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not following principles completely. best brain wash page: 'freedom is a precious boon" where f is different for each one

learn new strange words some are obsolete now

At first I thought they went a little too far with all the extensive annotation of like what is really a 20 page comic, but it actually makes sense, as showing interpretation of a primary source. Here's a comic I had to make for class that captures the next frame after the story ends (spoilers):

I just copied the letters down by sight for each of the examples in the copybooks. After 4? Years of owning these books, I finally made it through all the copybooks. [post image]. I listened to GDC talks while copying.

movements that can be used to form every letter. And when you're working in the copybooks, you're supposed to recite to yourself which principle you are employing in each part of the letter. I admit that I didn't have the gumption to do it like this.

If you're a writer, it is worth your time to learn cursive, as another method of writing can enrich and diversify your work. Neil Gaiman, for example, wrote his novel "Stardust" with notebook and fountain pen to help set the 1920s theme. the written instructions and the theory book is a bit daunting. There are literally paragraph descriptions of how to form each letter, which make use of a set of "principles"--4?

The most engaging "primary text" I've had to read. Much more interesting and complex than "The Epic of Gilgamesh" (civilization became more complex since then), and more subtly plotted than the random events of "The Odyssey." Of course only fair to compare with a contemporary text--the works of Shakespeare. "Sundiata" is plotted like a modern suspense novel, but is 100% legible (perhaps because of modern translation)

The other part of the book is a mediocre attempt (and by "mediocre" I mean compared with other books that try to do the same thing) at providing an overview of all of scientific discovery. There are occasional references to science fiction films that often seem a bit too critical and close-minded.

If you're a science fiction fan, the last 100 pages of this book are very valuable, summarizing and discussing a number of old classic science fiction films that I otherwise wouldn't have known about (many are very old and in black and white), and even compare these films with the books they were based on, if there were any.

Appeal to "gamers" slightly annoying. Calling them “gamers” a lot when they have more engineering skills than just that. and very clearly biased in the chapter on violence, didn't give the other side enough of a chance, though ultimately I agree with the book's stance.

What I got most out of it was copying (mindlessly) in the copybooks.

If you're like me and like finishing books you start, be careful with making this purchase, as you may be selling out a good few hours of your life.

The course teaches how a small number of basic "principles" can be ordered to form every letter of the alphabet. I'm a bad student in that I didn't memorize these principles nor count what exact principles are forming each letter. It was interesting to see the strategy they tried to employ in teaching handwriting though. What I got most out of it is simply copying in the copybooks.

Hopefully it will refine your hand muscles (and even more hopefully your writing), teach focus, give you something somewhat productive to do with your hands, help you have better handwriting and drawing abilities.

I bought these for my graduation project (3 years ago now) on penmanship in which I lied and said I had completed the Spencerian course. But I am a very focused individual and finish everything I start, especially books. So, many years later, I finally worked through all the copybooks, even though my interest in cursive is nearly nonexistent now.

For those complaining about the author asking for money occasionally and advertising his fonts -- read the ending. It makes a lot of sense. Vote with your wallet and help content creators be able to make quality stuff.

its also cool to be able to see a book published like this, and I completely agree with Butterick that more books should transition to using the web as a book publishing medium (and not ebooks controlled by apple/amazon, but the independent web)

Sorry about vomiting all these notes; this isn't really a review. I'm just trying to learn.

ebooks are monetized by companies and even epub doesn't have formatting options, and pdfs are better but still tied to the past and physical pages, therefore more books should be web-based

use the ellipse character rather than typing three dots with spaces inbetween

The style is very snarky and modern, yet still isn't completely clear enough to read too quickly.

use black background for powerpoints

if you use system fonts, choose from the excellent A list here: https://practicaltypography.com/syste...

think of page elements as either foreground or background