Shorthand For Dummies?

Beware Professional Dummies!
Short-handed dummy in
my local clothing store

Well, I have a sincere apology to make. I regret to inform you that you are really reading an article written for someone else. I know it is very annoying, and maybe even embarrassing, but I think that it may be necessary to just make the best of it and pick out a few of the new outlines that you need to learn or practise. The fact* of the matter is that you, the shorthand learner/enquirer, are not a dummy. Here are some definitions of the word: A dumb, stupid or silly person, fool, idiot, dolt, mute, a person without the power of speech or who says or does nothing. One seeming to act independently but in reality controlled by another. Counterfeit, sham, fake, fictitious, a copy or imitation of an object often lacking some essential feature of the original. An object or likeness of something designed to resemble and serve as a substitute for the real or usual one.

*There are many ways to write "fact" in phrases, mostly omitting the "F", see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/phrasing4-omission.htm#OmittingConsonant

Rendered immobile by one
unknown outline too many

I am happy to undertake dummy runs, make up a dummy copy of an article in order to improve its content, admire fashionable clothing on a dummy in the shop window or even make my own using a dressmaker’s dummy. I might buy a dummy for a baby to suck, although maybe soother is a better name for it. A dummy security alarm on the outside of the house might be useful, although the real thing would be much better, and I am all for crash dummies testing the safety of a car chassis or other equipment. Fortunately none of these things is going to be insulted by the description applied to them.

Of course you can

The “For Dummies” series of informational books started when computers were first beginning to become a household item, in order to overcome the gulf between those in the know and “the rest of us”. They provided some humour to help break through the resistance that is often felt when making a first attempt at a new and possibly complicated subject. It also fits the cover much better than saying “Explained in vastly simplified terms for the uninformed or beginner”!

They have since spread to cover a multitude of subjects, being very similar to the long-standing “Teach Yourself” and “Made Simple” series, but with a greater emphasis on using the simplest possible language and with no assumption that the reader already knows anything about the subject.

Just a little reminder that
knotting, netting and knitting
all need their vowel written in

The humour of the title rules out in advance the possibility of taking offence at this assumption and lets one know what to expect within. They are the opposite of the jargon-filled specialist manuals of the past. I read a few of these many years ago but I did wonder what effect the title might have on someone who already feels that they fit the description, and whether it would consolidate their view of themselves. However, I concluded that someone of that opinion starting to read such a book has already made the first step out of that frame of mind.

I have read all the shorthand instruction books, including Instructor, New Course, Modern Course, Commercial Course, the Anniversary Edition, Teach Yourself, and many others. Every one of them is written in a simple step-by-step* style, introducing each feature with short and precise descriptions, followed by practice sentences and passages. They describe everything in the simplest terms using the minimum of words, with neither humour nor apology. Compared with the present-day tendency for manuals and instruction books to over-explain or repeat themselves (what I call hand-holding), these older shorthand books are models of brevity.

At the time they would have generally accompanied class lessons, so that what the teacher has explained could be reviewed easily and quickly by the student but they are all equally suited to the home learner. Obviously, the exception is the Teach Yourself book and I did read this one as a taster before I started my college year, although I found the New Course, which our teacher used, much easier to read. If studied methodically, any of these books will get you to your desired destination, as long as you persevere and do not stint on practising time, which is the mainstay of learning shorthand.

* "Step-by-step" can also be written as an omission phrase, see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/phrasing5-omission.htm

i.e. discouraging remarks from
those who lack your determination

Some people feel that they are unintelligent or dull because they failed at academic subjects. I like the quote by Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Learning shorthand is completely unlike academic subjects. There is nothing to really “understand”. Just like ordinary alphabets, all the marks have no meaning other than that ascribed to them by the inventor. There is structure, purpose and a clear rationale behind the way the marks are grouped by sound, and how they are combined, but beyond this it is only a question of learning them in an orderly manner and practising until they become automatic. Eventually the mere sight of them brings instant recognition without any struggle.

The ideal filing system
for negative comments

You have already done this in your longhand, and can rattle off all sorts of convoluted shapes without a moment’s thought or hesitation. You can recognise it when it is printed, written or scrawled, regardless of what it was written with or on what surface. This is most evident in your signature, probably the fastest thing that you can write in longhand.

You are also using shorthand when you read or write numbers/numerals, which bear no pictorial relation to their meaning, but which instantly bring to mind what they represent as soon as you look at them.

Dinner-U-Like!

When I was small, I used to eat my dinner starting with the things that were not so wonderful (in case I was tempted to leave them uneaten at the end) and saved the tastier and nicer bits till last. I wanted to leave the meal with a good taste, having got the items that were “hard work” out of the way.

In case the definition of the “D” word has left any unfortunate tang or taste in your mind, I would like to offer my definition of the shorthand writer/learner, and I hope that you recognise yourself and your goals, all the way to the end of the page.

Shorthand devotees have a bright and enquiring mind, full of endless fascination for a beautiful and efficient method of notation that combines pleasure in writing with usefulness in employment. They are full of enthusiasm and interest for a subject that will, when mastered, allow them to leave behind the laborious and slow longhand. They back up their initial decision to learn by obtaining all the materials and equipment that they can, in order to be able to write and practise as extensively as possible. Some may have piles of pads and wonderful pens, others may have less plentiful materials but they make up for it with ingenious ways to use and reuse what they have.

They are intelligent and inventive which enables them to improvise ways of practising even when they do not have their pencil and paper with them. They think of outlines all the time, on the bus, in a queue, watching television or listening to the radio or nearby conversations. They are smart, sharp, alert, quick-witted and industrious in the extreme, and their determination alarms some of their friends who would prefer to lounge about and waste time. They leave no stone unturned in seeking out extra shorthand books, study materials and practice opportunities.

Despite being quick to think and act, they are exceedingly slow when it comes to being derailed by an unusual word or unknown outline, or giving in to the temptation to hesitate. They are meticulous with their filing system for everything that they have gathered, not allowing any scrap to get mislaid or lost, so that they have plenty of resources for review and revision. They are confident, calm and collected when they take exams, knowing that they have practised well beyond the speed which they are sitting for. They are consistent in practising, resistant to fright or anxiety over new words, insistent on gaining successes at every stage of their study, and persistent in the face of difficulties, to which their favourite reply is “I’ll be back!” (1377 words)