A NEW LEASE ON LIFE FOR CURSIVE.

The article Dr. Boli mentioned from 2021 was What Will Happen to Cursive? Today’s article is transcribed below; and then we append Google’s transcription of the same text, mistakes and all.


Two years ago, Dr. Boli asked what might happen to cursive. His conclusion was that English cursive would soon become a specialized discipline in paleography. The generation now reaching adulthood will require the assistance of specialists to interpret the handwriting of the twentieth century and before.

What Dr. Boli did not predict was that we would all be carrying such specialists around in our pockets in the very near future. That rosy future has nearly arrived. Google Lens is close to being able to read Dr. Boli’s early-nineteenth-century hand.

It still has some learning to do. What seems to confuse the robot most is not the forms of the letters but the slant. The machine loses track of its place on a line and pulls a word up from the next line—even on ruled paper, which one might have expected to give it an infallible guide.

But two years ago any attempt at machine-reading Dr. Boli’s writing ended in gibberish. It seems reasonable to predict, given the notable progress so far, that in two years Google and its closest competitors will be able to read cursive as well as a human reader.

Let us meet here again in 2025 and see whether our prediction is fulfilled.


Now, here is the way Google interprets the handwritten text, with no corrections. You will see that, although it makes mistakes, especially in word placement, it is well on its way to a correct transcription.


Two Dr. Boli asked years ago, what might happen to cursive. His conclusion was that English currive would soon become a specialized discipline in paleography. The generation generation now reaching adulthood will require assistance of specialists to interpret the handwriting of the twentieth century and before.

What Dr. Boli did not predict, that we would all be carrying much pockets in the was specialists around in our very near future. That rory future has nearly errived. Google Lery is dore to being able to read Dr. Boli’s early-nineteenth-century hard.

It still has some learning to do. What seems to confure the robot mort is not the forms of the letters but the stant. The machine lores tuck of its place on a live and pulls a word up from the next line – even on which ong inted paper, ong might have expected to give it an infallible guide.

But two years ago any attempt at years. machine-reading. Dr. Boli’s writing, ended in gibberish. It seems reasonal far, to predict, giver the notable progress so f that in two years Google and its and competitors will as clorent be able to read cursive well as a human reader.

Let us meet here again in 2025 and whether our prediction is su fulfilled.

Comments

  1. tom says:

    Probably by then there will be advanced robots which will write a more perfectly cursive cursive, and communicate its meaning to the Central Brain.

  2. Charles Louis de Secondcat, Baron de La Brèed et de Montemeow says:

    So, what I’m hearing is that now would be a good time to invest in learning to write unintelligible arcane hieroglyphics barely distinguishable from ink splotches, to better evade the all-seeing eyes of our technocratic overlords?

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