Features

Handwriting ability and brain development

Published

4 weeks ago

2026/01/16

The Dispilio tablet is a wooden artefact bearing linear marks, unearthed in 1993 during George Hourmouziadis’s excavations of the Neolithic site of Dispilio in Greece. A single radiocarbon date from the artefact has yielded a radiocarbon age of 6270±38 radiocarbon years, which when calibrated corresponds to the calendar age range of 5324–5079 cal BC (at 95.4% probability).

The oldest confirmed writing is the Kish tablet, a Sumerian pictographic tablet from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) around 3500 BCE, a precursor to cuneiform, though some argue for Egyptian inscriptions (Abydos, ~3400-3200 BCE) as equally early, while Proto-Elamite tablets (~3200-2900 BCE) are also among the earliest known systems alongside Mesopotamian writing, marking the shift from proto-writing to true writing systems–Wikipedia

Just the other day, a casual conversation I had with a CEO of a research institution revealed something startling. One of the recent intern recruits to the institution had been asked to take notes at a meeting so that he could later write a short report on it – a basic learning experience for the guy who was an undergraduate. After the meeting, when the CEO asked him for his notes, he replied that he “wrote” them on his smart phone. It was found that he hadn’t done even that to any acceptable degree. The CEO went on to tell me that many of the new Gen-Z generation does not “write”. They just punch keys on their ‘smart phones’ instead!

Adding to this concern was a recent short article that appeared in The Island newspaper titled “How to teach kids to write by hand, and why it still makes sense to do so”. The article quotes a German Emeritus Professor Friedrich Schonweiss who says that even in this technological age, children need to learn to write with pen and paper.

Having been a medical teacher for nearly 45 years and seeing long-term deteriorating trends in handwriting skills (indecipherable answer scripts), I could understand what might be happening. Two things must have played a role in this outcome. (i) attention is no longer paid by teachers during ‘early childhood learning’ about handwriting ability – i.e., forming letters of the alphabet; (ii) even preschoolers now have smartphones and use their hands mostly for scrolling and tapping keys. I remember during our ‘ancient’ days when much of our first year in school was spent on perfecting our script on Sinhala and English ‘copybooks’ where we were trained how to perfectly write every letter in the alphabet, guided by lines in red and blue. Writing by hand with pencil/pen and paper then, was the only option.

How does not writing by hand affect brain development?

With my immersion in learning and teaching neurophysiology and ‘higher functions’ of the brain to medical students for over four decades, I am perhaps, reasonably competent to say something about it. The relationship between the Hand and the Brain is as complex as it is critically important. From early evolution when fins developed in aquatic animals, to the universal form of 5 ‘fingers’ (pentadactyly) in most animals, the hand had been most uniquely developed in humans.

It can be said that the development of the human hand and human intelligence are evolutionarily complementary. It was the development of the ‘opposing thumb’ in apes and primates that transformed the hand to be able to grasp objects. This led to development of primitive tools by primates. The Human (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) has perfected the anatomy and neurophysiology of the hand, and consequently, making it the most intelligent animal on the planet. The dexterity of the small muscles of the hand, the suppleness of the wrist and finger-joints have made humans able to grasp a ‘writing object’ (a sharp stone, to the graphite stick of our childhood and the pen today) and making writing an integral part of human brain development that preceded human civilisational development.

The book “Hand and the Brain” by Göran Lundborg presents the human hand from an overall perspective – from the first appearance of hand-like structures in the fins of big fishes living millions of years ago to today´s and the future’s mind-controlled artificial hands.

Much focus is given in the book to the extremely well-developed sensation of the hand, its importance and its linkage to ‘brain plasticity’ mechanisms. How can active hands rapidly expand their representational area in the brain? How can the sense of touch substitute for other deficient senses, such as in Braille reading where hand sensation substitutes for missing vision? Why are some of us (about 10% of any population) left-handed? What role did the hand and the brain play during evolution in tool construction and development of language and cognitive functions? The hand has a high symbolic value in religion, literature and art and our hands have a key role in gestures and body language.

