The phenomenology of writing by hand

Abstract This paper argues that people differ in their underlying orientation to the experience of using writing media. Such differences can be mapped onto a continuum, at one pole of which ‘Planners’ regard writing primarily as a tool to record or communicate ideas whilst at the other extreme ‘Discoverers’ tend to see themselves as engaging with the medium as a way of discovering what they think. This phenomenological dimension may play a subtle, neglected but perhaps important part in influencing writers' preferences for, and sense of ease in using, particular tools.