--- In [email protected], turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > Over this last week I've noticed something interesting. > Sitting in cafes as I do, I've become aware that many > young people are *much* faster at "typing" on their > iPhones or other Smartphones than I am, just *screaming* > along using two thumbs to tweet to their friends. > > But at work I've also been involved in interviewing a > number of students from a local university that offers > a Class A tech writing/information design degree to > work as interns for IBM. They've all been sharp as > tacks, and I would willingly work with all of them, > but I noticed something while watching them perform > the writing tests that my manager insisted on giving > them. They've all been "two finger typists." > > They're *fast* at it, but so far out of six applicants > for these internships, not one of them was a touch > typist. Then I noticed that one of my coworkers, who > started her career at IBM as one of these interns, > was also a two-finger typist. Again, she's fast at it, > and is an excellent tech writer, but it got me to > thinking. > > What with the proliferation of mobile devices and > touchscreen pads, is "touch typing" on its way out? > I consider myself fortunate that I taught myself to > write this way, to the point that I can now type > literally as fast as I think. But I wonder whether > it will become a "lost skill" in the future. > > I guess it will all become a moot point when someone > invents plug-in interfaces that just translate what > we think *into* text on a screen. But when that > happens, I'll probably still rely on a keyboard. > It's my "instrument," and "playing" on any other > just wouldn't create the same music. >
When I was in my mid teens, my mother sent me to a high school evening course in touch typing. I am really glad that happened. I have known some very fast two-finger typists (on the typewriter - this was before personal computers), but there is a certain elegance to be able to use all your fingers to type. But I am really slow with smaller touch screen devices, but improving. The record speeds for touch typists are 176 words per minute for a manual mechanical typewriter, and 216 words per minute for an electric typewriter. This is for shorts bursts of typing. For sustained typing, the record is 150 words per minute using the Dvorak keyboard sustained for a 50-minute typing period. Probably slower with QWERTY keyboards.