The hand and the brain are functionally intimately linked together, and hand sensibility is very much a central nervous experience. The human hand possesses unique features; it is a sense organ transmitting information from the surrounding world to the brain. It is also the most important tool for the brain’s ability to execute different tasks. Much of this is due to the well-developed sensory and motor functions in the hand that make possible strong power grips as well as delicate fine motor functions. The hands are also, together with the face, the body parts that most often are exposed to the surrounding world. Hereby the hand can be seen as a symbol for identity reflecting our state of mind and personality.

Without getting into too much technicality, let me ask, what will the impending loss of hand-writing skills in humans through disuse do to the brain-hand coordination and thus, brain development and function? Will we have at some time in the future, if the current trends persist, a significant loss of fine hand-use skills required of surgeons – especially transplant and vascular surgeons, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists? OK. I hear someone say that AI and robots will make surgeons superfluous. Perhaps – with robotic surgery becoming increasingly advanced and sophisticated.

But will we have virtuoso pianists and violinists of today’s calibre in the future? What about the brilliant landscape and portrait painters? Can we foresee a robotic orchestra playing Beethoven, Mozart or Bach and feel content about it? What about sculptors – even goldsmiths? All these persons need immaculate hand and finger control and coordination that comes from training from infancy and childhood by developing their use of hands and fine movements. The obviously systematic way that this happens is through the development of hand-writing skills. The brain needs to develop its neural networks that ensure that its sensory and motor centres are sensitive enough to conduct extremely fine movements of our hands and fingers.

Furthermore, retaining handwriting skills is considered crucial for cognitive development, memory, and academic success, as it engages different areas of the brain than typing on a keyboard or scrolling on a smartphone. The slower time taken for writing, helps retention of information that you are writing and hence, improves learning. We are being persuaded not to read books on print and encouraged to scroll pages on a soft copy instead.

Our literacy and literal sense, fine motor skills, and critical thinking would be enhanced by writing word-by-word and thereby forcing sequential thought and deeper processing. It is not just transcription that I am talking about here but making time that is vital for learning and self-expression. Your ‘feel’ for words is enhanced by writing them word-for-word. This is no longer a ‘worthwhile exercise for today’s students – even for academics and creative writers. All they need to do now is to type out a few keywords and a ready-made essay on any topic in the world is presented to you in seconds by AI-aided writer-apps. Therefore the ‘feel’ for words is being gradually lost and parts of our evolutionarily evolved motor and sensory hand-use abilities and cerebral Hand-Brin networks are slowly undergoing disuse atrophy.

A few points to ponder:

= In children, handwriting is crucial for developing essential fine motor skills, letter recognition, and early reading circuits in the brain.

= The act of ‘handwriting’ provides unique cognitive benefits that are not fully replicated by typing, particularly for learning, memory, and fine motor development.

= Reduced use of handwriting can lead to the weakening of these specific neural pathways over time.

= Brain imaging studies show that handwriting activates more widespread areas of the brain compared to typing. This includes regions responsible for movement, vision, sensory processing, and memory.

= The complex, fine motor movements involved in shaping letters require focused attention and motor control, which enhances neural connections.

= Taking notes by hand generally leads to better memory retention and conceptual understanding than typing. The physical act forces a slower, more deliberate processing of information, which aids in encoding knowledge in the brain.

= Engaging in cognitively demanding activities like handwriting throughout life can help build a cognitive reserve, potentially delaying the onset or reducing the impact of age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases.

= A decline in handwriting skills is often an early symptom of underlying neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease, rather than the cause of the disease itself.

= Changes in handwriting can be an objective marker that helps medical professionals detect neurodegenerative disorders early on.

= If a healthy person’s handwriting skills decrease due to lack of practice (e.g., relying solely on typing), those specific neural circuits may weaken, but it does not mean their entire brain is “deteriorating”.

= Consistently engaging in handwriting can serve as a beneficial form of cognitive exercise. Maintaining a balance between digital literacy and traditional handwriting is recommended to reap the full range of cognitive benefits.

