Study on ruled vs unruled paper?

In summary: It is interesting or frustrating or important to him. He has some experiences and made some observations. Several of the details he did not include. So far the topic is working.
  • #1
John Mcrain
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Why all scientists write math/physics on blank paper, for example Einstein,in that time already exist lined/cell papers?

Is there any benefits to use blank paper notebooks when study engineering?
What notebooks do you use when study math/physics/engineering?
 
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  • #2
John Mcrain said:
What notebooks do you use when study math/physics/engineering?
I use ruled notebook paper usually. It's simply what I've always had and I find the lines make it easier to keep all of my writing organized.
 
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  • #3
Drakkith said:
I use ruled notebook paper usually. It's simply what I've always had and I find the lines make it easier to keep all of my writing organized.
You do math at paper with lines, isnt better on cells?
 
  • #4
John Mcrain said:
Why all scientists write math/physics on blank paper, for example Einstein,in that time already exist lined/cell papers?

Is there any benefits to use blank paper notebooks when study engineering?
What notebooks do you use when study math/physics/engineering?
Some incorrect or misleading ideas there. One writes on the kind of paper one is comfortable with; or in some cases, one writes on the style of paper which the administration requires. My own choice is to use white, unlined paper for most writing, but to try to use professionally prepared graph paper to make graphs.
 
  • #5
John Mcrain said:
You do math at paper with lines, isnt better on cells?
How you mean, "cells"? In some situations, one can construct tabulation slots, but each of these tables would be drawn only when needed or desired, and on normally unlined paper. (or on lined paper, if the person prefers this.)
 
  • #6
John Mcrain said:
You do math at paper with lines, isnt better on cells?
Not for me.
 
  • #7
There is also paper weight. I like 16#.
 
  • #8
John Mcrain said:
Why all scientists write math/physics on blank paper ... ?
ALL? Do you have any evidence for that categorical statement or is this more along the lines of "according to a statistic that I just made up ... " ?
 
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  • #9
symbolipoint said:
How you mean, "cells"?
iled-blank-math-paper-pattern-background_125869-34.jpg
 
  • #10
phinds said:
ALL? Do you have any evidence for that categorical statement or is this more along the lines of "according to a statistic that I just made up ... " ?
I mean most..

I understand that Newton wrote at blank paper because at that time ruled paper didnt exist, but in 20century they eixist,so wonder why Einstein do math at blank paper.

All engineering notebooks have grid papers, usualy math/physisc/engineering use grid paper for writing.

What type of notebook do you use for engineering?

4662.jpg
 
  • #11
Drakkith said:
I use ruled notebook paper usually. It's simply what I've always had and I find the lines make it easier to keep all of my writing organized.
What do you think about engineering paper, one side blank other with grid, so you can still write stright at blank side?
 
  • #12
John Mcrain said:
What do you think about engineering paper, one side blank other with grid, so you can still write stright at blank side?
Sorry, but I don't understand the significance of this thread. Why should anyone care what kind of paper other people use?
 
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  • #13
John Mcrain said:
... Is there any benefits to use blank paper notebooks when study engineering?
Before computers appeared, engineers must take hand drawing classes, and become proficient at it.
All engineering drawings and its texts were done by hand and on paper.

For other people to understand those documents, and to make its presentation uniform, certain sets of rules, formats and limitations were established.

Engineers at that time were encouraged to practice hand control as much as possible.
For that reason, we avoided ruled paper, even for taking class notes or for casual hand sketches.
We were expected to draw a close to perfect straight line, an ellipse and a circle without the help of any instrument.

At least in the country in which I studied, and at that time, lines or grids were considered back then as crutches that could ruin engineer's hand drawing and writing proficiency.
 
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  • #14
Lnewqban said:
Before computers appeared, engineers must take hand drawing classes, and become proficient at it.
I took 2 years of mechanical drawing. I was terrible at it; partially because I'm left handed. But fortunately, proficiency was never a requirement for engineers, we could hire draftsmen to do the drawings.
 
