Readers write: From cursive writing to ChatGPT

Letters to the editor published in the April 3 magazine. Readers reflect on the declining use of cursive and the rising use of ChatGPT.

Readers Respond

Cursive’s ‘individuality’

“A curlicue of hope for cursive writing” (in the Feb. 20 Weekly) is such a beautiful essay on “cursive as a compelling new art form.” 

Not long ago, a college student came into my office. Looking at me writing in cursive, he couldn’t refrain from saying, “That’s genius!”

With the individuality, beauty, ease of writing, as well as facility for learning that cursive inspires, one can hope it will find a re-emergence by being taught in elementary schools, giving pupils a joy of expression again.

Robin Pryor
Eugene, Oregon

Managing without cursive

I was amazed by the thoughtfully written piece by Sue Wunder characterizing cursive writing (script) as an archaic art form to be learned mainly for the pure enjoyment of it. 

I was aware that the public schools had stopped teaching it, but did not realize an entire generation had grown up without this vital component of literacy. 

How on earth do they manage? 

I suppose they print their signature on checks?

But how can they read handwritten notes? 

Or even the cursive fonts sometimes used in printing? 

And as Ms. Wunder notes, printing is so awkward, tedious, and time-consuming!

Jennifer Quinn
Abingdon, Virginia

ChatGPT versus English class

I appreciated Troy Sambajon’s article about ChatGPT (“‘ChatGPT, tell me a story’: AI gets literary,” in the Feb. 27 Weekly). His presentation of the potential benefits and concerns of the artificial intelligence system acknowledged that those benefits and concerns change depending on who is using it and for what purpose. 

As a high school English teacher who has been having an ongoing conversation with students about this new technology, I was asked recently by a student, “Why should one learn to write if a machine can do it better, faster, and easier?”  

I understand why the question was asked ­– yet simultaneously am concerned that it was. 

This perception holds that technology can effectively replace writing. I beg to differ. AI creates a product. Writing is so much more than a product; it is a process. Only through the process of writing can individuals learn. They learn what they think, how they think, why they think. Through writing, individuals think, feel, dream, inspire. The process allows us to create something unique, to communicate in a way so that another will understand. 

A product created by a machine can never replace the process of thought nor the reward that process brings.

Linda Hora
Alamo, California

An unending status quo

The Feb. 20 article “Palestinians see fewer paths to safety amid violence with Israel” was a bold snapshot of a volatile situation. Israel has defied U.N. resolutions, continued illegal settlements and targeted assassinations, and created unbearable conditions for Palestinians. The United States has never been an impartial mediator in the region. 

The “condolences and sorrow” expressed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his recent visit to the region is no substitute for diplomacy that would challenge Israeli occupation and work toward a permanent resolution to the violence.

Ann Hymes
Laguna Woods, California