{"id":7668,"date":"2026-08-01T09:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meerkatmusings.co.uk\/?p=7668"},"modified":"2026-08-01T09:09:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:09:19","slug":"meerkat-prompts-handwriting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meerkatmusings.co.uk\/?p=7668","title":{"rendered":"Meerkat Prompts: Handwriting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Once upon a time, the world lacked computers and smartphones and the internet. I refer to this time as Before Internet, or BI, though perhaps it could be referenced as BC: Before Computers. At any rate, back in those times, and especially before the rise of the typewriter (the precursor to modern typed documents), people wrote by hand. Indeed, as a young meerkat, I wrote my hand at school. I did so for my exams too. I’d dare say my handwriting has never been great, but I can<\/strong> do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I occasionally have to write stuff by hand for work, though not often. At home, I have a specific type of pen I like to use to make handwritten notes about the books I’m developing, and I dare say I enjoy the process. It is also said that writing by hand helps with retention of information. Then there’s the little issue of what to do if technology stops working. Being able to write at least permits the flow of creative juices. If you can’t write and your devices don’t work, what do you do if you want to supply literary works to the world?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some respects, the decline of handwriting is a further example of how technology is reshaping humanity. There are questions to be asked about whether we are losing our ability to critically think too. Even basic mathematics is turned over to the calculator built into our phone, and I will freely admit to taking advantage of that (this meerkat has never been good at maths).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes it all even worse is the rise of generative AI. Yes, I have used it in the past to create images for Meerkat Musings, and no, I cannot rule out the possibility of doing so again. I completely understand why people have looked to it as a creative offramp. However, there are people who now create entire comic strips and books using AI, and in doing so they are poisoning their own imaginative process, whilst producing what is best described as slop (and no, you are not an artist if you do nothing but create AI art, you haven’t actually produced anything).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst computers and smartphones are not going away, and whilst there is a lot of good to come from this technology, we should not let them think for us. Doodle on a notepad, take notes, use a pen to engage your brain, and keep your grey matter active. Don’t let it decay. It will tragic for a number of reasons if we lose our creative skills, so let’s keep them alive, yeah?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Meerkat Prompts<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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