You might be one of those people whose folks emphasize on writing what you wish to learn. It is, what they believe, a method to learn better and quicker. It wouldn’t be surprising if you took that advice with a pinch of salt since it doesn’t usually follow any logical explanation. However, a recent study justifies the claim while proving that handwriting is likely to help generate new ideas.
Naturally, you would be curious as to how it works. The study by the researchers at Indiana University suggests that writing by hand activates three areas of human brain. These include: the left fusiform gyrus, the inferior frontal gyrus and the posterior parietal cortex. When adults are reading or writing, these same areas are induced. In order to counter check this, kids were made to type the same letters on a computer; none of those areas was affected. As a participant in the study, Karin James believes that the subtle complications involved in handwriting could be one major reason behind this. Writing by hand requires planning and the action phase is lined by various changes as compared to typing, for instance.
This isn’t the first study that proves the many plus points that handwriting enjoys over other means of writing. Various other ones have proven that handwritten scripts are likely to contain more words and genuine thoughts compared to those typed on a keyboard. Speaking of benefits, kids are not the only ones who enjoy the advantages of this. Scribbling down those notes during classes also benefits plenty as it helps them learn well. Try reading those notes close to an exam date and it will all start to come back to you (given that you didn’t completely abandon your notes after you took them down the first time).
Old folks weren’t so wrong about their theories, afterall. Perhaps they have science to thank for backing them up. Question is, will you be trying to get in the habit of writing by hand more often than not?
