Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by ivanb | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

ivanb

The whole area is full of contradictions:

- mechanical keys - reduced movement;

- buy a custom build - have industrial build quality;

- barely any movement - good blood flow;

- avoid rolling - type fast;

- concave keyboards - tenting;

- fewer keys - minimal;

- uniformly shaped keys - touch typing feedback;

- keep hands on the keyboard - move pointer precisely;

- custom layout - conventional shortcuts.

This is ridiculous. I no longer take this field seriously. I get it, we get bored and need a new toy sometimes. Some indeed acquired a medical condition and need medical equipment to type now.

I noticed when I exercise I can sit comfortably on a firm basic stool, and when I don't I become a princess on a pea.

How about we start with the basics? Good posture, correct hand positions, monitor at the right level, exercise, nutrition. Then an IBM Model M would suffice.

View on HN

This actually exists in every field to some extent.

Humans get bored and at some point, we need to make complicated answers/explications/justifications to stuff that are actually very simple.

Saying, just practice, pay attention and measure/test progress doesn't cut it for many; especially since some don't want to come to the realization that they'll probably never get better because of their own limitations.

This is why there are always people selling "solutions" that are mostly snake oil, the promise is always that it'll get better, faster, stronger, whatever.

One area that is ripe with those sorts of things is weight loss. It is an extremely simple problem, just eat less calories than you consume and you'll be good. But since humans are faillible and sometimes have hard time making progress, you get all kinds of protocols/tools and whatnot that only achieve the same goal but in a roundabout way.

If people believe in them, sometimes it helps (most of the time not). This is the exact same with keyboards, the problem is not at all with the keyboard, it's all lack of physical activity and bad posture. But saying: just take breaks, do calisthenics (or swimming or any full body workout sport really) and it will get better doesn't satisfy many. Those who want a "quick fix" they can buy are disappointed and those who want to sell a "solution" can't push their snake oil that would make them money (they often are believers themselves, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't really make a difference).

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but even if you use all of the correct postures, correct movement, and everything is done correctly, you can still end up with issues if you just do the same thing over and over.

It's relatively agreed upon nowadays that there actually is no "correct posture". The issue is primarily exacerbated by being in the same posture all of the time, doing the same movements all the time, and especially so in positions that aren't so natural for our body - and typing is not a natural movement/position for the wrists.

I developed issues despite always standing or sitting on a supposed ergonomic char, moving my hands a lot while typing, working out and exercising consistently, etc.

Until I started having issues I probably would have also been in the same camp that "oh this is ridiculous". Now I take anyone with chronic pain much more seriously.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com