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So what? There's no good evidence for QWERTY and it's based on assumptions about mechanical typewriters that are no longer true whereas Dvorak is at least based

by dheera 5y ago

So what? There's no good evidence for QWERTY and it's based on assumptions about mechanical typewriters that are no longer true whereas Dvorak is at least based on something that applies to modern life. There's adecnotal evidence of both in favor of Dvorak which is more than good enough for me. Anyway, it was super easy to learn, I was lightyears ahead of my classmates in touch typing, so I'm happy.

lazide 5y ago
Well, if you do something that doesn’t match what 90% (or for Dvorak, more like 99.99%) of society does, especially if it is in a way that is incompatible, you end up having to do both ways or suffer significant friction in everyday life if it is a common skill or requirement. It does open some unique niches, but it’s also easy to oversell that advantages while ignoring the disadvantages. Dvorak is even less useful than being a leftie (since lefties still have the same hands in the same orientation), it’s more like if someone switched/mirrored the hands themselves. Which, if everyone had the same setup would be fine. But since not everyone does, better get used to constantly switching and adjusting things.
- dheera 5y ago
  > suffer significant friction in everyday life I don't. > if it is a common skill or requirement It almost never is, in my personal experience. Dvorak is available as an option on all the major OSes on a per-user basis. It's literally zero issue.
  - lazide 5y ago
    Glad to hear it works for you! I travel frequently (well did not that long ago), and regularly work on a equipment that others use daily. I’d get nothing but hassles if I had to change keyboard layouts, especially since there is so much variation in keyboards I interact with sometimes that touch typing gets high error rates at first. And if I didn’t switch someone’s layout back before leaving, the anger would be non-trivial. Most folks I know at some point also need to use a computer at work, or did at school (but aren’t techies), so not knowing QWERTY isn’t going to go well for them. As would trying to switch keyboard layouts every time they go somewhere or do something. Most folks have zero time for that kind of thing.

by dheera 5y ago

lazide 5y ago

Well, if you do something that doesn’t match what 90% (or for Dvorak, more like 99.99%) of society does, especially if it is in a way that is incompatible, you end up having to do both ways or suffer significant friction in everyday life if it is a common skill or requirement. It does open some unique niches, but it’s also easy to oversell that advantages while ignoring the disadvantages. Dvorak is even less useful than being a leftie (since lefties still have the same hands in the same orientation), it’s more like if someone switched/mirrored the hands themselves. Which, if everyone had the same setup would be fine. But since not everyone does, better get used to constantly switching and adjusting things.

dheera 5y ago
> suffer significant friction in everyday life I don't. > if it is a common skill or requirement It almost never is, in my personal experience. Dvorak is available as an option on all the major OSes on a per-user basis. It's literally zero issue.
- lazide 5y ago
  Glad to hear it works for you! I travel frequently (well did not that long ago), and regularly work on a equipment that others use daily. I’d get nothing but hassles if I had to change keyboard layouts, especially since there is so much variation in keyboards I interact with sometimes that touch typing gets high error rates at first. And if I didn’t switch someone’s layout back before leaving, the anger would be non-trivial. Most folks I know at some point also need to use a computer at work, or did at school (but aren’t techies), so not knowing QWERTY isn’t going to go well for them. As would trying to switch keyboard layouts every time they go somewhere or do something. Most folks have zero time for that kind of thing.