[Syzygies]

I can remember rolling my eyes at a writer using a mechanical typewriter decades after word processors had taken over. Did they thaw out of a glacier?

At the same time I love physical media. As a math professor I defend a widespread preference for blackboards over soul-sucking whiteboards, imagining that musicians will still play grand pianos in a century, and they'll still snicker over Ryan Gosling playing a toy piano under the spotlight in that classic movie "La La Land".

I've hoarded Hagoromo chalk; I'm the one with the chalk attaché case in [1]. I've always carried multiple grades of drawing paper, and I've worked through many hundreds of artist grade felt tip pens, scanning all my math notes for thirty years.

Then, pandemic. Just as World War 2 accelerated women in the workplace, the pandemic has accelerated the uptake of digital tools for visual presentation. To teach over Zoom, we needed to embrace drawing on a tablet. I understand that the pandemic radically accelerated similar trends in architecture.

The algorithmic possibilities of drawing on a tablet are truly addictive; returning to paper feels like returning to a mechanical typewriter. For my purposes, Concepts offers the most involving algorithmic experience; I wrote [2] to support my note taking and diagrams for papers. However, Notability offers the least friction. I can have the same psychological relationship to taking notes on my tablet as I had with phyical paper, with the benefits of algorithmic reuse. (Pushing the envelope exposes how inconsistently Notability handles implicit layers, but one learns to draw around this.)

In a few decades, after all living mathematicians have drawn on tablets since birth, math will be far more visual, conveying ideas with far more immediacy. Math communication is now still largely constrained by its resemblance to typeset prose. Ever leave a startup because reading your coworkers' code put you in "Just kill me now!" territory? I did. Mathematicians write the equivalent of bad code, rarely actually machine-checked, to formalize their ideas. Other mathematicians try to decipher this code, to reverse-engineer the ideas. We declare people who can actually do this as having a gift for mathematics. As I learn to teach combinatorics more visually, my classes swell with students who share my frustration.

I've come to realize this summer that I pretty much despise mathematics. I can't wait for the visual revolution. This revolution didn't take hold on physical paper; one needs a digital accelerant.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhNUjg9X4g8 [2] https://github.com/Syzygies/concepts-artboards

[Archelaos]

> I defend a widespread preference for blackboards over soul-sucking whiteboards

To this day it is a real mystery to me why people would prefer whiteboards over blackboards.

[nordsieck]

> To this day it is a real mystery to me why people would prefer whiteboards over blackboards.

I vastly prefer whiteboards over blackboards. It's the physical sensation of writing for me.

Using markers is smooth, a bit like writing with a pen on paper. Writing with chalk is rough and technically difficult - there is a component of pressure one needs to master.

It's not obvious to me how the finished product is any better with a blackboard or a whiteboard (although I've heard several people try). Or how whiteboards are "soul-sucking". People who prefer blackboards seem like those who prefer vinyl over CDs, but with even fewer coherent arguments. Which is fine - everyone has a hobby - but maybe be a little less vitriolic about it?

Whiteboards do have the downside of staining over time, but using glass is a foolproof solution to that particular problem. It's amazing how inexpensively one can find very large, used, glass-covered picture or art frames.

[Archelaos]

> Using markers is smooth, a bit like writing with a pen on paper.

What I personally like least about whiteboards is that I cannot use the whiteboard markers sideways like a chalk, which is the best writing position to avoid contact with the board. When I write with a pen on paper, I can put my arm on the paper, but this is not advisable with a whiteboard. The pointed ends of the markers lead to a very uncomfortable position where the hand needs to be turned as far out as possible to bring the tip of the pen as perpenticular as possible onto the board. In this position it is quite difficult to achieve good quality handwriting. I myself know only one person whose whiteboard writing is genuinely visually appealing. However, I also agree with other commentators here: You need a good blackboard and good chalk to really have fun writing on it.

[Syzygies]

Most of the objections to blackboards or whiteboards can be mitigated by carrying one's own tools. For blackboards, I bring my own Hagoromo chalk [1,2] which has a wonderful touch and is radically less dusty, and several Korean microfiber auto detailing cloths [3]. I use a damp cloth to wipe the board before and after teaching, and a dry cloth as an erasor while teaching. Every month or so, I do a laundry load of all my cloths. I see colleagues in stages I've passed through, such as carrying a sponge, pail, and squeegee, and I've learned to say nothing. If there's a stage I haven't reached yet, however, I'm all ears.

Blackboards themselves also vary in quality; some ceramic surfaces can rival traditional slate. One can't really judge the experience starting with a cheap, dirty board and using institutional chalk and erasers.

I've enjoyed whiteboards in well-funded companies. In academics, it is profoundly embarrassing how often a speaker will have traveled for a lecture, only to find a dirty whiteboard and the local markers dried out. This is why speakers would rather lip-sync to PowerPoint slides. Were I using a whiteboard, I'd also bring my own tools.

Pad and paper is certainly easy, but artists brave serious messes to produce oil pastels for sale. In my case, students are carrying student loans half their lives. I prefer chalk over slides because it forces a live performance. I then share my Notability drawn notes, because they're better.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/HAGOROMO-Fulltouch-Color-Chalk-White/...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Hagoromo-Fulltouch-72pieces-Yellow-Or...

[3] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXRG64I/

[tsg]

What would you be bringing for a whiteboard? I also use microfiber cloths for cleaning these, but I don't know any other tricks.

