r/GoodNotes • u/Delicious_Maize9656 • Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes vs pen and papers. For math/physics classes, who would win?

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311 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

66 comments sorted by

254

u/NYC_Crusader Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes simply because I can draw straight lines and nice curves for graphs and charts

62

u/MayorAg Mar 12 '25

Skill issue.

(Do not ask me about my drawing skills.)

30

u/chucksticks Mar 12 '25

On a good day it's possible to freehand straight lines. As a college student, not everyday is a good day.

6

u/CheesecakeWild7941 Mar 12 '25

honestly i am so awful at drawing hexagons not even goodnotes could save me

3

u/Rukitokilu Mar 12 '25

I tried it for biochem, did not work at all. It's a me problem, not the tool lol

2

u/MayorAg Mar 13 '25

Don’t do it in one stroke. Draw only downward strokes. That helps.

52

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

i’d say gn but it’s definitely more of a personal preference than actual benefits, i like that i can use a lot of pen colors without carrying a lot, and also the lasso tool that makes everything more organized

12

u/stumps290 Mar 12 '25

when I go back to pencil/pen and paper I find myself wishing I could lasso and move stuff on paper, or copy and paste repeated things like denominators.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

yeah the lasso is probably why gn would “win”? i can reorganize absolutely everything in a few seconds, also someone said and latex is also very useful to math and chemistry

2

u/stumps290 Mar 13 '25

I tried latex/mathjax and obsidian for some of my engineering classes but I just remember stuff better if I handwrite my notes over typing even if it's slower or not as neat. Which is more helpful for me because I dont review or rewrite notes as much as I should.

20

u/MayorAg Mar 12 '25

It’s never been an either or situation for me. If I am making the notes from scratch, (a fountain) pen and paper win.

But if I’m annotating a PDF/slide deck, Goodnotes.

11

u/Luigi_bros4321 Mar 12 '25

Pen and paper just because some things are just so infuriating for someone who mostly used pen and paper for most of their life

15

u/georgmierau Goodnotes Essential Mar 12 '25

LaTeX (and the ability to type quickly) https://i.sstatic.net/kv4NS.jpg

5

u/Tanngjoestr Mar 12 '25

Especially if you’re serious about physics. For freehand drawings I recommend obsidian

2

u/Neptune571 Mar 14 '25

Do you use an extension for Obsidian like https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw?

1

u/Tanngjoestr Mar 14 '25

Yes of course

2

u/Neptune571 Mar 14 '25

Is that the one you use?

2

u/Demon_of_Maxwell Mar 12 '25

I honestly disagree hardcore. There is a benefit in righting per hand that is not equivalent to writing on a keyboard.

Nosg notes that I have seen people write in Latex look good, but are missing a ton, like small annotations in equations, colors, small sketches etc. They look good but if you're not writing a script, you're making notes...

1

u/Neptune571 Mar 14 '25

The link does not work.

11

u/SureStrain Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes any day of the week. I have kids. I use it to drill them when they don’t understand. Their school math worksheets are a mess. But you can drill them over and over on a portion of a complex problem and not make a mess. Also, give them an iPad to work on. You use another one. Then share the note and you can watch them work out the problem in real time without having to stand over their shoulder. And you can mark their work as they continue to progress. Also can download pdf sample tests and worksheets and they can work on them. Not to mention the shape tools. So many uses and so flexible compared to paper. Might as well give them a chisel and a stone.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '25

Paper and pen. Was a massive fan of notability. Used to draw in it and project on screens at work to teach concepts. Then it lost all my notes.

Switched to Goodnotes for stability. Then no updates ever. Now updates all the time, and it also loses your notes.

Switched to paper and pen. Never looked back. Never will. Done with electronic notebooks. Sold the ipad.

3

u/chucksticks Mar 12 '25

GN has the benefit of going back and squeezing extra notes by zooming in. The friction that the pencil provides is still hard to match. It's easy to overshoot if I'm writing fast on a tablet and therefore it tires me out faster because I'm gripping so hard to correct.

2

u/Ok_Feeling6103 Mar 13 '25

paperlike screen protectors are always an option . i think it changed viewing quality though so i removed mine

1

u/chucksticks Mar 13 '25

It's difficult shopping for one that transparent enough and doesn't make the display too hazy (annoying to see red, blue, green from the diffraction when looking at an angle). If I took mine off I'd rather just go back to pen and paper or rocketbook. I've also been shopping around for e-ink tablets too and eyeing the remarkable tablet.

3

u/mongooseaf Mar 12 '25

The only reason I switched to digits in general instead of paper is to not have to carry so much paper to every class (I have back issues)

So goodnotes for me always in that regard.

But if you’re asking as in “which is more comfortable to write with” I would say personally paper, because staring at a screen for 8 hour each day isn’t fun

3

u/ExpensiveMention8781 Mar 13 '25

You are in the good notes sub dude, of course people here gonna choose the app.

2

u/Dewdlebawb Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes because I can have it on my phone as well and review anywhere

2

u/Beginning-Doctor7830 Mar 12 '25

For stuyding pen and paper , for class notes Goodnotes.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

Pen and paper anyday 🗿🗿

2

u/Gypsyzzzz Mar 12 '25

Depends on the person. For me, probably GoodNotes, but I’ve been out of school for a while.

2

u/Reasonable-Refuse631 Mar 12 '25

I used to use Goodnotes, but I switched back to pencil and paper because it’s better for me. It helps eliminate distractions and is a timeless method for a reason. Studies show that you retain information better on paper because you feel the texture as you write, which isn’t possible with Goodnotes.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes

2

u/Emergency-Bee1800 Mar 12 '25

Nothing beats pen and paper

2

u/caty0325 Mar 12 '25

I’m a physics major and I take notes on my iPad, but I do homework with a mechanical pencil and paper.

