. I could only read around 30% of the letter in my post. These days I upload a photo to ChatGPT to transcribe. It tends to be pretty accurate.
Now you're going to get the Boomers railing about AI...
@SilverEagle1974 said:
I do genealogy as a hobby.
Trying to figure out things is sometimes hard.
So, for the know-it-all's here, maybe you can help me transcribe this image.
How about a closeup that I can expand and actually read?
Ah, you must NOT be tech-savvy.
Simply right-click the image, open up a new tab, & "ctrl+" to increase the size of the image.
I love when the generations argue about who knows what.
The young ones tell the old ones they need to get with it & the old ones tell the young ones we learned that in school so you should know it, too.
Funny.
How many people here were taught Latin in High School ?
Again, just plain funny.
Chris
3 years of Latin in high school...and I still see no reason why kids need to learn cursive.
@SilverEagle1974: still laughing about “Latin”. They did offer it when I was in HS, but I took Spanish instead. Who knew?
My grandkids (now 13, 12 & 11) actually took cursive when they were in 2nd grade I think. They actually liked it but, of course, don’t practice or use it. On occasion, it does come up & their memory of it is pretty good.
For me, it isn't just about knowing cursive specifically, it's about knowing how to communicate.
I know people who have remarkable printed handwriting. One person even knew how to italicize her printed words when appropriate. These types of people don't worry me. They also are in the minority.
The ones who barely write anything are the ones who might concern me. Writing leads to spelling which leads to composition which leads to all sorts of things.
The person who can't write often signs legal documents of various types that they don't understand. A lot of people might not care about such things, but the contracts and laws that they live under are still enforceable. (And who is going to write those contracts and laws in the illiterate future?). Something as simple as a strategically placed comma can alter the meaning of a text immensely.
In any case, I don't lose any sleep over it. I can do what I need or want to do in regard to my persuits and responsibilities, so if someone doesn't think they're important then that's for them to deal with.
I think of it more as an art form. My mother and father had beautiful handwriting. A while back I found a letter my now deceased sister had written back in the 80’s. I had forgotten and was shocked at how beautiful her handwriting was back in the day.
Times change. I can type four times faster than I can write. Speech recognition is getting to the point where the next generation won’t need to type. I understand the trend away from manual manipulation but it saddens me.
The longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice is it possible for an empire to rise without His aid? Benjamin Franklin
@SilverEagle1974 said:
I do genealogy as a hobby.
Trying to figure out things is sometimes hard.
So, for the know-it-all's here, maybe you can help me transcribe this image.
How about a closeup that I can expand and actually read?
Ah, you must NOT be tech-savvy.
Simply right-click the image, open up a new tab, & "ctrl+" to increase the size of the image.
I love when the generations argue about who knows what.
The young ones tell the old ones they need to get with it & the old ones tell the young ones we learned that in school so you should know it, too.
Funny.
How many people here were taught Latin in High School ?
Again, just plain funny.
Chris
3 years of Latin in high school...and I still see no reason why kids need to learn cursive.
@Downtown1974 said:
While you guys were here arguing over cursive penmanship, I was out shredding the trails on my new mountain bike. Get with the times fellas. 😎
@lermish said:
What bothers me more than someone that doesn't own or wear a top hat, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Abraham Lincoln approves this post.
And he was the tallest president.
Not with his hat off.... 😉
From Wikipedia:
The tallest U.S. president was Abraham Lincoln at 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters).
@lermish said:
What bothers me more than someone that doesn't own or wear a top hat, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Abraham Lincoln approves this post.
And he was the tallest president.
Not with his hat off.... 😉
From Wikipedia:
The tallest U.S. president was Abraham Lincoln at 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters).
@lermish said:
What bothers me more than someone that doesn't own or wear a top hat, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Abraham Lincoln approves this post.
And he was the tallest president.
Not with his hat off.... 😉
From Wikipedia:
The tallest U.S. president was Abraham Lincoln at 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters).
