[hintymad]

Donald Knuth used to go to a secretary school to learn touch typing, and IIRC he could easily type more than 120 WPM. Yet he decided to write his books and papers first with pencil and a piece of paper, and then type them out. The reason is that he found that he typed faster than he could think, which in turn interfered with his thinking process, while writing on paper matches his speed of thinking.

I also find taking notes on paper helps me focus more than typing, but it could be just that writing slows me down so I have more time to unconsciously reflect more. I also find writing math on paper is way more effective than using a computer, but that's most likely because I'm not that familiar with LaTex, so typing out equations interrupts my thought process.

[mbrumlow]

I have always had the opposite problem.

In grade school had to go to all these classes during recess to get different pencils, pens, grips, wiring methods.

The reason was my hand could not keep up with my thoughts. So the result was skipped words, and merging of two words and all these other things.

I am still poor at spelling, but the solution was typing. Once I started typing well my grades went up and I no longer found doing the work a chore.

[wakawaka28]

Presumably, thinking about difficult math and CS problems goes slower than thinking about random literary topics or whatever.

[y33t]

I read somewhere that he even programs on paper and punches it into a computer when he's done.

As for myself, I definitely understand the problem he's describing. I catch all my fleeting thoughts with a keyboard, but I always find my mind wandering into tangents and end up losing the focus of what I'm really getting at, or I end up in a cycle of endless micro revisions. When I started writing with pen and paper it enforced a certain economy into my writing process. By having a natural speed limiter, I have to focus more on the heart of what I'm getting at; being in the zone writing with pen and paper feels totally different to me than writing on a keyboard, you get into a much deeper state of focus.

[bayindirh]

I'm also similar to Knuth during programming. I start by writing notes and designing on paper. For larger projects, I always keep a dedicated "lab notebook". That notebook contains designs, the rationale behind them, and some mental shaking of these ideas to see whether they stick. Sometimes, I toss the idea, and note why I did it. If the idea makes to the computer and fails spectacularly, reasons are noted as a lessons learnt note.

Personal diaries are also written with pen or paper, because I found out that, even if I type it without any interruptions, I can't dive that deep into the issue and dig it the way I want. I also noticed that, while writing this comment, new ideas for blog posts are also born on paper, with some notes, too.

I also keep a notebook which I carry everywhere and scan it when it finishes. That "scratchpad" carries hundreds of thought blobs like that. While they are mostly to-do lists, also ideas, small notes, and other pointers to ideas and small stuff are in these notebooks, and they work as an external working memory for me, allowing me to dig, process and think in a way which I can't do while looking to a screen and typing away on a keyboard.

[m463]

Maybe it was different when I was a kid, but nowadays writing anything more than a signature with a pencil or pen makes my fingers tired and crampy.

[lr1970]

Had similar problem. Switching to fountain pens resolve it completely.