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Typing in dvorak decreases finger movement significantly. I recommend it.
by zefhous 17y ago
Typing in dvorak decreases finger movement significantly. I recommend it.
- tigerthink 17y agoDoesn't work with Vim as well though.
- tome 17y agoI'm sure anyone with the thoughtfulness to enjoy reading Hacker News can think of a solution to the Dvorak/Vim integration problem :)
- snth 17y agoFor a while I used Qwerty for insert mode and Dvorak for command mode, but eventually I ended up using Dvorak for everything. My particular hand pain didn't show up until years after I took up Dvorak. My problem is mainly with my pinky fingers, and Dvorak actually seemed to be worse than Qwerty for me, so I've switched back to Qwerty.
- ZeroGravitas 17y agoI learned Dvorak and Vim at the same time and never noticed an issue. Maybe if you've already learned Qwerty Vim there's a transition?
- dylanz 17y agoYeah, it's a brain@#$%. I did it though, and wouldn't look back.
- dylanz 17y agoVim works great in Dvorak. I switched to Dvorak, and jumped right in to relearning my Vim keystrokes with it. After a few weeks, I was back to normal in Dvorak, in both typing and Vim.
- Quiark 17y agoI had some RSI pain just yesterday (in forearm/wrist) and I use dvorak (even in Vim ;)
- tome 17y agoI second this. I had RSI and I found my fingers and wrists felt considerably less strained when touch typing on Dvorak than touch typing on Qwerty.
- mattm 17y agoI also second this. Same experience with me.
- avar 17y agoI also switched to Dvorak due to RSI issues on a QWERTY layout. It's not a substitute for taking typing breaks and improving the circulation in your hands but it helps a lot. I recommend trying for a day or so. Even after a few hours of use it's obvious that you're doing less work to type the same things. In 3 weeks your typing speed should be tolerable (capable of conversing on IRC) and in 3 months you should be up to full speed. I don't type any faster on Dvorak than I used to. It's just more comfortable for my hands.
- DrSprout 17y agoDecreasing finger movement reduces the number of distinct motions you make without reducing the overall number of distinct motions (though it does reduce overall motion.) I'm not convinced this is as good a proof against RSI as it's often considered, since it only ensures that you will type faster (keeping overall motion more or less static) or type less (which will weaken your muscles due to less use.)