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Comment by logifail

4 days ago

> it’s just true that this method reliably worked for me

It's not just you. My kids didn't want to hear it, but they're coming round to the benefits of writing notes during their learning.

Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-writing-by-ha...

Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/11/1250529...

Advantage of Handwriting Over Typing on Learning Words https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8222525/

The studies you linked are garbage not related to the only part that matters - learning. What they measured is that if you ride a bike while listening your legs will have higher muscle activity, and so will your brain that managed those legs.

There is only downside in distracting yourself to have to copy everything verbatim instead of, you know, actually focusing on the material being presented

  • good handwritten notes do not copy everything verbatim. You tend to summarize as you write it. That is part of the learning process.

    • While you're summarizing, what happens to the concurrently presented material which you're also supposed to summarize? How does that affect the quality of summarizing, and do you know of any study that proves the loss of focus is worth it?

    • Although they can - this was a method of instruction. It's not a terrible idea for assimilating information, but of course, the cranky, opinionated by low info peanut gallery always knows better.