I learned to type in high school and it was an outstanding decision. Talk to any typer, your brain/fingers know exactly where the keys are, without even thinking about it.
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Keyboarding do you still type with two fingers?
- Thread starter Misskitty
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Yep.
I get really weird stares because of it.
Unless I see a video, I call bravo sierra.
Yep.
I get really weird stares because of it.
Then you are literally the fastest typer in the world. The Guinness book of World Records says the fastest typer has a peak speed of 212 words per minute. Not average speed, but peak. Average in the 150-170 WPM range.
So with one hand, you type 28 words faster than the fastest Guinness Record typist's burst speed?
OK, OK, I type faster than the average person who types with two fingers.
Again, the only limitation I have is that I can't think fast enough.
I used to feel smug and superior because I'm a fast touch typist on a real keyboard. Then I discovered how awkward I am poking at my iPhone keyboard screen one finger at a time, knowing that other people use multiple fingers and type (accurately) much faster.
I've been typing for over 20 years, I'm at a point where I don't have to look at the keyboard. I used to be blazing fast in my typing but I've since slowed down in my old age.
As an aside, when my two 8 year old daughters see me type, they're amazed I'm typing without looking - they're still hunt and pecking
As an aside, when my two 8 year old daughters see me type, they're amazed I'm typing without looking - they're still hunt and pecking
I'm weird, I almost have a fetish for typing... I use all fingers, self-taught at first on a ZX Spectrum and Atari 600XL, mostly by typing listings and playing games on the keyboard (I never use numpad, I suck at it, but I use the top row blindly and seamlessly integrated in the typing). I had typing classes at high school where I adjusted slightly from my "freestyle typing" to the "official" system and became pretty fast. In Germany we had "Keystrokes per Minute" as guide line as opposed to "Words per Minute" - I think it's like 1 Word equals 5 Keystrokes as conversion rate. The highest metronome in the class room went up to 360 and one day my teacher said she wanted to test how fast I can go, ended up at the 360 - and still could go faster (although it was slightly stressing to try to stick to the beat of the metronome...).
And I agree with what someone said before - your brain knows exactly whats going on. Even when I don't pay attention to the screen while typing, I know exactly when I've typed something wrong and delete/correct it automatically.
When I do type racer or other online test I get about 115-120 WPM - sometimes slower due to my crappy accuray :-D ...
And I agree with what someone said before - your brain knows exactly whats going on. Even when I don't pay attention to the screen while typing, I know exactly when I've typed something wrong and delete/correct it automatically.
When I do type racer or other online test I get about 115-120 WPM - sometimes slower due to my crappy accuray :-D ...
My apologies for not being able to find the source, but I believe I read a few weeks ago that most people that type without looking at the keyboard, can't actually write where all the letters are on the keyboard. I know QWERTY and ASDF and roughly where the rest are, but I doubt I could get it correct myself. As a software developer that games in the evenings at the computer it just seems odd. For instance I don't really know where the V key is on the keyboard, but I know how to get my finger to go there. But if you gave me a blank keyboard and asked me to write where V is, I'd either have to position my hands accordingly or give you a lucky guess.
I just did some online typing test stuff and guess I do 70-90 WPM roughly.
Edit: changed my search and found a source!
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Computer Science started out somewhat as a woman's field. Since typing in the office was a woman's job at the time, typing on the computer became their job too as they were better at it. But of course that shifted and now it's a predominantly male field.
I just did some online typing test stuff and guess I do 70-90 WPM roughly.
Edit: changed my search and found a source!
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Only girls had typing lessons on type writers when I went to school. We learnt about metal work, hunting and making fire
Computer Science started out somewhat as a woman's field. Since typing in the office was a woman's job at the time, typing on the computer became their job too as they were better at it. But of course that shifted and now it's a predominantly male field.
That reminds me of something surprising that happened to me. I routinely visit a certain website (other than MacRumors) and type my username and password, visiting it at least weekly. I've never had trouble remembering my password. Then one day they changed the look of the login screen: different layout, different graphics, different colors and fonts. I couldn't type my password and couldn't remember it even after thinking hard. I had to look it up. Apparently my fingers had always reacted to the look of the web page, triggering of pattern of hitting keys, and my brain hadn't been involved.
(That makes it sound like I'd be a likely victim of a phishing website, but I protect myself by using bookmarks instead of typing URLs for sensitive sites.)
I can type my password, but I can't write it out. I also can't type it with 2 fingers (I use all my fingers to type) it's the pattern of finger movements I seem to have memorized.
I've been a touch typist (in theory, if not in practice) since the mid-1970s. One of the best high school classes I've every taken.
I learned to type. I put my fingers on the home keys and type from there without looking. No, not all 10 fingers, nine fingers. We were taught to use the right thumb for the space bar because if you use either you'll have that tiny moment of indecision about which thumb to use and it'll slow you down.
I'm very slow if I have to look at the keyboard and use two fingers but with the method I learned years ago the words flow from my brain and out through my fingers without conscious thought about the process.
Touch keyboards are hell though!
I'm very slow if I have to look at the keyboard and use two fingers but with the method I learned years ago the words flow from my brain and out through my fingers without conscious thought about the process.
Touch keyboards are hell though!
I had a typing class in 7th grade or so. My teacher said I wasn't typing right but then realized I was typing faster than her so she stopped caring. Although that doesn't mean she was fast.
I use my left pinkie for shift exclusively, my right pinkie for enter exclusively, my right thumb for space, and my left thumb for absolutely nothing. So really I type with about 6 fingers total when it comes down to it. Whatever works I guess!
