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> developers spend a lot of time typing things like API documentation, design proposals, e-mails, IMs, etc. Here's what I've noticed about fast typists: They

> developers spend a lot of time typing things like API documentation, design proposals, e-mails, IMs, etc. Here's what I've noticed about fast typists: They produce large volumes of hurried and poorly worded and edited crap. Yegge, my current boss, and one of my co-workers fit this mold. They type very fast, and I frequently have no idea what their writing is about, or am annoyed with the excess verbiage. The best writing is re-writing. The best coding is refactoring. In both coding and writing the bottleneck is going through what you've written two or three times and making the necessary edits and stopping to think. First pass typing speed is absolutely not the bottleneck to producing anything of quality. If you want to churn out unreadable or unmaintainable crap, belting out functions at 90 wpm and then moving right on is a good way to go.

thomasmallen 18y ago
That's so very true. I can and do type quickly, but I usually find myself typing in small bursts of words and single lines of code (discrete thoughts), not bursts of sentences or methods. An involved one-paragraph email for me entails composition, proofreading, revision, proofreading, revision, and so on...typing doesn't take the majority of my time by any means. The same goes for the majority of my comments on websites such as this one. It's not a matter of habit, I just always find ways to better express myself when I take my time and correct those "problem spots," be they in code, email, or other correspondence. It's not that I doubt my skill as a writer, but rather, I owe it to my reader to be thoughtful and patient, just as I hope they will upon receipt. The only thing I need to prevent is overuse of "etc." It's a tempting habit and lazy, imprecise, etc. When one uses "etc," they leave it to the reader to complete their thought, which is weak and clumsy.

thomasmallen 18y ago

That's so very true. I can and do type quickly, but I usually find myself typing in small bursts of words and single lines of code (discrete thoughts), not bursts of sentences or methods. An involved one-paragraph email for me entails composition, proofreading, revision, proofreading, revision, and so on...typing doesn't take the majority of my time by any means. The same goes for the majority of my comments on websites such as this one. It's not a matter of habit, I just always find ways to better express myself when I take my time and correct those "problem spots," be they in code, email, or other correspondence. It's not that I doubt my skill as a writer, but rather, I owe it to my reader to be thoughtful and patient, just as I hope they will upon receipt. The only thing I need to prevent is overuse of "etc." It's a tempting habit and lazy, imprecise, etc. When one uses "etc," they leave it to the reader to complete their thought, which is weak and clumsy.