The ‘writing is on the wall’ (pun intended). The long-term evolutionary consequences of the disuse of writing by hand could be insidious. What it could do to human creativity and ingenuity cannot be predicted? Perhaps, with automation, AI and robotics taking over so many of tasks that humans did using their hands and their interconnected brain centres, the dystopian ‘Brave New World’ of Aldous Huxley will be upon us before we realise it.

by Susirith Mendis ✍️
(susmend2610@gmail.com)

All News Advertisement

Features

More state support needed for marginalised communities

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

A landslide in the Central Province

Message from Malaiyaha Tamil community to govt:

Insights from SSA Cyclone Ditwah Survey

When climate disasters strike, they don’t affect everyone equally. Marginalised communities typically face worse outcomes, and Cyclone Ditwah is no exception. Especially in a context where normalcy is far from “normal”, the idea of returning to normalcy or restoring a life of normalcy makes very little sense.

The island-wide survey (https://ssalanka.org/reports/) conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA), between early to mid-January on Cyclone Ditwah shows stark regional disparities in how satisfied or dissatisfied people were with the government’s response. While national satisfaction levels were relatively high in most provinces, the Central Province tells a different story.

Only 35.2% of Central Province residents reported that they were satisfied with early warning and evacuation measures, compared to 52.2% nationally. The gap continues across every measure: just 52.9% were satisfied with immediate rescue and emergency response, compared with the national figure of 74.6%. Satisfaction with relief distribution in the Central Province is 51.9% while the national figure stands at 73.1%. The figures for restoration of water, electricity, and roads are at a low 45.9% in the central province compared to the 70.9% in national figures. Similarly, the satisfaction level for recovery and rebuilding support is 48.7% in the Central Province, while the national figure is 67.0%.

A deeper analysis of the SSA data on public perceptions reveals something important: these lower satisfaction rates came primarily from the Malaiyaha Tamil population. Their experience differed not just from other provinces, but also from other ethnic groups living in the Central Province itself.

The Malaiyaha Tamil community’s vulnerability didn’t start with the cyclone. Their vulnerability is a historically and structurally pre-determined process of exclusion and marginalisation. Brought to Sri Lanka during British rule to work for the empire’s plantation economies, they have faced long-term economic exploitation and have repeatedly been denied access to state support and social welfare systems. Most estate residents still live in ‘line rooms’ and have no rights to the land they cultivate and live on. The community continues to be governed by an outdated estate management system that acts as a barrier to accessing public and municipal services such as road repair, water, electricity and other basic infrastructures available to other citizens.

As far as access to improved water sources is concerned, the Sri Lanka Demographic Health Survey (2016) shows that 57% of estate sector households don’t have access to improved water sources, while more than 90% of households in urban and rural areas do. With regard to the level of poverty, as the Department of Census and Statistics (2019) data reveals, the estate sector where most Malaiyaha Tamils live had a poverty headcount index of 33.8%; more than double the national rate of 14.3%. These statistics highlight key indicators of the systemic discrimination faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community.

Some crucial observations from the SSA data collectors who enumerated responses from estate residents in the survey reveal the specific challenges faced by the Malaiyaha Tamils, particularly in their efforts to seek state support for compensation and reconstruction.

First, the Central Province experienced not just flooding but also the highest number of landslides in the island. As a result, some residents in the region lost entire homes, access roadways, and other basic infrastructures. The loss of lives, livelihoods and land was at a higher intensity compared to the provinces not located in the hills. Most importantly, the Malaiyaha Tamil community’s pre-existing grievances made them even more vulnerable and the government’s job of reparation and restitution more complex.

Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the community. According to the resident data collectors, the police announcements reached only as far as the sections where they were able to drive their vehicles to, and there were many estate roads that were not motorable. When warnings did filter through to remote locations, they often came by word of mouth and information was distorted along the way. Once the disaster hit, things got worse: roads were blocked, electricity went out, mobile networks failed and people were cut off completely.

Emergency response was slow. Blocked roads meant people could not get to hospitals when they needed urgent care, including pregnant mothers. The difficult terrain and poor road conditions meant rescue teams took much longer to reach affected areas than in other regions.

