> WIth all due respect, that is remarkable nonsense.
>
> First of all, MDs have bad handwriting. Second-of-all, that is surely a
> task that can be better automated or typed. In fact, I suspect that most
> hospital prescriptions are generated and communicated digitally.
>
Hospital maybe. But the last time I went to my doctors in their offices,
they wrote out the prescriptions for both my meds and my eyeglasses on the
spot on a pad of paper that they had on them. It may have been low-tech, but
it was definitely quicker than having to go to another room to type it in,
and then wait for the printout.
I think that cursive will slowly die out of its own, and one day we won't
even notice that no one's teaching it anymore, just like one day it happened
that no one was using horse and buggies, or no one was broadcasting in black
and white. It'll just happen with very little fanfare when the time is
right.
On the other end of the spectrum, I've got people asking why I insist on
still teaching keyboarding, since "everyone knows" that in five years people
will either be dictating into their computers anyway, or people will be
typing with their thumbs on the smartphones.
I can't tell you how long I've heard that one. But again, that will go away
slowly on its own, and no one will notice. But for now, the most efficient
way of entering and editing MASS amounts of text is with a keyboard.
And yes, I know that at some point the info gets typed into the provider's
system, but still, sometimes low-tech is the way to go.
> On a personal note, I have not used cursive handwriting in any way shape or
> form since the 8th grade. I can't write all of the letters in my wife's name
> in cursive font and could care less.
>
Pretty much the same here. I only use cursive to sign my name.
But remember that cursive was once faster than printing...something
important in an age where the typewriter didn't exist.
--
keg
========================================
Keith E Gatling
Email: keith@gatling.us
Blog: wordfromg.blogspot.com
Website: www.gatling.us/keith
The fact that I'm open-minded doesn't mean that I have to agree with you.
========================================
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