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Typing 118 WPM broke my brain in the right ways

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

#141

Post by cmrdporcupine »

98codes wrote: post #40
dawnofdusk wrote: post #11

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…

When I was in the 8th grade (back in the 1900s), I took a typing elective class, because I figured if I was going to be in front of a keyboard typing for a living as a programmer, I should learn to do it right. That was a rare very good decision for kid me back then, and it's paid off ever since.

Likewise in high school in the 1900s I took typing, which did markedly improve my typing though I am sure I didn't keep up with the technique I learned. We also learned all the standard letter formats and so on which I promptly forgot.

I measured myself the other day and I can do about 110-115 WPM, which I think is pretty impressive for a 50 year old who last took typing classes at 15.

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

#142

Post by rascul »

dylan604 wrote: post #42
jchw wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to type >140 WPM at high accuracy when I was younger without home row. These days I think I likely sit closer to 90 WPM or so, since I really just don't really need to type super fast very often and am pretty out of practice. I reckon home row is probably not terrible or anything, but like a lot of weird old ergonomics advice, I just don't trust the idea that you must or possibly even should use home row. For…

I don't even come close to groking how one types without home row hand placement. How does that even work? Where are your hands if not starting at home row?

My hands float around and don't really have any rules except left hand for left side and right hand for right side, where the sides are loosely defined. Some keys I may hit with one finger just to hit it with a different finger on the other hand the next word. I don't really know how I do it, I guess it's all about using whatever finger is closest and my hands float around so that the closest finger isn't always the same. I don't need the ridges on the keys, if I can find the space bar I can find every key. I also rarely use my right pinky finger except to hit Enter, it's usually too slow for anything else. I learned to type playing PK MUD games and I was up to 130-140 WPM. Nowadays I don't play MUD games very much and I'm usually around 110 WPM when I check. Also, I need a specific layout or else I'll miss a lot. Laptops don't generally have the layout I need and I'm very bad on them.

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

#143

Post by w0m »

Terr_ wrote: post #130
98codes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in the 8th grade (back in the 1900s), I took a typing elective class, because I figured if I was going to be in front of a keyboard typing for a living as a programmer, I should learn to do it right. That was a rare very good decision for kid me back then, and it's paid off ever since.

Opposite experience: I hated the school class and I remember some frustrating tools which, if you made an error, counted any reflexive backspace and corrected letter as two additional errors... What really turned me into a touch-typist was all the arguing I did over dial-up internet the next summer.

same on both. On dial-up; I learned to touch type so I could insult my opponent after killing them, but before they re-spawned and could attack me again in a video game.

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

#144

Post by userbinator »

dawnofdusk wrote: post #11

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 use "dynamic finger allocation", close to the standard fingering but not exactly. It's hard to describe as anything other than "closest finger that isn't currently in use". My burst speed is over 200 (peaked roughly 240) but I usually stay around 160-170 in 1-minute tests.

Try typing words like "number", "bus", "zany", "excretion", etc. and you'll soon learn why sticking with the "proper" fingering is absolutely idiotic if you want speed and comfort. You can waste time and effort moving the "right" finger all the way from the bottom to the top of the keyboard, or just hit the key with the perfectly usable one sitting there idle.

To elaborate, when typing "number" I use the index and middle finger to chord "nu", then "mb" is the next chord with the left index and right middle, which naturally pulls down my left hand enough that "er" is easily done as a final chord with the left ring and middle fingers.

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

#145

Post by rascul »

TZubiri wrote: post #115
matt_lo wrote: post #79

5 minutes of typeracer saves 1 hour of procrastination Typing fast is a way to unlock the brain. Anything past 90, you start to focus on exactly what is needed to type accurately with speed. I average around 106-130 (depending on recent races) for the past 15 years, and it's still one of the best ways to "get into dev mode" really quickly.

Playing a musical instrument also achieves this, it makes a game about the little things about the brain (an organ we all love), like sequencing, motor skills, etc..

Never thought about it before, but maybe playing the flute and clarinet when I was younger helped my typing speed.

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

#146

Post by ryukoposting »

smithkl42 wrote: post #45

I don't know how well this holds out, but one thing I've noticed is that the very best developers I've worked with are all fast on the keyboard - not just fast at typing code or comments or emails or whatever, but they have all the keyboard shortcuts memorized, and they navigate through their IDE of choice faster than you can follow (even if you're a pretty good dev yourself).

It's key to my productivity, that's for sure. I type faster than most folks, but I'm not that fast, though I've never tested my WPM. I make up for it because I know my shorcuts, I choose tools that have good shortcuts, and I set custom shortcuts for things I do a lot.

Another thing is efficient use of screen real estate. Then you don't need to press any buttons at all, you just move your eyes.

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

#147

Post by porridgeraisin »

Tarsul wrote: post #83
dawnofdusk wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Staying at home row is not really about ergonomics. The best thing you can do (without breaking the bank, i.e., no bespoke split keyboard setups) for your hand ergonomics at the computer is to get a vertical mouse and tilt your keyboard downwards and away from you (the opposite of what most keyboard feet do, which is tilt your keyboard up and towards you). Both of these keep your wrist neutral/in slight flexion, wher…

I use my standing desk to change the height for sitting here and there. I imagine it helps my wrists and shoulders.

Yes.

Instead of the endless search for the perfect static posture, just keep moving the various joints now and then. Adjust your elbow or wrist or the desk or the chair every now and then. This can make you look "unprofessionally" seated if you take it far enough so hopefully your workplace doesn't mind that.

Even if you are moving between multiple so-called "bad" postures, you'll be much better off compared to just being static in a "good" posture for 4 hours.

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

#148

Post by [deleted] »

rgoulter wrote: post #139
ryandv wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am at least 99th percentile on typeracer. I wonder how much of these alleged LLM speedups are from people with low WPM and/or vim fluency.

If you're working with a language you're not-so experienced in, then the completion for `// read data from file f into x` is going to be significantly quicker than looking up the documentation for this.

[deleted]

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

#149

Post by dtgriscom »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #141
98codes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in the 8th grade (back in the 1900s), I took a typing elective class, because I figured if I was going to be in front of a keyboard typing for a living as a programmer, I should learn to do it right. That was a rare very good decision for kid me back then, and it's paid off ever since.

Likewise in high school in the 1900s I took typing, which did markedly improve my typing though I am sure I didn't keep up with the technique I learned. We also learned all the standard letter formats and so on which I promptly forgot. I measured myself the other day and I can do about 110-115 WPM, which I think is pretty impressive for a 50 year old who last took typing classes at 15.

Oy, veh. "High school in the 1900s". Make me feel old, why don'tcha.

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

#150

Post by ryandv »

rgoulter wrote: post #139
ryandv wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am at least 99th percentile on typeracer. I wonder how much of these alleged LLM speedups are from people with low WPM and/or vim fluency.

If you're working with a language you're not-so experienced in, then the completion for `// read data from file f into x` is going to be significantly quicker than looking up the documentation for this.

Depends on the language. Recently I got stuck on some issues with line-based processing of stream input with Haskell conduits and resorted to ChatGPT out of desperation. It wasn't of much use to me either, and then I ran out of free tier usage.

I suppose for emitting boilerplate or other ceremonial code LLMs serve as an augmented "copy/paste from stackoverflow" and increase your KLOC/time, but this is not really an interesting metric and production of source code was never the rate-limiting step in creating software.

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