[nordsieck]

* Isopropyl alcohol is one of the most effective cleaners along with being readily available almost everywhere, and very inexpensive.

* If you want to erase permanent marker from a white board, it sometimes works to color over it with dry erase marker, and then erase it like normal. Often you need multiple passes for the full effect.

* Always bring an emergency pen with you.

[sockaddr]

For me, the tactile sensation of chalk on a blackboard is deeply irritating. Something about the noise it makes, the dust and vibration it just repulses me. A whiteboard has none of these drawbacks and it also requires less effort to make a mark on the board.

[dijit]

I am not kidding when I say this although it sounds absurd to adult me: I was told when I was a kid it was due to racism.

I suspect actually it was simply more economical, and probably something to do with chalk dust. I don’t miss chalk dust.

[Archelaos]

> probably something to do with chalk dust. I don’t miss chalk dust.

However, the chalk dust has been replaced by synthetic colours that can ruin any cloth they come in contact with and are much harder to remove from the skin than chalk.

[InitialLastName]

For me:

- writing left-handed, whiteboards are somewhat easier to write on legibly without both erasing some of what you wrote and covering yourself with residue (which then transfers less to your clothing).

- The sound and feeling of chalk on a chalkboard makes my skin crawl.

[wrp]

I've wondered why I hear so much about chalk but not about mechanical pencil leads. I'm so picky about mine that whenever I find some I really like, I lay up a hoard in case it gets discontinued.

[ycombinete]

Which ones do you like?

[wrp]

If you have no special requirement in mind, the Pentel lead that is available practically everywhere is nothing to sneeze at. I probably use more of Pentel than anything else. The benefit in choosing other brands mainly comes when you want a particular effect or want to optimize for a particular situation.

For example, Pentel leads run a bit harder than other Japanese brands. This makes them a bit more brittle. For a 0.3 mm pencil without a sliding sleeve to support the extended lead, I would choose a Pilot or Mitsubishi lead to reduce breakage.

Sometimes you want to make really bold and dark lines, so you go for a 0.7 or 0.9 mm with the darkest lead you can find. Those sizes are only made as soft as 2B, but the Pilot Neox Graphite 0.7 & 0.9 mm 2B is actually more like a 4B. It's the darkest lead currently on the market in those sizes. (I have some long-discontinued 6B that I use sparingly.)

When I'm writing on index cards, I usually want a harder than usual lead, writing with a sharp edge to make clean lines that won't smudge. I like Faber-Castell HB in 0.9 mm for this because their harder leads don't feel as gritty as other brands.

I have a variety of other graphite leads that I use for specific situations.

Getting into color, for its variety of hues, the Mitsubishi Uni Nano Dia Color in 0.7 mm is usually my first choice. It makes bolder lines than the same brand in 0.5 mm, because the greater thickness allows a lower percentage of structural polymer in the mix.

A big problem with the Nano Dia, though, is that it's not lightfast. Most of the colors will fade away after a month on the bulletin board. The most lightfast colored lead is the Staedtler 0.5 mm in red/green/blue. It is extremely brittle, though, so you need to use it with a sliding-sleeve pencil like the Pentel Orenz. (https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-Orenz-Mechanical-Pencil-0.5-m...)

Aside from situation, people have different preferences in how the tip feels on the paper. Pentel feels rather slick, Pilot has a more chalky feel, and Mitsubishi to me feels rather gritty. I like a chalky feel when writing on really smooth paper and doing math, but the slicker Pentel suits me better when writing longhand on cheap office paper.

[ycombinete]

wow, that was far more thorough an answer than I expected, thank you!

I'll bet you have favourite pencil/s as well?

[wrp]

Wood-cased pencils have lead that is darker and less smudgy than MP lead, because wood-cased use a graphite+clay mix while MPs use graphite+polymer. Some people even prefer the feel of wood-cased pencils in hand, but I personally prefer the convenience of MPs.

The all-round best line of wood-cased pencils is the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. The Tombow Mono 100 series was a consistent second, but I heard quality changed after moving production out of Japan. Some people like the Faber-Castell 9000 series because its hardest grades are smoother than other brands. The Staedtler Mars Lumograph series is known to give a particularly rich black with the softest grades. That may not be relevant to you if you just want them for writing, because I find it practically impossible to write with a wood-cased softer than 4B.

Some fanatics claim that the discontinued Sanford Blackwing 602 was the greatest pencil ever. The lead hardness was about 4B and was unusual for including wax with the graphite and clay. The point wore down quickly, but the lead was particularly resistant to crumbling and it was very slippery on the paper. The line on paper was not as dark as you would expect from a 4B. I would say that the best current pencils give a better line but aren't as slippery. There have been a couple attempts at reproducing the Blackwing, but I've heard mixed reports of how successful they were.

My philosophy of buying pencils is that since there is so little absolute difference in cost between the best and the mediocre, there is no sense in trying to economize there.

[ycombinete]

This is all fascinating! I have been using Faber-Castell 1320 HB for my D&D games, and they've been great. They're not exactly rich in colour, but a single sharpen is more than enough for a whole day's session. I don't have anything to compare them to though.

I'm going to have to research what you mean by grades.

You mentioned preferring mechanical, but didn't say what kind you like. I've always heard that Rotring's are the grail there, but never looked into it.