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Wouldn't it make sense to become a touch typist, then? I've watched so many developers be less effective than they could be simply because they can't type!

syshum 10y ago
Shhh, one should not have to learn how to use their tools.
oarsinsync 10y ago
It would, if your professional life depends on typing. Many people's do not. There are many kitchen tools being marketed to casual home cooks, and not professional chefs. The solution isn't for everyone to become a professional chef to stop those products coming to market, it's for professional chefs to recognise those products are not meant for them. Even if the manufacturer used to tailor to their needs before, markets change.
eludwig 10y ago
This is actually easier said than done. I'm 58 and been a hunt and peck typist (at this point a fairly effective and fast one) all my life. I've been a developer for 30 years. I've tried several times to learn to touch-type. I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard. It's the gap where you still have a full-time job to do along with those expectations that I fall down. :( Maybe it's to late for me? That aside, I have never had any problem with productivity as a developer. As a "typist", yes, but not as an author of software. It just never comes up. Do I feel less "cool" when I am in a room with people looking at me type? Hell yes. But am I actually getting things done slower? Probably some things. Typing commands, yes. I could be faster there. Typing code? Maybe. Just adding the perspective of a long time 6 fingered typist (occasionally 7).
- tstrimple 10y ago
  You can be a touch typist without using the strict home row and finger placement. I would actually argue that the home row concept isn't ideal for developers especially. My fingers actually rest between the keys, and I know I press keys with the "wrong" fingers (easy to notice on ergonomic keyboards), but I do not have to look at my keys and I type around 70 words per minute without feeling like I'm rushing.
  - iamatworknow 10y ago
    I touch type around 90 WPM and never took a class on it. After years of video gaming my "home row" is resting my left hand on WASD and my right hand takes care of everything right of RFV. And like you said, ergonomic keyboards are basically unusable to me.
- KirinDave 10y ago
  Off topic, but it's not too late at all. What you need to do is force yourself to touch type. Typically the reason people don't make that transition is that they cannot accept the speed and accuracy loss short term to finish the training. Resign yourself to typing with a cloth over your hands for a month or three. Plan for being a dog-slow typist. If you have been typing for 30 years, you have what you need cognitively. You just need to force yourself to perfect the final bits of the skill. You don't need more training, you don't need perfect Home Row Placement (I can do 110 and my form is a mess!), you just need to power through that horrible period.
  - eludwig 10y ago
    Understood and thanks for the encouragement. I haven't completely given up hope. I may still do it yet! :D
- Someone 10y ago
  "I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard." Huh? Don't most of the exercises and games start with rule 1: "don't look at the keyboard"? "I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard." Huh? The exercises and games I did all start with "don't look at the keyboard"? Find a method that starts with having you type nonsense sequences of letters on the home row (these typically start with repeats of "asdf jkl;", changing to random sequences once you got the hang of that), extends that by adding qwer and uiop, moves to words containing those letters (moving to words is essential as it trains you to do the common sequences faster), etc. If you find you cannot not look at your fingers, place a tea towel or other light cloth over your keyboard and hands and try again.
addicted 10y ago
It's a great thing for everyone, developer or not, professional or not. My sister's boss at her first internship took her to her desktop and gave her a keyboard which had absolutely no markings on it. Her first task was to force herself to learn to touch type. And she still credits that to saving so many hours in college, simply while typing out esssays, and has obviously been tremendously useful in her professional life.
rietta 10y ago
That was me! Well, I could type, but not properly. Got all the way through graduate school and well into my career before deciding to change. Wrote about this a few years ago at https://rietta.com/blog/2014/02/14/my-touch-typing-journey-continues/ https://rietta.com/blog/2014/02/14/my-touch-typing-journey-c.... I now touch type Dvorak 100% of the time; even with all the punctuation that we use in programming. I've flirted with Programmer's Dvorak a few times, but have not taken the plunge.
slantyyz 10y ago
While typing speed helps, I don't know if the reduction in effectiveness is significant. I spend much more time thinking about what I'm going to code than I do typing it out.

