When I sit down to do some thinking about an idea, I don't do it at the computer. No, I still prefer my trusty pad of graph paper. Or if that's handy, any piece of paper, napkin, or whatever planar surface I can use to physically make marks using a writing implement.
Am I just an old fart, stuck in my non electronic, obsolete ways?
Or is there still just something missing from our modern electronic devices? We have super advanced, powerful computers. We even have tablet devices meant for semi-physical human-computer interfacing. Some even have writing implements, in the form of inert "styluses" you can use to simulate writing and drawing.
Aside from the fact that these technologies are still lacking the satisfaction (to my old person sensibilities) of actually physically applying some mass to a textured surface in a more or less permanent fashion, and that these old methods are still generally far cheaper, flexible, more portable, more viewable and do not require power or any additional tools (the device itself, apart from the storage medium) to be consumed by anyone you share it with, why do I still not find myself using technology for my creative process?
Now don't get me wrong. I love technology. I'm a software developer for crying out loud! And I wouldn't dream of doing any kind of significant writing using pen and paper (unless it was stylized writing like calligraphy). I'm using a blog on a computer right now.
But when it comes to thinking things out, its back to paper and pencil. Or a whiteboard, if I'm trying to convey the ideas to other people or working with them. And while I'm doing it, I am thinking, its too bad I can't index these ideas for later searching. I know that it will be hard for me later to go back and find the things I've jotted down, modify them if needed, etc. So I think to myself, maybe I will scan the notes back into the computer for later use? Nah, too much trouble. And now I'm getting distracted from the idea I was trying to put down.
That's what is wrong with the technology. Its still too complicated. Yes I can bring up a note application. But it may be restricted to just to-do lists, or plain text. It forces me to give it a filename and save it. Maybe it doesn't even then offer the ability to index the data (because its trying to be simple), thus eliminating one the main reasons to do it on the computer in the first place.
Where is the app that is as simple to use as graph paper, yet as flexible as a pencil and paper, but still allows the technology to be applied later for the things it is useful for? I have not seen it. And this idea is not something I just thought of. I've been thinking about it for probably 20 years. Maybe I just haven't seen it yet.
Where is my electronic graph paper?
Am I just an old fart, stuck in my non electronic, obsolete ways?
Or is there still just something missing from our modern electronic devices? We have super advanced, powerful computers. We even have tablet devices meant for semi-physical human-computer interfacing. Some even have writing implements, in the form of inert "styluses" you can use to simulate writing and drawing.
Aside from the fact that these technologies are still lacking the satisfaction (to my old person sensibilities) of actually physically applying some mass to a textured surface in a more or less permanent fashion, and that these old methods are still generally far cheaper, flexible, more portable, more viewable and do not require power or any additional tools (the device itself, apart from the storage medium) to be consumed by anyone you share it with, why do I still not find myself using technology for my creative process?
Now don't get me wrong. I love technology. I'm a software developer for crying out loud! And I wouldn't dream of doing any kind of significant writing using pen and paper (unless it was stylized writing like calligraphy). I'm using a blog on a computer right now.
But when it comes to thinking things out, its back to paper and pencil. Or a whiteboard, if I'm trying to convey the ideas to other people or working with them. And while I'm doing it, I am thinking, its too bad I can't index these ideas for later searching. I know that it will be hard for me later to go back and find the things I've jotted down, modify them if needed, etc. So I think to myself, maybe I will scan the notes back into the computer for later use? Nah, too much trouble. And now I'm getting distracted from the idea I was trying to put down.
That's what is wrong with the technology. Its still too complicated. Yes I can bring up a note application. But it may be restricted to just to-do lists, or plain text. It forces me to give it a filename and save it. Maybe it doesn't even then offer the ability to index the data (because its trying to be simple), thus eliminating one the main reasons to do it on the computer in the first place.
Where is the app that is as simple to use as graph paper, yet as flexible as a pencil and paper, but still allows the technology to be applied later for the things it is useful for? I have not seen it. And this idea is not something I just thought of. I've been thinking about it for probably 20 years. Maybe I just haven't seen it yet.
Where is my electronic graph paper?
