Keep in mind that QWERTY was actually designed to slow DOWN your typing speed. I don't know that a good touch typist is ever going to be slower than a 2 finger typist, but the speed record holder for touch typing uses the Dvorak keyboard, not QWERTY, anyways.
L --- 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. >
