5 ms·

I thought it is proven that dvorak is not superior : http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/18/210216 http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09

I thought it is proven that dvorak is not superior : http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/18/210216 http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/18/210216 Is there something wrong with that article/research?

tallanvor 16y ago
For me the real question is who cares which is "superior"? Seriously, people have so many options today and they can use whatever they prefer. I tried learning Dvorak, but at the end of the day I've been using QWERTY for over 25 years, and I can type more than fast enough. Besides, lots of people use other layouts anyway due to language differences requiring extra keys for letters. I do want to kill the person who decided that Shift-7 was a good place for the forward slash in most of those layouts, though!
paradoja 16y ago
One article (or "research") rarely proves anything. This article in particular has been contested.
- bitboxer 16y ago
  I am aware of that. Can somebody please pinpoint the errors or show articles that explain where the writer has done errors? I am curious if it will be worth to switch, but I need some facts first :) .
  - tome 16y ago
    As a very happy Dvorak-user I'd say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I switched because there was a compelling reason (repetitive strain injury). If you don't have a compelling reason, it's highly unlikely to be worth your time.
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  Have you read the article in question? It does a pretty thorough job of analyzing (and demolishing) the "research" presented, by Dvorak, in favor of the Dvorak keyboard. If anybody has a strong, data-based counter-argument in favor of Dvorak, I'd like to hear it.
  - ZeroGravitas 16y ago
    There's a rebuttal here. I don't know if you'd consider it a "strong, data-based counter-argument", but then I don't think the Fables paper does a "pretty thorough job of analyzing (and demolishing) the "research" presented" either, rather it reads like the politically motivated hit piece that it almost certainly is. http://dvorak.mwbrooks.com/dissent.html http://dvorak.mwbrooks.com/dissent.html
tome 16y ago
You should be aware the the Dvorak vs Qwerty debate is politically charged. If it turned out that Dvorak were superior, this would be evidence for market failure. A lot of people want to demonstrate that market failure [edit: does or] does not exist, hence there are many more attempts to show the inferiority [edit: or superiority] of Dvorak than you would expect to see in a politically neutral context.
- numeromancer 16y ago
  Also: You should be aware the the Dvorak vs Qwerty debate is politically charged. If it turned out that Dvorak were superior, this would be evidence for market failure. A lot of people want to demonstrate that market failure does exist, hence there are many more attempts to show the superiority of Dvorak than you would expect to see in a politically neutral context.
  - tome 16y ago
    Absolutely right. I edited my original post to take this into account. My aim was to advise people to take Dvorak studies with a pinch of salt and understand the context in which they are published. Disclaimer: I'm very happy with Dvorak, since it feels more comfortable to me than Qwerty and I have no doubt it helped me recover from repetitive strain injury. Other than that, I have no horse in this race.
- loewenskind 16y ago
  Market failures happen all the time and are well known (e.g. "worse is better"). Why would "true believers" focus on Dvorak of all things?
  - paulgb 16y ago
    Out of curiosity, what else would you consider a good example of a market failure? Edit: also, why is tome (grandparent) being downvoted? He makes a good point.
    - 16y ago
weavejester 16y ago
The article seems to be focused entirely on typing speed, and the studies cited mostly involve typists already proficient in Qwerty. The article doesn't appear to mention typing distance or effort. Your fingers will move twice the distance in Qwerty than they would in Dvorak or Colemak. The home row is used twice as much in Qwerty, and whilst Dvorak and Colemak favour the right hand, Qwerty favours the left. I shift between Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards regularly, and Dvorak is noticeably easier on the tendons.

tallanvor 16y ago

For me the real question is who cares which is "superior"? Seriously, people have so many options today and they can use whatever they prefer. I tried learning Dvorak, but at the end of the day I've been using QWERTY for over 25 years, and I can type more than fast enough. Besides, lots of people use other layouts anyway due to language differences requiring extra keys for letters. I do want to kill the person who decided that Shift-7 was a good place for the forward slash in most of those layouts, though!

paradoja 16y ago

One article (or "research") rarely proves anything. This article in particular has been contested.

bitboxer 16y ago
I am aware of that. Can somebody please pinpoint the errors or show articles that explain where the writer has done errors? I am curious if it will be worth to switch, but I need some facts first :) .
- tome 16y ago
  As a very happy Dvorak-user I'd say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I switched because there was a compelling reason (repetitive strain injury). If you don't have a compelling reason, it's highly unlikely to be worth your time.
michael_dorfman 16y ago
Have you read the article in question? It does a pretty thorough job of analyzing (and demolishing) the "research" presented, by Dvorak, in favor of the Dvorak keyboard. If anybody has a strong, data-based counter-argument in favor of Dvorak, I'd like to hear it.
- ZeroGravitas 16y ago
  There's a rebuttal here. I don't know if you'd consider it a "strong, data-based counter-argument", but then I don't think the Fables paper does a "pretty thorough job of analyzing (and demolishing) the "research" presented" either, rather it reads like the politically motivated hit piece that it almost certainly is. http://dvorak.mwbrooks.com/dissent.html http://dvorak.mwbrooks.com/dissent.html

tome 16y ago

You should be aware the the Dvorak vs Qwerty debate is politically charged. If it turned out that Dvorak were superior, this would be evidence for market failure. A lot of people want to demonstrate that market failure [edit: does or] does not exist, hence there are many more attempts to show the inferiority [edit: or superiority] of Dvorak than you would expect to see in a politically neutral context.

numeromancer 16y ago
Also: You should be aware the the Dvorak vs Qwerty debate is politically charged. If it turned out that Dvorak were superior, this would be evidence for market failure. A lot of people want to demonstrate that market failure does exist, hence there are many more attempts to show the superiority of Dvorak than you would expect to see in a politically neutral context.
- tome 16y ago
  Absolutely right. I edited my original post to take this into account. My aim was to advise people to take Dvorak studies with a pinch of salt and understand the context in which they are published. Disclaimer: I'm very happy with Dvorak, since it feels more comfortable to me than Qwerty and I have no doubt it helped me recover from repetitive strain injury. Other than that, I have no horse in this race.
loewenskind 16y ago
Market failures happen all the time and are well known (e.g. "worse is better"). Why would "true believers" focus on Dvorak of all things?
- paulgb 16y ago
  Out of curiosity, what else would you consider a good example of a market failure? Edit: also, why is tome (grandparent) being downvoted? He makes a good point.
  - 16y ago

weavejester 16y ago

The article seems to be focused entirely on typing speed, and the studies cited mostly involve typists already proficient in Qwerty. The article doesn't appear to mention typing distance or effort. Your fingers will move twice the distance in Qwerty than they would in Dvorak or Colemak. The home row is used twice as much in Qwerty, and whilst Dvorak and Colemak favour the right hand, Qwerty favours the left. I shift between Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards regularly, and Dvorak is noticeably easier on the tendons.