2021/7/13 I seem to be more concerned with writing technology than with writing. Pens, ink, paper, graphite, pencils, brushes, language scripts, invented and alternative scripts, shorthand, longhand, constructed languages, writing training, the evolution of writing in education, stenography, keyboards, text editors, networked collaborative software, printing technology, language itself, how it can be used to influence and the social psychology of manipulation, the use of language as a social marker, prescription and banning of language as a means of assimilation, dialects and standardization of spelling. Not just a cursory look at these either. I spend months reading about some topics. Languages and their written form is an enormous and vastly interesting field of study. Pens have evolved in a very short span of time and the ultimate pen seems to be dependent on your use case. For each type of pen technology there is a huge array of information to digest about it and a whole history of products that had various features that were used to interest customers. Fascinating, drool worthy features. Keyboards have an even shorter history. A crazy history that just keeps getting worse. The technology is proceeding backwards in time, it seems. Musical instrumentation has evolved over some centuries to create elegant ways to manipulate strings, reeds, tubes, or membranes and ultimately the air with a somewhat user friendly interface for many of them. Type keyboards have evolved from being fairly elegant and user friendly, especially once the computer was finally the input target, to become difficult, uncomfortable, and confusing but very easy to manufacture. There is still innovation and development in this field but it does not catch on.