I'm a Programmer Who Bought a Typewriter
3 points by sasha_fishter 18 hours ago | 6 comments
I have been programming for the last 7 years professionally. I like computers from my early age. My father bought me Sinclair ZX Spectrum+ when I was in the first grade. Since then, computers were part of my life, significantly. I stare at my screen almost whole day. One day there was some voice in me saying "Buy a typewriter". I listened to the voice and bought Smith Corona Silent from 1946. It was the most profound experience I ever had with some kind of machine. I was not so happy when I got my first cell phone, and later smartphone nor computer. This is something different, probably because the basics are the same, I'm still typing.

Suddenly I found myself writing a diary, and a novel. I never wrote anything other than blog posts (many of them since I had website similar to The Verge) - which I sold later.

I now have 3 typewriters, 2x Smith Corona Silent (1946 and 1956), and Olympia Monica (I think it's from '70).

What I found very interesting is that writing on a typewriter is perfectly synchronized with how fast my mind is working. Time slows down! I read that on the web somewhere, and it is slowing the time when you type on a typewriter! I can confess that!

My fingers are too fast on computer keyboard, and I even don't want to talk about distractions like auto correct and other stuff that always pops up. This is something what really makes me feel good. I can write a story, poem, diary, or a letter to a friend.

It's truly something we should have on our desk somewhere in the room, and just put our thoughts on a paper.

  • Devasta 18 hours ago |
    I know what you mean, its the same reason I do not have a kindle or buy e-books in general: With a physical book I take the time to sit down and read what is written, but on a screen I find myself skimming through to get the key points.

    Sometimes, efficiency is the least important thing.

  • taylodl 18 hours ago |
    Having grown up at a time where I was forced to use typewriters and listen to vinyl LP records, I don't wax so nostalgic over those old technologies. As soon as I got my Commodore 64 and my Star Gemini 10x dot matrix printer, I never used a typewriter again!

    Vinyl took a little longer to get off of as I had (and still have) a fairly significant vinyl collection.

  • zippyman55 13 hours ago |
    Really nice post. In my final SW engineering job, I bought a ton of drafting supplies and artist paper and forced myself to architect my algorithms. It forced me to slow down and I fell much closer to my objective. I’m going to try your idea.
    • sasha_fishter 6 hours ago |
      Great idea. It is magical, makes more room for thinking, less of distractions.
  • m463 4 hours ago |
    reminds me of when I used a film camera. Looking back a the shots I took... I would just take ONE photo. Group photo with 30 people? One picture.

    Nowadays I take a ton and pick the best, because they are "free", but suspect I might think less about composing.

    I think there is something to be said for the need to get it right. Maybe it makes you more mindful.

    • racktash 25 minutes ago |
      In June I "accidentally" (I certainly never saw it coming...) got back into film photography. I bought a Lomography Konstruktor for fun and ended up having way more fun taking photos with it than I thought I would.

      It's going to be a personal, subjective thing, but not having the option to take unlimited photos, as I tend to do with my phone when on holiday, say, but having to try to at least give each exposure a chance of being worth the expensive cost of film, made me rediscover the fun of photography.