Live data from Hacker News

Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

balaji-amg.surge.sh

61–70 of 233 posts

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#61

Typing fast is an underrated skill for developers. A lot of the value added by various intelligent tab completion and LLMs is easily replicated by typing variable and function names at 100+ wpm. Not a fan, however, of the desire to disparage the "right" way of doing things that's done in this blog. I type the "proper" way, home row and all, and can reach 150+wpm with high accuracy. So, based on this evidence, you're…

I spent basically all my life not typing correctly at all, since I learned from online gaming without a teacher.

I ended up with a technique that had my whole hand shifted to be over WASD like when gaming with pinky only used for modifiers. It was even worse for my right hand as only recently I actually monitored how I typed, and I highly underuse my ring and pinky fingers on that hand. Worst part is I never use my thumbs for spacebar, I found out I literally shift my entire right hand to use my index finger every time I hit spacebar.

Despite all of this I regularly typed ~120wpm. I think when it comes to speed almost everybody adopts at least some peculiar techniques.

I only say typed past tense because I recently got into split ergonomic keyboards with keywells and columnar layouts and my old typing technique literally just does not work. I had to learn how to "correctly" type from scratch, but relatively quickly got to the similar speeds. Now I can easily swap between the two techniques depending on whether I'm using my laptop keyboard or not and type almost the same speed, I'm still a tad bit slower using "correct" technique. But I will say it is a hell of a lot less movement and tension in my hands typing correctly.

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#62

> Plot twist: I don't type "correctly" at all. My fingers just go wherever they want. It's like anarchist typing. My left pinky probably hasn't touched the 'A' key in months, but somehow I'm still in the 99.5 percentile. Turns out the "proper way" is just a suggestion. Like following PEP 8 or using semicolons in JavaScript. Sure, it's nice, but if your way works better, who cares? This is super interesting - I have t…

My Mom got me Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and other tools to help me to learn to type "correctly", but I didn't have any motivation to learn how to type until I started playing the original Starcraft online. I needed to be able to communicate with teammates (and trash talk opponents) in a timely manner, so I was forced to learn to type fast. But as a result, I also developed my own unorthodox style that looks a lot l…

[deleted]

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#63

> Plot twist: I don't type "correctly" at all. My fingers just go wherever they want. It's like anarchist typing. My left pinky probably hasn't touched the 'A' key in months, but somehow I'm still in the 99.5 percentile. Turns out the "proper way" is just a suggestion. Like following PEP 8 or using semicolons in JavaScript. Sure, it's nice, but if your way works better, who cares? This is super interesting - I have t…

if you've never had proper typing tests, then I'd suspect your WPM scores are not what you think. you may be typing keys at 110-120 WPM, but what does the score look like if you adjust for mistakes? It makes a bigger difference than most people are willing to admit.

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#64
post #58

I started using an ortholinear split keyboard last year, and that was a huge adjustment. I went from typing 100+wpm on a simple membrane keyboard, to less than half of that. I had to basically relearn typing just to accomodate the ortholinear layout, not to mention that the split layout meant I could no longer "cheat" and use my right hand to type keys on the left side of the keyboard when I was feeling lazy. I did l…

Yeah I switched to an ErgoDox after 15+ years of normal keyboards, and it was quite an adjustment. It took me at least a year just to feel comfortable, and another year to get back up to speed. Now, I'm the complete opposite - I tried typing on a normal keyboard a few weeks ago and was just as confused as when I first switched :)

Ha it was the worst when I was still learning the ortholinear layout...I lost the muscle memory to type properly on a membrane keyboard, but still was slow/inaccurate on the ortholinear layout...

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#66

> Plot twist: I don't type "correctly" at all. My fingers just go wherever they want. It's like anarchist typing. My left pinky probably hasn't touched the 'A' key in months, but somehow I'm still in the 99.5 percentile. Turns out the "proper way" is just a suggestion. Like following PEP 8 or using semicolons in JavaScript. Sure, it's nice, but if your way works better, who cares? This is super interesting - I have t…

if you've never had proper typing tests, then I'd suspect your WPM scores are not what you think. you may be typing keys at 110-120 WPM, but what does the score look like if you adjust for mistakes? It makes a bigger difference than most people are willing to admit.

I'm sorry for any undue snark here, but what do you mean by "proper" typing test and what do you think I meant in the OP by 1 minute tests? There are a plethora of online tests available that measure this with good accuracy and of course I have taken several. This is with <1% errors I am speaking of. I generally have very low errors. In addition, by late highschool, I had to pass a typing test for a computer class I took, and am well aware of how fast I type by now.

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#67

I started using an ortholinear split keyboard last year, and that was a huge adjustment. I went from typing 100+wpm on a simple membrane keyboard, to less than half of that. I had to basically relearn typing just to accomodate the ortholinear layout, not to mention that the split layout meant I could no longer "cheat" and use my right hand to type keys on the left side of the keyboard when I was feeling lazy. I did l…

Went through the same process last year due primarily to trying to find a solution to my cubital tunnel syndrome. I dropped down to like legit 20wpm from ~120wpm. I'm back to around 100 or so but a lot more comfortable and with less pain.

I recommend either the Kinesis Advantage 360 pro or the glove 80 to anybody who uses a keyboard a lot for a living. I tried both and frequently switch between them.

Another thing I recommend to people with problems is to get literally the lightest keycaps you can, and while it may slow you down a bit try to bottom out less/type a bit lighter in general.

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#69
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

atrophy? if you're not using your pinkies, how are you hitting shift/enter or other keys like [,],=,/,\? (that's an actual question, not trying to escape the punctuation)

Not OP but I pivot my wrists and use my ring fingers. I always found it difficult to reach and press keys with my pinkie. Small hands, I guess? Does anyone else do this?

> I always found it difficult to

I used to find it difficult to a lot of things, until I practiced enough to be able to do them, which is usually what that predicate implies. It's like people that say they have to use one foot for the brake pedal and the other for the accelerator because they find it difficult to use one for both.

Re: Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

#70
Mid 40s and I can do short tests on Monkeytype at about 145+ WPM with 100% accuracy when conditions line up. My regular daily typing speed is quite a bit lower though.

I use a split ergo keyboard, blank key caps, and correct fingers for every key. I highly recommend all three.

Post reply on HN