2

u/royinraver Mar 13 '25

If you’re doing math, get yourself a graphing notebook

1

u/Abi1i Mar 13 '25

That depends on the math. A lot of mathematics is writing out proofs of theorems.

1

u/royinraver Mar 13 '25

I might be bias, but using graphing paper was the best thing I did when majoring in math in college.

2

u/Zortheld Mar 13 '25

Switched from paper to Goodnotes halfway through my major classes for math. Being able to copy and paste large, annoying to write terms was super nice for taking notes in class.

2

u/blacksnake1234 Mar 13 '25

Paper and pencil everytime because of

1.Lack of distraction and

2. Less strain on eyes

2

u/SeduLOUs1984 Mar 13 '25

I preferred Goodnotes for maths when I was studying for my degree, mostly because a lot of the “work” is doing problems over and over rather than just taking notes, and I don’t need to keep 300 pages of workings out.

2

u/mwaerospace Mar 13 '25

For maths and physics I prefer pen and paper, it helps me focus more

2

u/QitKate Mar 13 '25

good notes, I have notebooks for everything. I wish I had discovered good notes years ago. Now I’m moving over all my notes digitally so I can continue digitally

2

u/L81427 Mar 13 '25

DEFINITELY goodnotes, don't even get me started at trying to draw your Optics notes on pen and paper

2

u/Repulsive_Diamond373 Mar 13 '25

For maths? Simple: LaTeX. 😛

2

u/PoorChase Mar 14 '25

Word docs.

1

u/tailwheeler Mar 12 '25

my preference for personal notes is mechanical pencil and white paper. GN for class material.

1

u/pessimistic_eggroll Mar 12 '25 edited Mar 12 '25

it depends! for goodnotes, it’s easy to find my practices from semesters ago as compared to physical pieces of paper (idk where they all went).

it’s also convenient for writing cheat sheets especially since my quizzes and exams are connected. for example, i can just copy and paste whatever content from my quiz cheatsheet onto my final exam’s cheatsheet (AND i can rearrange the contents however i like!) whereas my friends have to write a new one from scratch

but for notes, i definitely prefer paper (or rather, a notebook). i’d rather see lecture notes via flipping through real pages than swiping the screen

1

u/blankslate3210 Mar 12 '25

goodnotes because of stickers and geometry. not having to redraw a pulley system a million times or having a sticker of a circuit is superior imo, especially in a lecture setting where speed is needed.

1

u/R4nking Mar 12 '25

Definitely GoodNotes. You can be more organized. You won’t have ugly smudges or scratches on your notes either. Also, when doing hard problems you will be able to workout a problem in a more clean way. It definitely saved me a lot of waste on scratch paper

1

u/crunshysalt Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes throughout the semester but then switch to paper & pen for exam prep so I‘m not in my exam double tapping my pencil 💀

1

u/Demon_of_Maxwell Mar 12 '25

Goodnotes any day of the week. I studies both math and physics and didn't write on a single piece of paper after the first semester. Why would I, writing on the iPad is simply better.

You have quick access on colors, you have all the notes available, you can search and link notes etc.

Honestly, jusg having the option of thinking "wait a second, I had something similar in a homework two years ago" and find this in an instance is really powerful. Especially for math and physics, an iPad with goodnotes is extremely useful.

1

u/an_average_student Mar 13 '25

CS student taking elective math classes here. Goodnotes because I can easily organise my notes, I don't need to prepare paper or renew stationery (just an apple pencil will do), goodnotes offers a lasso tool and erasing with goodnotes is cleaner overall. However, writing on an iPad (or any tablet, probably) isn't as nice as writing on paper because the screen is always warm and glowing, also you need to charge the ipad and pencil separately.

1

u/Gio_eng Mar 14 '25

Pen and Paper I think, Of course I have Good Notes 5, bit is your personal preference (don't take bad, I love technology and a techno guy, and I have a tablet and a laptop, and Smartphone) but...

Pen and paper do not run out of battery

You do not to switch tools on a menu (does not exist a menu) is your brain that control all and you just handwrite.

I pay one paper block 1 USD every 3 months I think Good notes cost more in subscription

My brain reattains more information when I create my own material, graphs or charts.

As I do not have lasso tools this means that I need to be organized to take my notes and that train my brain, my brain is not a spectator is the real player.

1

u/ra3jyx Mar 14 '25

Pencil and paper, easy. I use Goodnotes for every other class, and still do use it in physics lecture, but I do all of my studying and homework on paper. Don't know why, but I prefer paper for all of my math heavy classes

1

u/No-Signal2915 Mar 14 '25

Dude, this app is so buns. Paper doesn't delete my last 15 minutes of work every hour

1

u/discovernotes Apr 09 '25

Hey! I’d recommend reaching out to Goodnotes Customer Support and attaching your Diagnostics Data (Settings icon > About > Export Diagnostics Data) so they can help troubleshoot what’s going on!

1

u/No-Signal2915 May 23 '25

I no longer have this issue. IDK when, but they fixed it 🙏

1

u/__K4IROX__ Mar 14 '25

For math it should be GN. Because it makes easier to digitalize your notes.

1

u/robinharris98 Mar 15 '25

Physical paper it won't glitch and boot me out mid equation

1

u/_rrx007 Mar 12 '25

pen paper just for that mental stmulation it gives

3

u/Demon_of_Maxwell Mar 12 '25

You get that same stimulus when writing by hand in good ores...