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  • #15
anorlunda said:
Sorry, but I don't understand the significance of this thread. Why should anyone care what kind of paper other people use?
It is interesting or frustrating or important to him. He has some experiences and made some observations. Several of the details he did not include. So far the topic is working.
 
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  • #16
My question about "cells" on paper was because rectangular cells can also be drawn on paper to be filled with tabulated information or data. These can be square-based, or rectangle-based. Drawing them is not difficult, and we do not need graph paper or any kind of lined paper to be able to produce them.
 
  • #17
Lnewqban said:
Before computers appeared, engineers must take hand drawing classes, and become proficient at it.
All engineering drawings and its texts were done by hand and on paper.

For other people to understand those documents, and to make its presentation uniform, certain sets of rules, formats and limitations were established.

Engineers at that time were encouraged to practice hand control as much as possible.
For that reason, we avoided ruled paper, even for taking class notes or for casual hand sketches.
We were expected to draw a close to perfect straight line, an ellipse and a circle without the help of any instrument.

At least in the country in which I studied, and at that time, lines or grids were considered back then as crutches that could ruin engineer's hand drawing and writing proficiency.
You had to calculate math tasks at blank paper as well? What years was it?
 
  • #18
anorlunda said:
Sorry, but I don't understand the significance of this thread. Why should anyone care what kind of paper other people use?
I want to know if there is some engineering rules, becuase I saw all engineering notebooks has grid paper.
In same time I would like to write on blank paper but my writing is terrible at blank paper.. Words float and sentecese are not straight..

I think you learn easier when contest on paper is nice and clear, so that stops me to use blank paper..
 
  • #19
John Mcrain said:
I think you learn easier when contest on paper is nice and clear, so that stops me to use blank paper..
Then what's the problem? Do that. Nobody cares. The trick is not to use the right paper, it's to do the work correctly.
 
  • #20
phinds said:
Then what's the problem? Do that.
I love past and if engineers use blank paper I will force myself to learn...
 
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  • #21
John Mcrain said:
I love past and if engineers use blank paper I will force myself to learn...
Then what's the problem? Do that. Nobody cares. The trick is not to use the right paper, it's to do the work correctly.
 
  • #22
Do it neatly, so it can be seen to be correct.
Remember, you are generating evidence that may be used to assist the coroner later.
 
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  • #23
Here's a digression that ends in a tip for those documenting their work via handwritten notes or calculations.

When I finished school and started working, we (in engineering) wrote our calculations by hand. We often used pre-printed "calc pads" that had the company name and some typical fields for things like calc number, date, page __ of ___ etc. Completed calculations were stored in file cabinets.

In the late 1980s and during the 1990s, these completed calcs were scanned for electronic storage and retrieval. The scanner took an image of each page to create a .pdf file. The scanner margins were normally a bit smaller than the standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch calc pad paper. Frugal engineers tended to write smaller and smaller, and closer and closer to the bottom of the page, when they felt they could complete work on the final page, without starting a new page in the pad. So, the culmination of the calc would sometimes be written in a small hand, at the very bottom of the final page. In the scanned version, then, you see the calculation progressing to its climax: "... and therefore the maximum calculated pressure in the vessel is found to be"
with the following line off the bottom of the scan.

So the tip: do not be frugal with your paper. The final result of the calculation is worth a lot more than the 2 cents one additional page costs the company.
 
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  • #24
gmax137 said:
So the tip: do not be frugal with your paper.
I like that story. Once on an airplane, the stewardess stopped the film and put away the gear when there was still 60 seconds to go in the plot. The film was, "The Sting."
 
  • #25
John Mcrain said:
I want to know if there is some engineering rules, becuase I saw all engineering notebooks has grid paper.
In same time I would like to write on blank paper but my writing is terrible at blank paper.. Words float and sentecese are not straight..

