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As We Suspected: Handwriting Boosts Brain Power

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Admit it. You always knew inking away on your Tablet PC was sharpening your mind. Maybe you couldn’t quantify how it did, but you knew it did. Still, it’s nice to have scientific proof to back that up, and The Wall Street Journal has a round-up of just that.

From children learning the language to older adults trying not to forget it, handwriting is shown to enhance cognitive skills.

Using advanced tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are finding that writing by hand is more than just a way to communicate. The practice helps with learning letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may aid fine motor-skill development.

The article goes on to cite studies that show children performing better when crafting essays by hand than by keyboard; adults pick up new languages, such as Mandarin, more easily by writing characters in addition to reading them; and how people suffer from the social bias against those with sloppy, illegible handwriting.

It does also mention WritePad for the iPhone, which we’ve covered a few times, and a learning app called abc PocketPhonics. No mention of the Tablet PC, of course. That’s okay. As long as you, me, and my secret army of inklings others like us are getting smarter, that’s all that matters.

Via Lifehacker

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. sbtablet

    10/15/2010 at 1:36 pm

    I’ve always known that I write and think more clearly with a pen than w hen I start on the keyboard. I used to think it was because I didn’t beam to type until I was 17. (Yes, back in the dark ages my school didn’t consider it a necessary skill for the college bound.) Now as an educator, it makes sense to me. We know that the more muscles and senses involved in learning something the deeper the learning. Although the movements are small, handwriting involves more and more varied movement than typing, and so it seems logical that handwriting enhances learning.

  2. Anonymous

    10/18/2010 at 6:50 pm

    So if I get an inkblog rolling, I can boost my intelligence?

    By the way, I’m pretty sure Lifehacker also picked up on the whole “handwriting makes you smarter” thing from that very source…

  3. Essay writer

    05/18/2011 at 11:02 am

    handwritng rulez!!! I thing thats much better then keyboard writing!

  4. Essay writer

    05/18/2011 at 11:02 am

    handwritng rulez!!! I thing thats much better then keyboard writing!

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