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I encourage everyone to watch what is basically a film version of this to get a sense of his humor:

http://vimeo.com/60718161

Funny but this sort of annoyance is actually why I use a mechanical pencil.

...which incidentally I was laughed at when I started at my current company as everyone had IBM X60 tablets apart from me.

I have the same pencil after 8 years though.

Ordinary mechanical pencils are nice but the 0.7-0.5mm tips the layman is likely to see aren't always the best option. I recommend the use of a 2mm lead holder, because it acts a lot more like a regular pencil, and because no one except architects seems to know these fascinating little implements exist (and the architects are all doing things on computers these days anyway). And I can easily see you having the same one after 8 years :)
You're right about 0.5 and 0.7 being less than ideal, but lead holders have their own drawbacks, such as a generally unclutched propelling mechanism (i.e. one incautious nudge of the advance button and your lead's on the floor in ten pieces), the need for a sharpener, and the lack of an integral eraser -- that latter concern being of especial import in the search for a writing implement suitable for daily wear.

That's why I use a Pentel Twist-Erase III in 0.9mm. It offers a lead thick enough to be reliable without requiring manual resharpening, and the feature for which it's named is the 1 x 1/4-inch cylindrical twist-advance eraser on the other end -- easily equal to almost any rubbing-out task, and composed of some no doubt space-age polymer which stands up admirably to the harshest frictions. And, quite aside from the excellent functional design of the tool, its aesthetic qualities are matchless -- between the gloss black body finish and the chrome accents of ferrule and pocket-clip, this pencil captures a timeless elegance of style which is right at home in any company.

Plus, they're five bucks a pop and they last forever. What's not to like?

The pencil I use comes in 0.5, 0.7 and 2mm lead holder variants. The 0.5 doesn't need sharpening, which is the main reason I use one. Plus I'm an engineer, not a pencil collector :)

http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-m...

Leadholders are by far the best option. If all else fails, you can even re-use to short to write with pencils to get the lead out and put it into the lead holder. There exist special lead holder sharpeners but when needed they are usually not at hand (and my lead holder has no sharpener at the end) so I carefully use my knive to sharpen.

But that all has little to do with programming ... ;)

Has it? Sure, no one writes code by hand any more, but we all take notes on paper at least some of the time -- even though I've mostly shifted to an org-mode-based workflow for notetaking, and I now work at a company whose roughly every third wall is a whiteboard, there are still times when nothing but pencil and tablet will do.
Right?! (Sincerely, an architect.)

Also, we're pretty obsessive about them: http://leadholder.com/

You're not the only ones: http://davesmechanicalpencils.blogspot.com/ -- granted the man has almost no perceptible taste, but he does make a decent Exhibit A for the propelling-pencil side of the argument.
I never knew we were obsessive about them, thanks. Only ever owned the one staedtler (mars). We call them clutch pencils in oz. And my Dad used it for maybe twenty years before me.

For anyone else who wants to know, the big difference between the 2mm clutch and the smaller leads is the clutch maintains the direction of the lead so you can sharpen it much finer - below 0.1mm. At the same time you can use the side of the pencil for a much thicker line.

When I was in school, we used pencils until we were in standard 1 (now called grade 3). After that it was mostly pen. In fact, I remember my teacher saying that I'd have to use a pen if I wanted to progress to grade 4. Pencils were perceived as infantile, outside of a few niches (technical drawing, geometric constructions and automated tests).

It therefore surprises me to see their widespread use in, especially, the US, if movies are to be believed. I would never be able to write an essay in pencil, for example. Are there any particular applications to which they are better than pens?

I grew up in an Indian school in the middle east, and know what you're talking about with pencils considered infantile (grade 5 we HAD to write with pen, and until then we almost HAD to write in pencil). As soon as I came to college in the US and realized I could submit work in pencil, I ditched all my pens like termite-infested bricks.

In my opinion, pencils are clearly superior for everyday tasks. Basically, just with the fact that they can be better erased. To me personally, they feel better to work with because they have finer pressure-based control. This is why a lot of artists always draft in pencil, and leave a lot of details in pencil too. Manga artists, architects, proofreaders, some stenographers, etc use a lot of pencil. Several of these end up inking their work afterword, or using pencil-work just for drafts that are later digitized.

However, I can go on about objective reasons why pencils are just better regardless, no particular applications necessarily.

They're cheaper. They're not going to go dry because you 'lost the cap' or it's old. You know a pencil is going to work if it has any lead poking out. It's consistent and reliable compared to pens suddenly not working mid-word. They're lighter to hold (less tiring and strenuous on your wrist to write for a long time). If they break they're not going to get everything in your bag stained. They can write well on many more surfaces than most pens. If one pencil fails for some reason (lost?) you can just get almost any nearby pencil and resume (unless you're in an advanced application field like technical drawing or manga artistry) without your work looking strange (2-toned).

I keep a pen around for the sole purpose of signing forms and writing checks (where the fact they're harder to modify is actually a good thing), and filling things people ask me to fill in pen.

This, although I use a Rotring Rapid Pro mechanical pencil. I only use that because it's less messy and much heavier than a normal pencil so it's easier to write with, plus the end doesn't break off in your pocket.

