A new study examines the changes a person has undergone in using the different fingers on the palm for writing and how this affects the content we write
In the last two decades and especially since the proliferation of smartphones, the finger that works "hardest" on our hand when writing is the thumb. This is a significant change in the history of writing in general and typing in particular. A new study claims that the change affects not only the way we write, but also the content itself, which is written more and more by the algorithms.
The study, conducted by Dr. Ido Ramati from the Department of Communication and the Program for Cultural Studies at the Hebrew University and recently published in the scientific journal "Convergence", examines the historical change of human-machine interfaces in the act of typing for writing - from the invention of the first typewriter keyboards and the blind typing methods that were invented along with them, And the contemporary typing on smartphones - and shows how typing with thumbs is a new and unprecedented phenomenon in human history.
With the help of research, it is possible to better understand the relationship between humans, various social phenomena and the instruments by means of which these behaviors are carried out. For example, choosing emojis or whole words using the virtual keyboard is easier than typing a word letter by letter, because the keyboard is not actually adjusted to the size of the thumb (the thickest and strongest finger).
A possible consequence of this is that we use more of what the algorithm offers us - such as gifs, emojis or words from the virtual keyboard, instead of the words we choose ourselves. This means that writing today is not an exclusive product of man but is collaborative for both humans and machines.
In general, the way we write has changed over the years - while at the beginning of the XNUMXth century people aspired to type with all ten fingers, the invention of the computer mouse added to this the connection between the eye and the hand and the coordination between them. According to the researcher, the use of thumbs rearranges the traditional division of work between the fingers in the palm. The thumbs, which historically supported the grip of writing instruments, are now used alone for writing, while the other fingers, such as the index finger, move for the first time to a position that supports writing. The article links the techniques in which we write with the cultural products that characterize the period - if the era of writing with ten fingers was characterized by the order and organization of the letters on the page, then the era of writing with thumbs is characterized by high flexibility and creativity - for example, the use of emojis, gifs, stickers and more.
Dr. Ramati adds and says that "in everything related to technology, there is not just one factor that creates the change, but a multitude of factors that produce the interface. As a proof, the keyboard - even though it is not ideal to say the least, and alternatives could have been invented for it, and they did - it has still been with us for over 150 years. It is possible that in the future we will only talk to machines (an option that already exists today, even if it doesn't work properly and is often annoying) or transmit thought waves to them telepathically, but it is certainly possible that we will continue to type. The article shows how the technological changes are not only a question of "invention" or "improvement" that pushes out "inferior" or old technology, but are the product of a fabric of a variety of considerations, needs, pressures, forces, behaviors and conventions. In my opinion, this is how the future of the relationship between humans and their technologies will continue to be characterized."
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One response
What is scientific here?
Historical anthropological research.
Does it have any meaning beyond that?