I think you learn easier when contest on paper is nice and clear, so that stops me to use blank paper..
What kind of paper the students use depends on what the head in the departments require. I am guessing you have reported what you have seen.

Some of us or should I say maybe, many of us are able to write in clear horizontal lines on plain unlined paper;; maybe this was just a matter of concentrated practice.
 
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  • #26
John Mcrain said:
You had to calculate math tasks at blank paper as well? What years was it?
I did not have to, but I have always found ruled paper somehow restrictive of my freedom to locate notes, formulae, calculations, etc.
Therefore, I always used blank paper, while several of my classmates had no problem using other types of papers.

My years of taking technical drafting were 1979 through 1981.
Having a good eraser that left minimum mess behind was the key to good grades.
We studied by this excellent book:


That practice has served me well during many years, while trying to explain an engineering idea to a technician on the field, while having nothing at hand than pencil and paper.

Please, see this article:
https://civilseek.com/free-hand-sketching/

Dibujo tecnico.jpg


1000_F_94056881_akk7kdM581N6dDfQuoUsQXEuV8huNsro.jpg
 
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  • #27
Lnewqban said:
I did not have to, but I have always found ruled paper somehow restrictive of my freedom to locate notes, formulae, calculations, etc.
Therefore, I always used blank paper, while several of my classmates had no problem using other types of papers.
Today all engineering notebooks have grip papers.
I think doing math/physics on blank paper is Ok only if you write nice.

Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
 
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  • #28
John Mcrain said:
Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
This will require that your paper be thin which can also cause problems.

You are under the misperception that there is a correct answer to your question. At best, there is a correct answer for you. Einstein would still have been Einstein even if he used an engineering pad.
 
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  • #29
John Mcrain said:
Today all engineering notebooks have grip papers.
I think doing math/physics on blank paper is Ok only if you write nice.

Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
Practice make perfect.
If you want to improve the way others graphically understand your ideas in the future, you can find the best techniques that work for you to practice.

For example, take a piece of blank paper and draw several lines as straight and parallel among them as possible.
It would look bad the first time, but you will sure improve over time.
Rather than looking closely to the point of contact between pencil or pen and paper, keep your focal point on the imaginary ideal location of the end of your horizontal line.
 
  • #30
John Mcrain said:
Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
20230123_075606.jpg
 
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  • #31
More from memory lane:
20230123_075318.jpg

Please note, these pads are not marked classified lol.
 
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  • #32
John Mcrain said:
Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
I don't know if it's already been mentioned in this thread, but back in university and then in my R&D work in engineering, using Engineering Computation Pads was very common. The front of the paper is basically blank, but there are grid lines on the back of the paper that you can barely see from the front of the paper. That lets you keep your writing in evenly spaced lines, helps with writing equations, and makes it a lot easier to draw sketches with consistent dimensions. Available in a stationary store (or university bookstore) near you...

1674495714518.png
 
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  • #33
John Mcrain said:
Do exist maybe some template with grid you can put under blank paper, so you can write straight and nice?
I have seen a square grid ink stamp pad, from many years ago. I cannot remember what company made it or them.
 
  • #34
berkeman said:
I don't know if it's already been mentioned in this thread, but back in university and then in my R&D work in engineering, using Engineering Computation Pads was very common. The front of the paper is basically blank, but there are grid lines on the back of the paper that you can barely see from the front of the paper. That lets you keep your writing in evenly spaced lines, helps with writing equations, and makes it a lot easier to draw sketches with consistent dimensions. Available in a stationary store (or university bookstore) near you...

View attachment 320968
Yes this is good but only lack is that you write at one side of page.
(plus notebook will be twice as thick)
 
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  • #35
John Mcrain said:
Yes this is good but only lack is that you write at one side of page.
(plus notebook will be twice as thick)
How is that the reverse side will not accept pen or pencil markings?

...
I just took another look at post #32. One side is only very lightly line-ruled while the other side is heavy in its line-ruling, so that side will create visual interference upon both writing and reading on that side.
 

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