Audrey van der Meer’s lab at NTNU records the brain while the hand writes. In high-density EEG studies, handwriting produces broader, more distributed activation and connectivity than typing — including in regions associated with memory formation and sensorimotor integration.
Take that for what it is: a neural correlate. EEG shows what the brain does during the activity; it does not measure how much a student learns. That question is answered elsewhere, and answered modestly — Flanigan’s 2024 meta-analysis of 24 studies puts handwriting’s edge at g = 0.248. Small, but reliable, and larger for students who review their notes.
That distinction is why Fluera’s engine was written from scratch. The stroke has to arrive when the hand moves, and the notes have to survive intact until the review — which is where the measured advantage shows up. A canvas that drops strokes, lags under pressure, or flattens tilt data fails both. Engineering effort on latency and fidelity is not polish — it is the product.