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Why have so relatively many writing systems that are written from the right to the left (which is awkward for a large part of the world population) been created and survived into modern use, while seemingly no bi-directional ones have survived, which while equally awkward for both right-handed and left-handed people to write, can be read faster?
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I read somewhere that right-to-left is more convenient for right-handed chisellers to use chisels on stone; whereas left-to-right is more convenient for right-handed ink-users not to smudge the ink.
And this was (possibly) why Greek/Sanskrit went from right-to-left, or even boustrophedon, to left-to-right.
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>>3393569
But why is Arabic written from right to left? That script can't possibly have ever been chiseled.
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>>3393682
Inscribed Arabic is very rare, as that part of the world used Nabatean before the Arabic letters came about. And that's much easier to engrave.
I guess they never thought to reverse the writing direction after moving to ink.
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>>3393332
Right to left like abjad alphabets was probably more common place. I imagine that bi-directional writing would be a pain in the ass. I think in Arabic numerals are written left to write.
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>>3393781
*lol right
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>>3393781
They are. Maybe that's because they got them from the Sanskrit-using (left-to-right) Indians? Possibly.
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