I think the reason is that in VIM, you either learn the shortcuts or you just can't do anything. In other editors, you can learn the shortcuts, or you can just

I think the reason is that in VIM, you either learn the shortcuts or you just can't do anything. In other editors, you can learn the shortcuts, or you can just monkey around. But it is true, and I agree, that learning how to use YOUR editor gives great dividends. In my case, my editor is Sublime Text. I have extensions and configurations I really need, because now I am used to them. Yes, I know the commands to navigate by word, line, block of code, or even use the right side minimap (with git colors for new and edited code) to move faster through the code. Also: some users, even here in HN, underappreciate the mouse. But every single ex-StarCraft player knows that mouse+keyboard can be ridiculously fast when being used by trained hands. At least for me, I can select and move, or reindent, or whatever, a chunk of code much faster with the mouse than having to know how many lines it is and then typing the equivalent command. So yes, learn touch typing, and learn how to use your editor. It matters. What doesn't matter is if your editor is vim or not.