Relief supplies didn’t reach everyone. The Grama Niladhari divisions in these areas are huge and hard to navigate, making it difficult for Grama Niladharis to reach all places as urgently as needed. Relief workers distributed supplies where vehicles could go, which meant accessible areas got help while remote communities were left out.

Some people didn’t even try to go to safety centres or evacuation shelters set up in local schools because the facilities there were already so poor. The perceptions of people who did go to safety centres, as shown in the provincial data, reveal that satisfaction was low compared to other affected regions of the country. Less than half were satisfied with space and facilities (42.1%) or security and protection (45.0%). Satisfaction was even lower for assistance with lost or damaged documentation (17.9%) and information and support for compensation applications (28.2%). Only 22.5% were satisfied with medical care and health services below most other affected regions.

Restoring services proved nearly impossible in some areas. Road access was the biggest problem. The condition of the roads was already poor even before the cyclone, and some still haven’t been cleared. Recovery is especially difficult because there’s no decent baseline infrastructure to restore, hence you can’t bring roads and other public facilities back to a “good” condition when they were never good, even before the disaster.

Water systems faced their own complications. Many households get water from natural sources or small community projects, and not the centralised state system. These sources are often in the middle of the disaster zone and therefore got contaminated during the floods and landslides.

Long-term recovery remains stalled. Without basic infrastructure, areas that are still hard to reach keep struggling to get the support they need for rebuilding.

Taken together, what do these testaments mean? Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah. An effective and fair disaster response needs to account for these underlying vulnerabilities. It requires interventions tailored to the historical, economic, and infrastructural realities that marginalized communities face every day. On top of that, it highlights the importance of dealing with climate disasters, given the fact that vulnerable communities could face more devastating impacts compared to others.

(Shashik Silva is a researcher with the Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka)

by Shashik Silva ✍️

Features

Crucial test for religious and ethnic harmony in Bangladesh

Published

1 day ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

A political protest that led to governmental change in Bangladesh mid last year. (photograph: imago)

Will the Bangladesh parliamentary election bring into being a government that will ensure ethnic and religious harmony in the country? This is the poser on the lips of peace-loving sections in Bangladesh and a principal concern of those outside who mean the country well.

The apprehensions are mainly on the part of religious and ethnic minorities. The parliamentary poll of February 12th is expected to bring into existence a government headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist oriented Jamaat-e-Islami party and this is where the rub is. If these parties win, will it be a case of Bangladesh sliding in the direction of a theocracy or a state where majoritarian chauvinism thrives?

Chief of the Jamaat, Shafiqur Rahman, who was interviewed by sections of the international media recently said that there is no need for minority groups in Bangladesh to have the above fears. He assured, essentially, that the state that will come into being will be equable and inclusive. May it be so, is likely to be the wish of those who cherish a tension-free Bangladesh.

The party that could have posed a challenge to the above parties, the Awami League Party of former Prime Minister Hasina Wased, is out of the running on account of a suspension that was imposed on it by the authorities and the mentioned majoritarian-oriented parties are expected to have it easy at the polls.

A positive that has emerged against the backdrop of the poll is that most ordinary people in Bangladesh, be they Muslim or Hindu, are for communal and religious harmony and it is hoped that this sentiment will strongly prevail, going ahead. Interestingly, most of them were of the view, when interviewed, that it was the politicians who sowed the seeds of discord in the country and this viewpoint is widely shared by publics all over the region in respect of the politicians of their countries.

Some sections of the Jamaat party were of the view that matters with regard to the orientation of governance are best left to the incoming parliament to decide on but such opinions will be cold comfort for minority groups. If the parliamentary majority comes to consist of hard line Islamists, for instance, there is nothing to prevent the country from going in for theocratic governance. Consequently, minority group fears over their safety and protection cannot be prevented from spreading.

Therefore, we come back to the question of just and fair governance and whether Bangladesh’s future rulers could ensure these essential conditions of democratic rule. The latter, it is hoped, will be sufficiently perceptive to ascertain that a Bangladesh rife with religious and ethnic tensions, and therefore unstable, would not be in the interests of Bangladesh and those of the region’s countries.

