Ask HN: Should I learn to type properly? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should I learn to type properly?

9 pointsclessg25 comments

I am a software engineer and never took a course on typing properly. As it stands, I can type 110 wpm with basically no effort. I use my thumb for the space key, my index fingers for letter/number keys (unless in normal mode in Vim), my middle finger for semicolon/period, and my pinky/ring finger for shift/enter.

I am quite fast and have good accuracy. However, I am worried that continued typing in this manner will result in RSI. I am also wondering if I will be even faster if I use proper typing technique.

Lately, I've been attempting to get used to typing properly, but it feels very awkward, I make lots of mistakes, and I feel like I will never be as fast. Most proper typists I know reach 80-90 wpm max.

Any help would be appreciated.

Edit: Another problem is that my pinky finger feels quite weak, yet proper typing technique requires it to be used extensively, especially when coding.

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Yes, because there is a social signaling component to not touch typing. I always wonder, "they couldn't be bothered to spend two weeks on a foundation skill, what else do they do the unnecessarily hard way?"

Ten years ago I made my wife learn to touch type; she still says it was one of the best things I ever did for her.

I once saw it tip the balance in a hiring situation, when we were on the fence about a candidate we were on the fence about.

Of course, I'm typing this on a tablet, so maybe it doesn't matter anymore...

You might want to see how Linus Torvalds types. Typing skills do not equate to anything other than may be being lazy.

I'm not arguing if it's right or wrong, or if it's even a useful datapoint, I'm just saying that some people will notice, and count it as a minus.

I use a "floating hands" style that basically came from ever-optimized hunt and peck. I've clocked 140wpm, but it can take a little time to adjust to a new keyboard.

Frankly I feel my technique is probably better for RSI because I do macro movements with my forearm as supposed to stretching my fingers. I also make extensive use of "far" keys (F1-F12 for switching windows) that seem like it would be hard if my hands were stationary. I will have the occasional day where my hands get "tired", but I find this occurs when I'm being unproductive - actual coding has a much lower duty cycle.

110wpm sounds perfectly adequate to me, so I'd only try learning "proper" method if you have nothing else to do. Also, it's not like people who use "proper" method are impervious to RSI. If this is your real concern it seems like you'd be better off asking this question to the right doctor, explaining your specific hand placement / movements.

> I use a "floating hands" style

> I will have the occasional day where my hands get "tired", but I find this occurs when I'm being unproductive

These both describe me, I do believe.

The stillness of hand required by proper typing technique actually causes my hands to hurt a bit after a while. I've been programming since I was 10 and haven't had an issue with wrist/hand pain, but as the years pass by I am getting increasingly worried. I enjoy programming and don't want to be forced to stop.

Furthermore I am always looking to improve, so increased typing speed would be a boon.

> if you have nothing else to do

This also describes me right now.

Thanks for your input!

I never learned to type properly either. We had a keyboarding class in high school and I just didn't take it when it was really pushed as "needed for a career".

Now I am 38 and I code and I can keep up with anyone else just fine. I often think that I have adapted my typing based around the fact that I do code. I position my hands in what seems good for code. I seldom move my hands and I can hit every key in some manner.

My wife is a "proper typer". She can literally write a Word document blindfolded and make very few mistakes. She even realizes if she does and can backspace, etc without even looking.

I've been typing since 1965 (probably before most HN readers were born) how in the world do people get over 100 wpm? I've never been able to type much faster than 50 to 60 wpm and I've worked at a keyboard all these years!

For my entire career as a consultant, a technical consultant, I would tell my clients to learn to type properly. It is the number one thing you can do for yourself.

How? Just find the home-row keys and keep your fingers there as "home". The worse you'll do is learn wrong the two index finger positions but no matter.

I was never trained to type but I knew I must and did just that - home row and go. Done.

So, I do keep my fingers at home-row, but only when navigating in Vim or not typing. When I switch to insert mode, I stray from home row until I re-enter normal mode.

wow - 110 wpm, respect! That's close on twice my speed with ten fingers...

Although I'm sure you could still better that with proper typing - from a purely physical perspective, your fingers have to travel a smaller distance, and I'm sure you'll find it more comfortable after you get used to it. I'd echo usermac here: just keep your fingers on the home row, force yourself to keep them there, and then go from there. Sure, it will feel weird at first, but after a few weeks it will be second nature.

Thank you both. I will continue to practice, then. I suppose that I won't know for sure without trying.

I use the WASD first person shooter gamer positioning ;) and I managed 96 wpm

http://www.typingtest.com/result.html?acc=100&nwpm=96&gwpm=9...

Has anyone tried one of those split (2 piece) ergonomic keyboards? I need to do some research on those and see how they fare.

Nice! Also, "average touch typist: 58 wpm" Wat. I've never felt like a fast typist. Guess I'm better off than I thought.

If you are worried about injury in a theoretical sense (by that, I mean you haven't noticed particular discomfort with your typing style), it is probably better to focus on exercising your hands (and body) than to retrain your typing style.

im with you, i dont follow "normal" typing methods, but i can reach much higher wpm then most of my counterparts at work. i personally dont think staying at the home row all the time is useful when writing code, because so many of the characters i use force me to bend my pinky in uncomfortable ways. pips, curly braces, brackets, etc were all left out of the typing classes i took, so i modified my hand placement a bit.

so ill be the decenter here and vote no, as i was taught proper and hacked it to my liking. im a firm believer in what works for some doesn't have to work for all.

Yes, for the reasons you suggest. It's not about pure speed - you are very fast without the proper technique. It will take you a week or two, blending the exercises in with whatever else you have going on.

110 wpm is pretty "proper" by the measure that counts. And a two-finger technique works better on tiny keyboards, which seem to be the direction of the future. But...

I messed up catching a football, and jammed my left index finger hard enough to break the joint closest to the end. I found out that, for a touch typist, that finger is responsible for six letters, plus three keys on the number row. But for your approach, it would be much worse.

You don't always have the use of all your body parts. Redundancy is a good thing.

"proper" touch-typing matters less that actual touch-typing. Minimal movement, no need to look at the keyboard, and zero brainpower spent thinking about typing.

I use most of my time thinking about what I'll type instead of actually typing it. I have no idea how fast I do it.

However I now have to use a QWERTY MAC keyboard after like all my life on windows AZERTY keyboard and oh boy I was slow at first. I'm still slow for a couple of letters or a lot of "signs", I just have to think where it is on the keyboard. So hard to change.

ASDFJKL; - My typing teacher in highschool said if you want to make an A in this class, just look at the keys. If you want to learn how to type, don't. You will likely make a C or a D, but you will know how to type by the end of the year. He was right! Is it important? Sorta. Will it be important in 10 years, probably not.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing - that was how I rolled back in the day :-D

Great fun to learn, you get to race a car...faster you type, faster it goes. Education with play is the best kind!

I would certainly recommend it, I type far faster than I write now.

I would like to suggest you to try http://www.typingstudy.com which is a great thing to use to learn to touch type faster.

Yes.

Look after your neck and back. Good posture is important long term. Check this box as well, it is an important one.

been typing "improperly" for years. don't worry about it.

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