Ask HN: Have you learned to write shorthand?
I tend to take notes in meetings on paper as opposed to a laptop because I feel more engaged in the discussion if I'm not staring at a screen. While I've gotten reasonably good at jotting down the salient points, I frequently find myself wishing I had a more complete record of the conversation than my handwriting speed (or for that matter typing speed) allows.
I realize with the invention of stenotype machines, dictaphones and other recording devices, shorthand seems to be nearly dead, but I wonder if anyone here has actually gone through the effort of learning it.
If so, are you glad you did?
1 comment
[ 1.4 ms ] story [ 10.5 ms ] threadSimilarly to you, I like to take handwritten notes, especially that some meetings are convened impromptu and getting a laptop takes much more time than taking a pen and notebook.
I don't take part in meetings often enough to warrant that much effort, so stenography would be merely a patry trick for me, so I gave up. But I clearly saw the potential with my own eyes (few weeks in and I could write at one fourth of my normal speed with what was a completely foreign alphabet initially), and from what I've read, a proficient stenographer could write up to four times as fast as one can speak.
Given all this, if you have enough energy to learn and you note often enough, I would say go for it.