Writing that changed how I think about programming languages

Regarding weird development methods of interest...Aaron Hsu of APL fame writes a lot of code in calligraphy with fountain pens when trying to organize his thoughts. I do something kind of similar, but in print with a crummy bic pen and a flow chart of Python objects (kind of like poor man's UML).

I also turn to a fountain pen for the hardest problems. It puts me in a completely different head space. Something about the limited editing ability forces more coherent, linear thought, but also the freedom to seamlessly switch between English, code, math, and diagrams opens up the creativity.

There is a proven association between hand-writing and memory retention. Taking notes on a computer is like leaving fingerprints on a handrail.

I wish OCR technology got so good that I could only write by hand and have perfect storage and searchability.