I have a pen for signing as well but it's got a Fisher space pen refill in it they flow reliably meaning no grinding on a sheet of paper to get ink out. Plus it works upside down and all sorts which is handy for signing pizza cheques on my doorstep :)

There is a big downside to pencils (and ballpoint pens), which is that you need to push down on the paper. I write a lot and for years I would be limited by my hand getting sore (having to take breaks, simply not being able to keep writing). After moving to a fountain pen I've had no trouble at all, I can write the whole day without any pain or soreness.
They are archival. Writing doesn't fade and doesn't react with the paper you write on. Very important if you are writing something that may need to be read 100 years from now.

Writing is erasable. By gently using an art gum eraser it's possible to remove and fix mistakes because there is no ink that soaks into the paper.

Pencils are pressure sensitive. You can have great control over the shape and darkness of the lines you draw.

They work extremely well with waterproof paper, much better than a pen, even the "special" pens that companies such as Rite in the Rain will sell you.

Pencils never dry out and you always know how much "ink" you have left by just looking at them.

I've personally use pencils as a museum curator, as an artist, as a field biologist and of course as a student.

Pencils have a bad habit of smearing if you put sheets together.
Not really. Maybe if you use a very soft lead, in which case you may want it to smear.
Oh man, I got really used to pencils in University because they make it very easy to correct something while you're taking notes. But of course you still have to use a pen for exams, and one time I got carried away and used my pencil like I was used to. The examiner chewed me for a good ten minutes.

The whole point, of course, is that when you write in ink, it can't be easily erased and changed, while if it's written with a pencil, you could bribe the examiner to change it (or any number of other shenanigans). I guess Americans don't try to cheat as much.

When I was in school, a lot of testing, including college placement exams, was scored by means of electromechanical devices ("Scantron") which identified answers by testing for the difference in conductivity produced by filling in one of several multiple-choice bubbles with pencil lead. Using a pen would result in a score of zero because the machine couldn't tell you had filled in anything. I don't know if this was used at university level because I never ended up going, but it certainly was used on the placement exam. (Four hours of multiple choice questions with exactly one -- one! -- essay section to break up the monotony, my God, I was ready to die afterward.)
I go to a university in America, and I've had a few tests there given on Scantron.
I don't know about "better", but I enjoy the feel that a quality pencil gives me when I use it to write, whether it be prose or equations.

(I use Mitsubishi drafting pencils)

I'm thinking this might be nice: http://www.graf-von-faber-castell.com/perfect-pencil

There is also a cheap plastic version by Faber Castell (not "Graf von").

2mm one of these works pretty well. Doesn't have the wood bit so doesn't make as much of a mess:

http://www.rotring.com/en/mechanical-pencils/265-rapid-pro-m...

I use a 0.5mm one for everything.

That is unbelievably classy.
Writing underwater, in space and at non standard angles. Pencils could not care less about gravity or lack of air, and have a wide temperature range of operation. I've no proof on this, but my guess will be something like -150:600 ± 50C.
Pencils can be actively dangerous in zero gravity: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_in_space
Indian here, we hardly use(d) sharpeners. We used to sharpen pencils using shaving blade.

Would love to see a tutorial on that.

I used the blade of a pair of scissors, because my sharpener was usually missing.
I remember that. High quality sharpening, but required a lot of skill.
A tip for aspiring professional pencil sharpeners - On step 7, after correcting the collar, make sure to clean the tip with strokes TOWARDS the tip of the pencil. Your client will not be happy with the product if graphite residue has stained the wood. Don't learn the hard way like I did!!
There seems to be something very Japanese about this to me. I get that there is a humorous component, but there's also something precious about putting so much time and focus into doing something obsessively well. This point is made more apparent in this case by the choice of pencil sharpening -- a practice that is easy to see as less important than many other things he could be doing. But that's kind of the point. It helps to bring the focus away from the utility of the practice, and point it more towards the idea of doing something well, regardless of what that thing is.
If only someone would write something similar about making a cup of coffee.
There do exist serious tutorials on making espresso and don't even get me started about what is and what isn't ristretto.
I if only you'd said tea, I could have referred you to the Japanese tea ceremony.
I like how he likened the tutorial to a science prac. "Did closely does the sharpened pencil correspond to your desired outcome?"

We often take the most basic tasks and just do it without much thinking, but when once you do, like in the article, it's amazing how many different outcomes can be produced (i.e the table)

Table 5.1 is my favourite graphic from this article.

In particular the "23 rotations" and "25 rotations" rows.

For anyone who liked the article. Here is an informative video on David Rees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KabOfnbS4TQ
I fail to see the humor in this. Maybe if it wasn't that extensive? It got a bit tiring..
The extensiveness is the charm of it. It's not strictly a humor piece, I think you can consider it more of a performance art that he does. You could buy a pencil sharpened by David Rees in this manner and he would ship it to you. I'm not sure he still does it though.

http://www.artisanalpencilsharpening.com

As far as I know, it's not a joke but the absurdity of it is part of the point of doing it.

To me it went from perplexing, to hilarious to just gross.
I fear that someone will take this seriously and create "an app for that".
This was written by David Rees, whose comic strip Get Your War On had to be the single best thing to come out of the 2001 wars.