Some years ago I came across a handbook of Pittman shorthand.
I figured most of the time I spend reading is spent scanning the words with my eyes. Shorthand is so much more concise, it would surely save me time if I wrote a text-to-shorthand converter [ViolentMonkey], and then learned to read shorthand.
After much time learning shorthand, and fiddling with programming a conversion script, I got frustrated. So I wrote to one of the world's experts on Pittman shorthand (you can find anything on the net) and asked her about my project.
Surprisingly, she said that even for her, a world expert, she reads Pittman at the same speed she reads non shorthand text. Due to the density of the shorthand, and the fact that the mind has to decode it, makes it slower to read!!
Anyways, I never finished, but at least I learned the basics of shorthand :)
For the uninitiated, before computers, dictation was very slow, and reporters needed a faster way to record what they were hearing. They came up with various scripts, wherein lines represent sounds, and for a while these were taught in every college. Till today, shorthand is faster than typing, and there are reporters keypads that have created a shorthand for the keyboard, which is even faster. Much faster.
I figured most of the time I spend reading is spent scanning the words with my eyes. Shorthand is so much more concise, it would surely save me time if I wrote a text-to-shorthand converter [ViolentMonkey], and then learned to read shorthand.
After much time learning shorthand, and fiddling with programming a conversion script, I got frustrated. So I wrote to one of the world's experts on Pittman shorthand (you can find anything on the net) and asked her about my project.
Surprisingly, she said that even for her, a world expert, she reads Pittman at the same speed she reads non shorthand text. Due to the density of the shorthand, and the fact that the mind has to decode it, makes it slower to read!!
Anyways, I never finished, but at least I learned the basics of shorthand :)
For the uninitiated, before computers, dictation was very slow, and reporters needed a faster way to record what they were hearing. They came up with various scripts, wherein lines represent sounds, and for a while these were taught in every college. Till today, shorthand is faster than typing, and there are reporters keypads that have created a shorthand for the keyboard, which is even faster. Much faster.