Unfortunately, politicians region-wide fall for the lure of ethnic, religious and linguistic chauvinism. This happens even in the case of politicians who claim to be democratic in orientation. This fate even befell Bangladesh’s Awami League Party, which claims to be democratic and socialist in general outlook.

We have it on the authority of Taslima Nasrin in her ground-breaking novel, ‘Lajja’, that the Awami Party was not of any substantial help to Bangladesh’s Hindus, for example, when violence was unleashed on them by sections of the majority community. In fact some elements in the Awami Party were found to be siding with the Hindus’ murderous persecutors. Such are the temptations of hard line majoritarianism.

In Sri Lanka’s past numerous have been the occasions when even self-professed Leftists and their parties have conveniently fallen in line with Southern nationalist groups with self-interest in mind. The present NPP government in Sri Lanka has been waxing lyrical about fostering national reconciliation and harmony but it is yet to prove its worthiness on this score in practice. The NPP government remains untested material.

As a first step towards national reconciliation it is hoped that Sri Lanka’s present rulers would learn the Tamil language and address the people of the North and East of the country in Tamil and not Sinhala, which most Tamil-speaking people do not understand. We earnestly await official language reforms which afford to Tamil the dignity it deserves.

An acid test awaits Bangladesh as well on the nation-building front. Not only must all forms of chauvinism be shunned by the incoming rulers but a secular, truly democratic Bangladesh awaits being licked into shape. All identity barriers among people need to be abolished and it is this process that is referred to as nation-building.

On the foreign policy frontier, a task of foremost importance for Bangladesh is the need to build bridges of amity with India. If pragmatism is to rule the roost in foreign policy formulation, Bangladesh would place priority to the overcoming of this challenge. The repatriation to Bangladesh of ex-Prime Minister Hasina could emerge as a steep hurdle to bilateral accord but sagacious diplomacy must be used by Bangladesh to get over the problem.

A reply to N.A. de S. Amaratunga

A response has been penned by N.A. de S. Amaratunga (please see p5 of ‘The Island’ of February 6th) to a previous column by me on ‘ India shaping-up as a Swing State’, published in this newspaper on January 29th , but I remain firmly convinced that India remains a foremost democracy and a Swing State in the making.

If the countries of South Asia are to effectively manage ‘murderous terrorism’, particularly of the separatist kind, then they would do well to adopt to the best of their ability a system of government that provides for power decentralization from the centre to the provinces or periphery, as the case may be. This system has stood India in good stead and ought to prove effective in all other states that have fears of disintegration.

Moreover, power decentralization ensures that all communities within a country enjoy some self-governing rights within an overall unitary governance framework. Such power-sharing is a hallmark of democratic governance.

Features

Celebrating Valentine’s Day …

Published

1 day ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love, romance, and affection, and this is how some of our well-known personalities plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day – 14th February:

Merlina Fernando (Singer)

Yes, it’s a special day for lovers all over the world and it’s even more special to me because 14th February is the birthday of my husband Suresh, who’s the lead guitarist of my band Mission.

We have planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and his Birthday together and it will be a wonderful night as always.

We will be having our fans and close friends, on that night, with their loved ones at Highso – City Max hotel Dubai, from 9.00 pm onwards.

Lorensz Francke (Elvis Tribute Artiste)

On Valentine’s Day I will be performing a live concert at a Wealthy Senior Home for Men and Women, and their families will be attending, as well.

I will be performing live with romantic, iconic love songs and my song list would include ‘Can’t Help falling in Love’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Burning Love’, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’, ‘The Wonder of You’ and ‘’It’s Now or Never’ to name a few.

To make Valentine’s Day extra special I will give the Home folks red satin scarfs.

Emma Shanaya (Singer)

I plan on spending the day of love with my girls, especially my best friend. I don’t have a romantic Valentine this year but I am thrilled to spend it with the girl that loves me through and through. I’ll be in Colombo and look forward to go to a cute cafe and spend some quality time with my childhood best friend Zulha.