It was a joke. Read the emoji
No one learns how to read emojis anymore, grandpa. You're stuck in the past.
@lermish said:
What bothers me more than someone that doesn't own or wear a top hat, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Abraham Lincoln approves this post.
And he was the tallest president.
Not with his hat off.... 😉
From Wikipedia:
The tallest U.S. president was Abraham Lincoln at 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters).
It was a joke. Read the emoji
No one learns how to read emojis anymore, grandpa. You're stuck in the past.
😁
More likely it's a Boomer who never learned to read emojis... 😉
Ok, so the ability to read cursive is, or will be lost.
How about the ability to read or write backwards ? A long lost skill that used to be a fairly common postcard practice.
Comments
Failure to maintain the status quo.
Here's a portion of a 19th century letter that was considered legible at that time. 😵💫
I can read it fairly easily.
" doubtful dies"
Spellcheck hits again! Most likely you intended "double."
I do genealogy as a hobby.
Trying to figure out things is sometimes hard.
So, for the know-it-all's here, maybe you can help me transcribe this image.
To be fair there are only two reasons I can think of to write in cursive. The first is when writing quickly. It’s wayyyyy faster. Usually in that case what you’re writing is your notes, for you, so you can be sloppy as long as you can read it.
The second reason is to impart elegance in the written word. Love letters, thank you’s, invitations, parting letters….. I’m sure those would look really meaningful in standard print or typed. 🙄 It’s just another loss of culture. No big deal….
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
In his 2005 commencement address at Stanford University, Steve Jobs said:
“Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed... I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac.”
How about a closeup that I can expand and actually read?
Nope. Doubtful dies is what they find on coins.
Double die is something else— it means dice—derived from the resemblance of the gouges on the coin to the pattern that the pips make in Yahtzee when you throw five dice at one time.
Both my parents had beautiful handwriting like this. Here is a letter President Truman wrote to my father in 1953. This type of handwriting was common before computers, text messaging and MS Word.
What bothers me more than someone that can't read or write in cursive, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
What bothers me more than someone that doesn't own or wear a top hat, is someone who defends it as not an issue. JMO
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US Gold Showcase --- World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
Fun discussion everyone! The mention of it being a foreign language was a joke, but understanding the cursive was not.
For a younger person like me [early 30's], cursive was phased out in school. The only cursive I use today is in my signature.
It's an interesting observation that cursive is an important skill for researchers. Since I started researching coin albums, it has been difficult to comprehend old letters and documents. I could only read around 30% of the letter in my post. These days I upload a photo to ChatGPT to transcribe. It tends to be pretty accurate.
My cursive is so bad, I have considered using a typewriter.
The Tom Hanks documentary made me dig up an old family heirloom.
Now to find somebody that can repair a typewriter.
Have not used cursive in decades.
My mother has gorgeous handwriting.
My wife.... 25 years and I still can't make out a word she writes.
BST: KindaNewish (3/21/21), WQuarterFreddie (3/30/21), Meltdown (4/6/21), DBSTrader2 (5/5/21) AKA- unclemonkey on Blow Out
If you can't read it, how do you know that AI is "pretty accurate"? 🤔
I guess my brain works sort of like that AI stuff you use. I assume the app looks for words that it can identify and then identifies the way the individual letters are written and their relationship to other letters. Once you get a feel for how someone wrote/writes the letters and words, the rest of the words start to reveal themselves.
Maybe I'll start calling myself ChatJBK. 🙂
@JBK
Fair question! I compare what the AI says and see if the words match what I see in cursive.
Here is ChatGPT transcribing this letter. Other than mistaking the word 'missions' with 'pioneers', it's pretty spot on!!
I would have had more fun with this:
This paper that was in a Dansco album I got has writing on it that I can’t understand. This is how they wrote last century. Does anyone know it?
They have. My 2 grandkids have no idea how to write in cursive (Jr. High). So, we have begun teaching them and they are actually happy to learn this secret code.
bob
I taught my son how to read cursive. Even if he never has a need to use it in writing, reading it is a useful skill.
