Hacking Cursive - 2D aspects for cursive alphabets

[Matthew DeBlock]

This has been my obsessive art hobby for well over a decade now. I call it Dscript.

it is like a "cursive alphabetical writing system", with some differences
Unlike standard cursive scripts which are written in either horizontal or vertical format
Dscript allows BOTH vertical AND horizontal at the same time.

The simplest way to imagine this is that a standard cursive word is like a "string or letters"
Now imagine you take that string idea and design an alphabet of letters than can be strung together in more than a simple 1-Dimensional string

Dscript "letter strings" can be bent, curled, even forked and have letters inside of other letters
It was designed to allow as much 2D flexibility as possible, while still conserving pen strokes.

The end result is a writing system that allows for words to be "compressed" into a fully legible "alphabetical symbol".
Both the letters and sequence of letters is fully legible in each symbol. entire phrases and sentences can even be compressed into larger symbols.

The result is not restricted to "symbols and glyphs", it allows the string to flex and fork in 2D, so a "letters string" can be long/tall triangle/circle/square/

rectangle/etc..

I had so much fun with it I just published creative commons, free to copy/edit and yes, even free to sell and use commercially.
The Dscript concept work on any alphabet, but tends to break down at alphabets of over 40 letters or so, best for 25 or less I would say, fewer letters=more flexibility.
Guide to design new alphabets : http://dscript.ca/dscript_conlang.gif

Lots of websites and videos with materials, attached a few pics and the intro pdf
Hope you like :)

Matt
http://dscript.org (currently experiencing DNS probs, might be flaky)
http://dscript.ca

https://www.youtube.com/user/freedscript
https://www.facebook.com/Dscripting
http://dscript.deviantart.com/

[Brian Degger]

confused about connection with DIYBio, maybe I lost a header?

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Brian Degger

twitter: @drbrian

http://makerspace.org.uk

http://transitlab.org

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[Jeswin]

On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 7:29 AM, Brian Degger <brian....@gmail.com> wrote:

confused about connection with DIYBio, maybe I lost a header?

Maybe file under psycho-lingusitics?

Looks like the idea is to convert phrases into a single logogram? How hard would it be to process the image back into meaningful units? It feels like a computer-only script because it seems hard to read and write it without one.

[Anselm Levskaya]

Reminds me of the arabic "Square Kufic" calligraphy, http://www.sakkal.com/instrctn/index.html

-a

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[Matthew DeBlock]

actually i have tried with computer for generating and reading.. much harder.. actually better for humans.. it might look complex but is it a very simple set of visual rules.. simple for a human anyways.. i dont know if you have played iwth ocr.. but most ocr cant come close to reading cursive handwriting.. this stuff would "blow its mind".. and the processing requirements are massive.

generating it would be tricky.. but doable.. but can not be done with any current font technology :(

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[Nathan McCorkle]

On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Matthew DeBlock <vast...@gmail.com> wrote:
> actually i have tried with computer for generating and reading.. much
> harder.. actually better for humans.. it might look complex but is it a very
> simple set of visual rules.. simple for a human anyways.. i dont know if you
> have played iwth ocr.. but most ocr cant come close to reading cursive
> handwriting.. this stuff would "blow its mind".. and the processing
> requirements are massive.

Seems like the answer is just "don't use cursive" or "use print"...
who uses cursive anyway in science? Or, who recommends it that you
came up with an alternative?

[Matthew DeBlock]

there are tons of advantages to Dscipt :)

including this fact

look at it form the other perspective

it is "OCR resistant text"

so asides from all the design and artist applications

you can cypher text and then apply dscript, to help hinder ocr and computer analysis

then you can even aplpy "2d cyphers" to the dscript where you use the 2d flexibilty in a cypher

eg. if the character is round/square/tall/thin/any quality... then shift letter/double letter/any cypher rule

also while it takes longer to learn, the total required penstrokes, pen lifts/bends/curves comes out one average much lower than standard letters

if that is not enough "reason".. it is art.. for fun.. lots of fun "crossword/puzzle ways to play with it :)

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[Nathan McCorkle]

On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 12:35 PM, Matthew DeBlock <vast...@gmail.com> wrote:
> there are tons of advantages to Dscipt :)
> including this fact
>
> look at it form the other perspective
>
> it is "OCR resistant text"

I think most people in here want OCR to be /better/ at working... or
would want a better glyph that would make it faster+easier to write
and read (via eyes or OCR).

[Cathal Garvey]

No, there's a market for OCR-resistant text, but I don't think
D-script qualifies unless it's actually handwritten in cursive. And
handwriting ciphertext is..never gonna happen, really. Yes, you could
base32/64-encode your ciphertext and then write it in cursive, but
transcribing text in handwriting uses the brain to buffer *words*, not
*letters and symbols*: it'd take ages!

Not to mention that if you trust your cipher to protect your message
from visual inspection and manual decoding from Dscript to begin with
(and you should), then you shouldn't need Dscript, anyway. Good
encryption means you can hand a copy of your ciphertext to the enemy in
confidence!

Finally, although it looks awesome for art and expression, nobody's
gonna invest the effort of transcribing something into a special form
of cursive just to avoid OCR scanning in the postal system. Yes; OCR is
a nasty abuse of privacy and freedom of speech/association. But there
are more trivial ways to prevent it than by applying three layers of
obscurity and encryption, the best of which is to call your
representative and tell her or him that you're unwilling to accept the
abolition of human rights for the sake of preventing a few overblown,
often FBI-directed, "terrorist" attacks.

[Cathal Garvey]

Would like to clarify that I'm not dissing d-script here, just my
opinion of its application to defeat OCR surveillance.. :)

[Matthew DeBlock]

:) good points.

i was not actually trying to "advocate for the value of OCR resistance"

moreso just express that what can be argued as a "weakness" from one perspective, may actually be a "strength" if different traits are desired.

not very interested in the idea of OCR resistance.. interesting enough though i suppose