OT: you write "UML has essentially become analogous to cursive. You learn about it early on, and its important to have a notion of how to read it. But ultimately, since we don't use it every day, we basically never use it."

I come from Germany, where nearly everybody handwrites in cursive for text longer than a few words. And I must say: it's a lot faster than writing in block letters (of course writing in shorthand would be even faster - I don't understand why this isn't taught in schools anymore - my father could and took this as elective course).

So: what is the reason why writing in cursive is disliked in the US?