The point is not that "contrived = bad". The point is that a contrived interface can be optimized, while multiplication tables are a fixed part of understanding

The point is not that "contrived = bad". The point is that a contrived interface can be optimized, while multiplication tables are a fixed part of understanding multiplication in a positional system. On the other hand, you could argue that we could optimize our entire number system for learning by switching to a lower base. And in this sense I do agree that optimizing for ease of learning would be a mistake. If we taught base-3, learning multiplication tables would take one tenth of the time, but actually multiplying numbers would a lot longer. Analogously, I would gladly spend 10 times as long to learn a text entry method if it made me 20% faster in the long run. So I guess what I'm saying is that QWERTY should be replaced not because it's hard to learn, but because it can't possibly be optimally efficient.