syshum 10y ago

Shhh, one should not have to learn how to use their tools.

oarsinsync 10y ago

It would, if your professional life depends on typing. Many people's do not. There are many kitchen tools being marketed to casual home cooks, and not professional chefs. The solution isn't for everyone to become a professional chef to stop those products coming to market, it's for professional chefs to recognise those products are not meant for them. Even if the manufacturer used to tailor to their needs before, markets change.

eludwig 10y ago

This is actually easier said than done. I'm 58 and been a hunt and peck typist (at this point a fairly effective and fast one) all my life. I've been a developer for 30 years. I've tried several times to learn to touch-type. I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard. It's the gap where you still have a full-time job to do along with those expectations that I fall down. :( Maybe it's to late for me? That aside, I have never had any problem with productivity as a developer. As a "typist", yes, but not as an author of software. It just never comes up. Do I feel less "cool" when I am in a room with people looking at me type? Hell yes. But am I actually getting things done slower? Probably some things. Typing commands, yes. I could be faster there. Typing code? Maybe. Just adding the perspective of a long time 6 fingered typist (occasionally 7).

tstrimple 10y ago
You can be a touch typist without using the strict home row and finger placement. I would actually argue that the home row concept isn't ideal for developers especially. My fingers actually rest between the keys, and I know I press keys with the "wrong" fingers (easy to notice on ergonomic keyboards), but I do not have to look at my keys and I type around 70 words per minute without feeling like I'm rushing.
- iamatworknow 10y ago
  I touch type around 90 WPM and never took a class on it. After years of video gaming my "home row" is resting my left hand on WASD and my right hand takes care of everything right of RFV. And like you said, ergonomic keyboards are basically unusable to me.
KirinDave 10y ago
Off topic, but it's not too late at all. What you need to do is force yourself to touch type. Typically the reason people don't make that transition is that they cannot accept the speed and accuracy loss short term to finish the training. Resign yourself to typing with a cloth over your hands for a month or three. Plan for being a dog-slow typist. If you have been typing for 30 years, you have what you need cognitively. You just need to force yourself to perfect the final bits of the skill. You don't need more training, you don't need perfect Home Row Placement (I can do 110 and my form is a mess!), you just need to power through that horrible period.
- eludwig 10y ago
  Understood and thanks for the encouragement. I haven't completely given up hope. I may still do it yet! :D
Someone 10y ago
"I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard." Huh? Don't most of the exercises and games start with rule 1: "don't look at the keyboard"? "I can do all of the exercises, play all of the games, but I have never been able to make the leap from looking to not looking at the keyboard." Huh? The exercises and games I did all start with "don't look at the keyboard"? Find a method that starts with having you type nonsense sequences of letters on the home row (these typically start with repeats of "asdf jkl;", changing to random sequences once you got the hang of that), extends that by adding qwer and uiop, moves to words containing those letters (moving to words is essential as it trains you to do the common sequences faster), etc. If you find you cannot not look at your fingers, place a tea towel or other light cloth over your keyboard and hands and try again.

addicted 10y ago

It's a great thing for everyone, developer or not, professional or not. My sister's boss at her first internship took her to her desktop and gave her a keyboard which had absolutely no markings on it. Her first task was to force herself to learn to touch type. And she still credits that to saving so many hours in college, simply while typing out esssays, and has obviously been tremendously useful in her professional life.

rietta 10y ago

That was me! Well, I could type, but not properly. Got all the way through graduate school and well into my career before deciding to change. Wrote about this a few years ago at https://rietta.com/blog/2014/02/14/my-touch-typing-journey-continues/ https://rietta.com/blog/2014/02/14/my-touch-typing-journey-c.... I now touch type Dvorak 100% of the time; even with all the punctuation that we use in programming. I've flirted with Programmer's Dvorak a few times, but have not taken the plunge.

slantyyz 10y ago

While typing speed helps, I don't know if the reduction in effectiveness is significant. I spend much more time thinking about what I'm going to code than I do typing it out.