Tell them if they pass notes written in cursive in class and their teacher intercepts it, she won't be able to read it if she's fairly young.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Ah, you must NOT be tech-savvy.
Simply right-click the image, open up a new tab, & "ctrl+" to increase the size of the image.
I love when the generations argue about who knows what.
The young ones tell the old ones they need to get with it & the old ones tell the young ones we learned that in school so you should know it, too.
Funny.
How many people here were taught Latin in High School ?
Again, just plain funny.
Chris
I read the forum on my phone. I don't think any of that applies. In any case, I was offering to help, but since I am not tech savvy enough for you I won't waste your time. 🙄
While you guys were here arguing over cursive penmanship, I was out shredding the trails on my new mountain bike. Get with the times fellas. 😎
MY GOLD TYPE SET https://pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/complete-type-sets/gold-type-set-12-piece-circulation-strikes-1839-1933/publishedset/321940
At one time I collected old letters, primarily Civil War era. The problem with cursive is that it can be VERY difficult to read, as has been alluded to by a few posts above. Some were nearly illegible and I got pretty good at parsing out the words. I agree that reading it can come in handy, and it can look elegant, but getting rid of it in our daily lives is progress in communication.
Now you're going to get the Boomers railing about AI...
Grab your popcorn and fasten your seat belts.
3 years of Latin in high school...and I still see no reason why kids need to learn cursive.
@SilverEagle1974: still laughing about “Latin”. They did offer it when I was in HS, but I took Spanish instead. Who knew?
My grandkids (now 13, 12 & 11) actually took cursive when they were in 2nd grade I think. They actually liked it but, of course, don’t practice or use it. On occasion, it does come up & their memory of it is pretty good.
“The thrill of the hunt never gets old”
PCGS Registry: Screaming Eagles
Copperindian
Retired sets: Soaring Eagles
Copperindian
For me, it isn't just about knowing cursive specifically, it's about knowing how to communicate.
I know people who have remarkable printed handwriting. One person even knew how to italicize her printed words when appropriate. These types of people don't worry me. They also are in the minority.
The ones who barely write anything are the ones who might concern me. Writing leads to spelling which leads to composition which leads to all sorts of things.
The person who can't write often signs legal documents of various types that they don't understand. A lot of people might not care about such things, but the contracts and laws that they live under are still enforceable. (And who is going to write those contracts and laws in the illiterate future?). Something as simple as a strategically placed comma can alter the meaning of a text immensely.
In any case, I don't lose any sleep over it. I can do what I need or want to do in regard to my persuits and responsibilities, so if someone doesn't think they're important then that's for them to deal with.
I think of it more as an art form. My mother and father had beautiful handwriting. A while back I found a letter my now deceased sister had written back in the 80’s. I had forgotten and was shocked at how beautiful her handwriting was back in the day.
Times change. I can type four times faster than I can write. Speech recognition is getting to the point where the next generation won’t need to type. I understand the trend away from manual manipulation but it saddens me.
Abraham Lincoln approves this post.
Disce Pati
Cutting edge, I’m jelly of your cycling skills!
And he was the tallest president.
Not with his hat off.... 😉
From Wikipedia:
The tallest U.S. president was Abraham Lincoln at 6 feet 4 inches (193 centimeters), while the shortest was James Madison at 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters).
It was a joke. Read the emoji
No one learns how to read emojis anymore, grandpa. You're stuck in the past.
😁
More likely it's a Boomer who never learned to read emojis... 😉
Disappearance of cursive and appearance of emojis?
(Read in the manner of the narrator of Curse of Oak Island and Ancient Aliens (no emoji for that)).
Ok, so the ability to read cursive is, or will be lost.
How about the ability to read or write backwards ? A long lost skill that used to be a fairly common postcard practice.
Here's a 'mirror message'....
From what I've been reading, writing and reading in cursive is no longer being taught in public schools.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.