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Don't learn Dvorak

dudzik.co

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Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#11

Post by ppeetteerr »

I have three keyboards on my phone: QWERTY, AZERTY and one for my native language. I can switch between the three rather easily but that's mostly because I still look at the keyboard when typing on the screen.

On a physical keyboard, I just don't see the point of learning a new latin layout (e.g. Canadian English layout, UK layout).

It's easier to use a US keyboard instead of a Canadian English keyboard because the few times you need an accent are heavily outweighed by having symbols in the wrong position to what your next computer might have.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#12

Post by Thiez »

dfabulich wrote: post #3

The author complains that his QWERTY muscle memory went away when learning Dvorak. This doesn't match my experience. I can still use QWERTY, somewhat slower than before I learned Dvorak, but not much, and since I use Dvorak 99% of the time, it's no big deal.

This matches my experience. I automatically switch to QWERTY when I use someone else's computer, to the point where I get confused when I use the computer of one of my colleagues that also uses Dvorak.

If you set up some shortcuts to switch between layouts then other people using your computer is not a problem either.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#14

Post by noobiemcfoob »

Using Dvorak can be a conversation starter. You'll get lots of nerd cred from the right people but plenty more weird looks from everyone else. I used it in high school, but I eventually got tired of dealing with the hassle of setting it up on each new installation or the headache of using others' machines (I could still type QWERTY well enough but would make mistakes as muscle memory crept in)

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#15

Post by wycy »

qwerty456127 wrote: post #5

I believe the whole statement saying that QWERTY layout is designed to slow typing down is probably a myth as I find the letters that stand right near each other in a word being neighbors on the keyboard just so often.

If there is some truth to the idea that QWERTY was designed to slow you by separating commonly paired keys, it might actually be advantageous in the world of touchscreen keyboards. Separating frequently paired keys would presumably make autocorrect better at guessing what you meant to say than if common letters were clustered in the same area of the keyboard.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#16

Post by chipuni »

I learned to type Dvorak about ten years ago.

Dvorak, by itself, won't make you a faster typist. It will help only if you're actively training for speed-typing.

Dvorak will cause problems with any keyboard shortcuts that depend on the positions of the keys. Control-Z, Control-X, Control-C, Control-V are now in different parts of the keyboard. So is the hjkl of Vi.

But Dvorak is more comfortable to type. If you don't want to move your fingers from the home row as much, it is better.

And unlike Carpalx (http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/), Dvorak is available on most systems without extra software.

Learn it if you like. I strongly disagree with Frederik Dudzik: If you don't care for it after you learn it, you CAN go back. And it take less time to re-train yourself back to Qwerty.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#17

Post by jandrese »

man-and-laptop wrote: post #4

On the subject of using other people's computers: How do people who use a heavily customised environment -- like Emacs with modifications (like caps-lock key for CONTROL) -- cope with this?

This is exactly the reason I don't have a heavily personalized environment anymore. Copying it around to every machine was more hassle than it was worth. This is also why I get so mad when the defaults are bad, especially when they're changed to be bad.

A good example is how ls now adds fake quote characters if your file listing has spaces in it. As someone who mastered the Tab key ages ago those quotes are useless visual noise and I find myself typing them occasionally because I forgot. You can set an environment variable to disable them, but I have to to look it up each time and you have to do it on every new machine.

Edit: the magic environment variable is:

  QUOTING_STYLE=literal

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#18

Post by jimmaswell »

thatswrong0 wrote: post #7

> Don't learn Dvorak For me, this list resonates (I use Colemak), but I would maybe call it "Things to consider before learning another keyboard layout". It's almost never a problem in my life. Someone using my computer? Switch the keyboard back to Qwerty for them. Me using someone else's? I can still do okay with Qwerty.. but I'm never using someone else's computer for longer than 10 minutes. It _was_ significantly…

Must be a YMMV because I learned touch typing just fine after knowing qwerty in an inefficient self taught way. I took a class on it for half a high school year and it paid off very well.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#19

Post by drinchev »

man-and-laptop wrote: post #4

On the subject of using other people's computers: How do people who use a heavily customised environment -- like Emacs with modifications (like caps-lock key for CONTROL) -- cope with this?

It's a lot of fun, when someone tries to write a note on my IDE ( WebStorm ) where I'm using vim mode. Most of them give up and open Notes app.

Joke aside. I don't think that pleasing other potential users of your computer should be a motive to not make it productive for you.

Re: Don't learn Dvorak

#20

Post by frob »

man-and-laptop wrote: post #4

On the subject of using other people's computers: How do people who use a heavily customised environment -- like Emacs with modifications (like caps-lock key for CONTROL) -- cope with this?

It normally takes me 3-5 minutes to force my brain back to a "standard" layout. Up until then, there end up being RANDOM STRINGS OF CAPS and letters since I'm so used to ctrl in the capslock position as well as random jjs trying to exit insert mode.

I've actually noticed another thing: using someone else's keyboard can be frustrating, even if everything else is the same. I just moved for my job for a few months and I accidentally grabbed my wife's MS4000 instead of mine on the first day in my new office. Despite it being the exact same keyboard and having all my customizations available, I had to put it away and use the keyboard on my laptop after less than an hour. The wear patterns in the key mechanisms were different enough that I was dropping characters all over the place. The spacebar was by far the worst offender.

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