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But the ink would also rub off onto the facing sheet of paper, I have a whole high school worth of unreadable notes from this (not that anyone wants to read my high school notes after 20years!)

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and hands, especially if you're left handed

I had a lot of illegible writing in high school exactly for this reason. Teachers demanded writing "in pen" for the sake of contrast/readability and I gave it to them, but I wasn't about to deal with the hassle of a non-erasable method. But being a left handed writer, the side of my hand inevitably ended up blackened as I rested it on old text and smudged it in the process. So my works in erasable pen ended up less readable than the ones in pencil.

As a sinister southpaw myself, I've never understood why fellow left-handers grip the pen in an unusual curled-round fashion such that their hand rests on what's just written.

I hold it like a right-handed person would. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/hand-holding-pen.jpg But mirror-imaged. Is it because these left-handers are set on the wrong path by right-handed teachers who don't know better?

I found myself having to place a piece of paper under my left hand to prevent incessant smudging. This, coupled with a desk designed for right handed students made for less than enjoyable marathon note taking sessions.

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