At this interesting moment “in the course of human events,” when “all that is solid melts into air,” it is my contention that we need to adopt the practice and the mantra “put it on paper.” Put it on paper. I mean actual paper. And I prefer that the writing be done with a pen and not a pencil, but I allow for differences in taste.
1. Much of the twenty-first century can be improved with some of the oldest technologies around.
Consider overdraft fees. They disproportionately affect people with low account balances. In 2022, even with a decrease, U.S. banks made over $7 billion in overdraft fees. In many cases, people are accidentally overdrafting because they continue to purchase before charges have posted. Their account looks like it has enough money when they check online or in an app and they don’t keep track well in their head. There are apps to help people learn about this and programs to educate consumers and the U.S. government is trying to put some limits on overdraft fees, but, in the case of accidental charges based on unclear information about an account, a solution already exists: the checkbook. Put your charges and withdrawals down in a checkbook and get up to the minute accounting information before your online or app banking information reflects your recent spending. Paper could probably save thousands of people thousands of dollars.
Old school is sometimes the best school. An app that helps you avoid overdraft fees requires creators, advertising, and it has to turn some kind of profit. It could be using your data without any benefit to you. But your bank will probably send you a checkbook for free and you could easily make your own. You can access a checkbook even when the power is out or the internet is down.
AI is a threat to the high school and college essay and the already compromised online test. Students can simply get ChatGPT, or a similar tool, to brainstorm or outline or write their essay or summary or review, or just about anything. Detection tools are improving but they are, and are likely to remain, imperfect. A solution already exists: the handwritten essay and exam. Until everyone gets Neuralink, an in-person, on paper, handwritten test cannot be completed by AI. It may not be practical to ask for research papers written in pen, but shorter in-person essays and exams are more than possible. We can look back for ways to move forward.
2. The people of today simply need more paper in their lives.
In our moment in time, students and people of all ages have decreasing attention spans and limited fine motor skills. Med schools are struggling with incoming students who know all about screens but do not have surgeons’ hands. You know the solution: write notes on paper. Writing improves dexterity. And it takes longer—improving the attention span. There is evidence that writing notes by hand improves memory and recall of the notes. Throw in the benefits of journaling for depression and anxiety and it’s surprising we’re avoiding a very affordable solution to some of our societal problems.
3. Paper offers unique advantages for storing and conveying information.
I will not advocate a return to the card catalog or the exclusive use of file cabinets, but if your organization keeps all of its information exclusively in the cloud, you’re practically asking for a cyberattack. More companies are facing ransom situations for information not on paper than for information on paper. Some things belong, even if not exclusively, on paper. Some things belong away from the internet. My Field Notes notebooks can be stolen, but they can’t be hacked.
Documents can be forged, but it is still beyond the capability of most casual non-criminals to alter an existing paper document. I can upload an inaccurate “Declaration of Independence” or Communist Manifesto to the internet, circulate the link, and attempt to get some disinformation going. But it’s very unlikely that I could find an existing, original paper copy of the document and somehow erase and alter some of the wording. Even if I had access (or Nicholas Cage stole the Declaration for me), it’s just not nearly as easy as making changes in Word. It’s not even as easy to forge a paper document as it is to forge an email.
Paper can also be very helpful for protecting information by keeping it short-term. What we post in the internet lasts forever. How many people face consequences as adults for foolish social media posts from their youth? What has not lasted as well? Notes on paper from 8th grade. A paper note can be carried in the pocket even when wifi is down and it can be exchanged without a cellphone, but it can also be trashed, or burned, or—in extreme cases—consumed. You’ve seen enough spy movies to know that.
4. We do not always have existing solutions for all new problems, but what already exists ought always to be considered.
I could write all day about paper and how it is beautiful and how we have books from the 1800s while we scour the wayback machine on the internet archive for websites from the 2000s, but paper isn’t the only point. All too often we think that because the times we face are unique and new, the only possible solutions to our problems must also be new and unique. Fortunately, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes older, cheaper alternatives are around. What we need to do to operate best in the present moment includes taking it in and assessing it, but it also includes being able to look back.
An excellent piece!