- #1
TubbaBlubba
I suffer from an extremely rare congenital disease known as arthrochalasia (or EDS Type VII). Basically, it means that all of the ordinary collagen in my body is brittle and elastic. I've always had problems with long-winded handwriting - thankfully I eventually was allowed to use electronic typewriters and laptops in elementary/high school. Still, you can't really solve math and physics problems that way, so I've had to bite the bullet there. In recent years (I'm 24), my problems have gotten worse, I've lost a lot of strength and gained severe chronic pain, and joint pain arising mainly from handwriting is one of my most serious pain management issues. I've done all the obvious things - I use comfortable pens with virtually no friction, I try to use my left hand as well, etc, and it's been sort of managable so far. But the other week I noticed that my right thumb was hanging at an odd angle when resting and felt unstable, and it seems a ligament in the MCP joint must have broken without me noticing it. Typical dumb stuff you get with this sort of disease. You can't do plastic surgery on my ligaments, but I can wear a brace and eventually do joint fixation surgery, so I'm fine for now.
However, this made me realize that at some point in the upcoming years I might have to find a way to work on problem solving without resorting to handwriting. I can use keyboard and mouse with far more ease than I can use a pencil, but firing up a text editor is a really bad substitute for pen and paper in physics.
I can't be the first person in the history of the world with this sort of problem - is anyone here aware of any good software or any other solutions that could allow me to work on equations, figures, etc with reasonable efficiency in a potentially more gentle manner?
Thanks!
However, this made me realize that at some point in the upcoming years I might have to find a way to work on problem solving without resorting to handwriting. I can use keyboard and mouse with far more ease than I can use a pencil, but firing up a text editor is a really bad substitute for pen and paper in physics.
I can't be the first person in the history of the world with this sort of problem - is anyone here aware of any good software or any other solutions that could allow me to work on equations, figures, etc with reasonable efficiency in a potentially more gentle manner?
Thanks!