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> The QWERTY vs Dvorak argument is silly; both were designed at a time before any research had been performed into typing ergonomics, and the only reason to pic

by sjs 17y ago

> The QWERTY vs Dvorak argument is silly; both were designed at a time before any research had been performed into typing ergonomics, and the only reason to pick one or the other is largely based on hearsay and rumor. I grew up using my own odd way of typing with several of my fingers, but didn't type by touch. When I started studying comp sci I decided to finally learn to type properly. After a year or so of typing qwerty I had pain in my wrists and fingers. Obviously I couldn't afford any injuries before my career even started, so I read up on dvorak and the decided the reasoning behind it was sound. I switched and it was one or two weeks before I could type very well at all, and a month before I was what I call proficient. Since then no more pain. So whether my fingers actually travel less or not, I don't really care. Something about it is better ergonomically, for me. It's been 5-6 years since then without any pain or discomfort (apart from 20+ hour sessions, and I deserved exactly what I got, that's just dumb). AFAIK Dvorak wrote studies on this for some US gov't body, around WW1 or WW2 iirc. I haven't looked for them but to call his research hearsay and rumour is not very fair. You need to back that up.

Skriticos 17y ago
Good post! I can confirm that: I switched to Dvorak from Querty a few years ago too - big improvement.
mnemonicsloth 17y ago
> You need to back that up. Besides presenting us with an unfalsifiable anecdote, you obviously haven't read the article. It's about backing that claim up: "Fast forward now to 1936, when August Dvorak ... patented the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard... The standard telling of [the Navy Study] story turns out to be false in almost every important respect.... [Dvorak et al] compared students of different ages and abilities (for example, students learning Dvorak in grades 7 and 8 at the University of Chicago Lab School were compared with students learning QWERTY in conventional high schools)... Even in their studies, however, the evidence is mixed as to whether students learning Dvorak retain an advantage, since the differences seemed to diminish as training progressed."
- gjm11 17y ago
  No, the article is addressing a different claim about Dvorak from the one sjs made. (Article: Can one type faster on a Dvorak than a QWERTY keyboard? sjs: Is typing on a Dvorak keyboard easier on the wrists and fingers than typing on a QWERTY keyboard?) For what it's worth, I've heard a lot of anecdotal claims that Dvorak is better in terms of pain, and scarcely anyone claiming it's better for speed. This might, of course, be because the main thing that makes someone switch from QWERTY to Dvorak is that they've started having pain and are searching for something that might stop it.
- sjs 17y ago
  > Besides presenting us with an unfalsifiable anecdote, you obviously haven't read the article. There were a few articles trying to "debunk" dvorak recently and no, I did not read this one. I am tired of them. It's a silly debate. It's not just my anecdote. There are at least 1/2 a dozen others here on hacker news this week with a similar story. That's only a small sample. I've met others in person who type dvorak with a similar story, there's one at my current workplace. The fact that people don't know about or consider alternative layouts doesn't mean they aren't better in some way.

by sjs 17y ago

Skriticos 17y ago

Good post! I can confirm that: I switched to Dvorak from Querty a few years ago too - big improvement.

mnemonicsloth 17y ago

> You need to back that up. Besides presenting us with an unfalsifiable anecdote, you obviously haven't read the article. It's about backing that claim up: "Fast forward now to 1936, when August Dvorak ... patented the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard... The standard telling of [the Navy Study] story turns out to be false in almost every important respect.... [Dvorak et al] compared students of different ages and abilities (for example, students learning Dvorak in grades 7 and 8 at the University of Chicago Lab School were compared with students learning QWERTY in conventional high schools)... Even in their studies, however, the evidence is mixed as to whether students learning Dvorak retain an advantage, since the differences seemed to diminish as training progressed."

gjm11 17y ago
No, the article is addressing a different claim about Dvorak from the one sjs made. (Article: Can one type faster on a Dvorak than a QWERTY keyboard? sjs: Is typing on a Dvorak keyboard easier on the wrists and fingers than typing on a QWERTY keyboard?) For what it's worth, I've heard a lot of anecdotal claims that Dvorak is better in terms of pain, and scarcely anyone claiming it's better for speed. This might, of course, be because the main thing that makes someone switch from QWERTY to Dvorak is that they've started having pain and are searching for something that might stop it.
sjs 17y ago
> Besides presenting us with an unfalsifiable anecdote, you obviously haven't read the article. There were a few articles trying to "debunk" dvorak recently and no, I did not read this one. I am tired of them. It's a silly debate. It's not just my anecdote. There are at least 1/2 a dozen others here on hacker news this week with a similar story. That's only a small sample. I've met others in person who type dvorak with a similar story, there's one at my current workplace. The fact that people don't know about or consider alternative layouts doesn't mean they aren't better in some way.