Kevin Kelly: Why pencils? (ii).
Kevin Kelly famously writes about his favorite pencil, the Derwent 3B:
“A pencil can generate megabytes of text, needs no batteries, and has no user manual. It is comfortable to hold, it smells good, and it is relaxing to turn around in your hand as you try to think of the right words. Pencils don’t need ink; all they need is a sharpener. They are warm and friendly; they have souls.”
Thanks, Kevin!
[See Why pencils? (i).]
5 Comments so far
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Actually, this encomium to the pencil is from Kirk McElhearn, author of many books on the Mac OS. Kelly’s site just quotes it (with credit).
McElhearn’s site also has his “musings” on many other things that Mac users may find instructive.
By Dorai on 11.10.05 1:16 pm
trust me ilove pencils…….. i want those brown french pencils.. I LOVE THEM. wish they were easily available :(
By Rohit Talwar on 11.12.05 5:21 am
Does anyone talk about their favourite portable sharpeners (I like the Staedtlers—one- and two-holed).
By Slywy on 11.19.05 5:27 am
I like the story about the pen that was designed to write in zero-gravity environment. They spend millions on developing this tool for the American astronauts.
The Russian space agency’s writing device was so much cheaper.
It was a pencil!
Sometimes the answer is right in front of you and so simple (and cheap)
By Anonymous on 12.29.05 12:21 pm
That’s not quite true:
http://pencilrevolution.com/2005/12/russian-space-pen.html
The Cosmonauts use space pens too.
By Ron on 12.29.05 4:06 pm
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