JAYASRI

Emma-and-Maneeka

This Valentine’s Day the band JAYASRI we will be really busy; in the morning we will be landing in Sri Lanka, after our Oman Tour; then in the afternoon we are invited as Chief Guests at our Maris Stella College Sports Meet, Negombo, and late night we will be with LineOne band live in Karandeniya Open Air Down South. Everywhere we will be sharing LOVE with the mass crowds.

Kay Jay (Singer)

I will stay at home and cook a lovely meal for lunch, watch some movies, together with Sanjaya, and, maybe we go out for dinner and have a lovely time. Come to think of it, every day is Valentine’s Day for me with Sanjaya Alles.

Maneka Liyanage (Beauty Tips)

On this special day, I celebrate love by spending meaningful time with the people I cherish. I prepare food with love and share meals together, because food made with love brings hearts closer. I enjoy my leisure time with them — talking, laughing, sharing stories, understanding each other, and creating beautiful memories. My wish for this Valentine’s Day is a world without fighting — a world where we love one another like our own beloved, where we do not hurt others, even through a single word or action. Let us choose kindness, patience, and understanding in everything we do.

Janaka Palapathwala (Singer)

Janaka

Valentine’s Day should not be the only day we speak about love.

From the moment we are born into this world, we seek love, first through the very drop of our mother’s milk, then through the boundless care of our Mother and Father, and the embrace of family.

Love is everywhere. All living beings, even plants, respond in affection when they are loved.

As we grow, we learn to love, and to be loved. One day, that love inspires us to build a new family of our own.

Love has no beginning and no end. It flows through every stage of life, timeless, endless, and eternal.

Natasha Rathnayake (Singer)

We don’t have any special plans for Valentine’s Day. When you’ve been in love with the same person for over 25 years, you realise that love isn’t a performance reserved for one calendar date. My husband and I have never been big on public displays, or grand gestures, on 14th February. Our love is expressed quietly and consistently, in ordinary, uncelebrated moments.

With time, you learn that love isn’t about proving anything to the world or buying into a commercialised idea of romance—flowers that wilt, sweets that spike blood sugar, and gifts that impress briefly but add little real value. In today’s society, marketing often pushes the idea that love is proven by how much money you spend, and that buying things is treated as a sign of commitment.

Real love doesn’t need reminders or price tags. It lives in showing up every day, choosing each other on unromantic days, and nurturing the relationship intentionally and without an audience.

This isn’t a judgment on those who enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s simply a personal choice.

Melloney Dassanayake (Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2024)

I truly believe it’s beautiful to have a day specially dedicated to love. But, for me, Valentine’s Day goes far beyond romantic love alone. It celebrates every form of love we hold close to our hearts: the love for family, friends, and that one special person who makes life brighter. While 14th February gives us a moment to pause and celebrate, I always remind myself that love should never be limited to just one day. Every single day should feel like Valentine’s Day – constant reminder to the people we love that they are never alone, that they are valued, and that they matter.

I’m incredibly blessed because, for me, every day feels like Valentine’s Day. My special person makes sure of that through the smallest gestures, the quiet moments, and the simple reminders that love lives in the details. He shows me that it’s the little things that count, and that love doesn’t need grand stages to feel extraordinary. This Valentine’s Day, perfection would be something intimate and meaningful: a cozy picnic in our home garden, surrounded by nature, laughter, and warmth, followed by an abstract drawing session where we let our creativity flow freely. To me, that’s what love is – simple, soulful, expressive, and deeply personal. When love is real, every ordinary moment becomes magical.

Noshin De Silva (Actress)

Valentine’s Day is one of my favourite holidays! I love the décor, the hearts everywhere, the pinks and reds, heart-shaped chocolates, and roses all around. But honestly, I believe every day can be Valentine’s Day.

It doesn’t have to be just about romantic love. It’s a chance to celebrate love in all its forms with friends, family, or even by taking a little time for yourself.

Whether you’re spending the day with someone special or enjoying your own company, it’s a reminder to appreciate meaningful connections, show kindness, and lead with love every day.

And yes, I’m fully on theme this year with heart nail art and heart mehendi design!

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine’s Day, but, remember, love yourself first, and don’t forget to treat yourself.

Sending my love to all of you.