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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

#151

I really recommend MonkeyType. The UI is great, the stats are clear, and the modes are really elegant. https://monkeytype.com/ I used it daily like the author for about 6 months to improve from 80wpm to about 120wpm.

Came here to say this. It really is a well made site

I'm at 140, gaining ~1wpm per hour spent on it. Sometimes I feel like I'm only getting better at re-entering words on a screen

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

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[dead]

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

#153
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.

Same. Can touch type accurately while maintaining eye contact during a meeting. Young people find it unnerving.

What? You guys are talking about this as if touch typing is some rare skill. I'm pretty sure everyone around the office touch-types, all my friends definitely do.

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

#154
I can do 90-110 WPM on typing games with English sentences (not random letters).

But I can’t actually “think” that fast while coding. Sure a quick edit or command line is hammered out instantly. But I can’t sustain writing a whole function start to finish that way.

Probably more useful for debugging and FPS games instead.

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

#155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A proper typing test will reduce your WPM for each mistake. It's not a raw counting of keys pressed in 60s.

Ok, apparently you do not understand again or read at all what I just wrote - typing tests online don't work this way. Neither did the one I took in highschool. I would be hard pressed to find a single one that doesn't account for errors and is just a raw count of the keys pressed. What would that even look like?

Just randomly mash the keys as fast as possible, that's your WPM!

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

#156
Wow, Today I Learned that every commenter on HN types over 100 wpm (which is probably around 2-3 standard deviations faster than the mean). Here I thought I was fast at 70. I picked up a bad early habit of not using my right ring and pinky fingers, so I unfortunately only use 8 fingers. My typing is still faster than my thinking, though so I've never felt the need to race any faster.

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

#157
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 left hand is on WASD which I suppose you could call home row and my right hand sits at KL; So it's not too far from home row but definitely something more influenced by my gamer days than any formal typing lessons. Just tried a web based wpm test and got 90WPM at 95% accuracy. Used to be around 120WPM in my college days where I typed more essays, but these days typing speed isn't close to the bottleneck so not muc…

I have a coworker with the wasd left hand. He ends up in this weird claw grip typing style. lol

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

#158

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 wasn't getting RSI per se, more like my arms were fatigued after a day of development. I did the pricey split keyboard thing. One advantage there is that my vertical mouse sits between the keyboard halves which means I don't have to "reach around" to grip it which has saved a whole bunch of muscle movement.

I do this but with a trackball. Works great.

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

#160
post #84

I do not see the value in making your own ad hoc style, nor does being a decent typist support any such claim. The whole point of home row is that your fingers can ergonomically access every key on the keyboard without requiring you to move your entire hand, and that seems basically like a requirement to me to be able to actually type properly without looking at your keyboard. F and J are the only keys with bumps for…

F and J make it easy to orient yourself, but the actual recommended fingering is not optimal for many keys and sequences.

nor does being a decent typist support any such claim.

Look at the scoreboards on typing sites like Typeracer and Monkeytype. There, 150 is decent, but nowhere near the top, with plenty of people averaging 200+, and a select few even manage to break 300wpm. Those near the top definitely do not use the standard fingering pattern.

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