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The point is, they are no longer in symbolic memory. At this point they are muscle memory. Quick, which muscle do you use to move your right thumb in? Does it matter?

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Exactly: muscle memory. In your car, do you move the turn signal lever up or down to indicate a right turn? It actually takes longer to answer this question than to do the action in real life.

Another example: There are several passwords that I can type instantly, but I wouldn't be able to recite them.

> In your car, do you move the turn signal lever up or down to indicate a right turn?

You rotate it the same direction you're about to rotate the wheel. The vi navigation keys have no such convenient correspondence.

The J kinda looks like an arrow pointing down. If you squint.

I also like what Someone (literally their username, lol) pointed out on another comment, that you can think of K as "klimb" to move up.

h is left because it is on the left of the movement keys, l is right because it is on the right of the movement keys... a fairly convenient correspondence.

Just have to imagine the motion. I remember left/right by literally right clicking & feeling my middle finger be to the right of my index. I got a little mixed up when I switched my mouse to my left hand

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