In Defense of Keyboarding

In Defense of Keyboarding 

Janpha Thadphoothon

I have been a warrior promoting handwriting. I believe it is a useful practice in many aspects such as concentration and penmanship is an art form in itself. Having neat and tidy handwriting is blessing, a sigh of a well-educated person. This has been my belief. Later, however, like some,  I, too,  have doubts.

Having doubts or being doubtful is a healthy intellectual exercise. It is also a somewhat wisdom in practice, meaning, that one has learned through one's direct experience. Not direct knowledge, so to speak. Experience has taught me also that handwriting can be an inbreeding of inequalities.

This is a heavy accusation. It may not be unfair to many.  But as I have mentioned earlier that I have been an ardent supporter of handwriting and penmanship.

Penmanship refers to 'the art or skill of writing by hand.' It can also mean 'a person's handwriting.' - This definition implies that such person has been educated or taught to write well and it is in par with other craftsmanship. In the Chinese tradition, character writing, called calligraphy (the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush.), is an art form and a job one can take to earn a living.


My handwriting in both languages (Thai and English) is far from perfect. I hate it when people seem to judge you based on your handwritten notes and 'texts' produced somewhat straight from your head.

Texting or keyboarding has several advantages . Firstly, it is digital and editing is very convenient. One of my friends asked me why I no longer took notes by hands. I told him that I still do it but whenever possible I'd rather do it on my 'computer;.

My friend is certainly not a big fan of technology.

He told me that keyboarding and using computer to take notes and do the writing could not help much in terms of thinking. It's good for cutting and copying.

I disagree. Cut and Copy is a tool and its use really depends on one's intention. I told him that my liking of keyboarding has little to do with cutting and pasting. it is about the ease of publishing and sharing and many other benefits.

With AI, computer can help you check your spelling and grammar. This is a really big plus if you are a non-native speaker of the language and in my case English.

Keyboarding saves time. This is perhaps the most valid reason one can have in using the new technology.

Moreover, content presentations are varied and multimedia make presentation more interesting.