Comparing it to other typewriters, imagine firing a gatling gun when you've been writing with revolvers. It feels like your words are typed ahead of when you think of them.
I used a Selectric with a copy machine for class projects and messing around, then my family got a mac ha ha.
Best key feel ever.
It starts with a very light millimetre drop to place your finger. Then the tactile bump, and when that gives way, still near the top to the throw and exactly when the switch activates, it's so fast that it's almost like the key itself is pulling away from you. Then the resistance ramps up continuously, with no hard landing.
IBM did make a good attempt at electronic switches with good feel with their beam spring keyboards, but they were still not as good as the Selectric. Then eurocrats killed those, and the Model F and Model M that followed were a poor substitute, activating almost at the bottom of the throw and landing hard.
[typos corrected]
Agreed. Noting also that the sound, if you were a good touch typist, was like a background beat that somehow added to creativity. Or if you were simply doing drone work seemed to lull you to be at peace with the process.