[TUHS] 80 columns ...

[lm@mcvoy.com (Larry McVoy)]

On Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 01:02:55PM -0800, Jon Steinhart wrote:
> Larry McVoy writes:
> > So for the Nth time, there are people who read, I'm one of them,
> > by looking down the middle of the text and getting the rest through
> > peripheral vision.  I read easily 3-4x faster than a decently fast reader
> > and I get enough info that I can find the place where I need to go read
> > more closely later.
> > 
> > I can't imagine I'm the only person who does this, I'm special but not
> > that special :)  So for me, wider is optimizing me out, not optimizing
> > for me.
> 
> Well, as someone who also reads I don't really understand how your point
> relates to 80 columns.  

I read books and code by look at the middle of the page or the middle of
the terminal and scrolling my eyes downward.  I don't look side to side.
I literally read the middle of the text and I get the rest through
peripheral vision.

This is what Warner (I think) was saying about books.  If you make them
too wide you have to move your eyes back and forth and that is both
slower and more tiring.

80-100 columns is fine, 132 is too wide, that forces people to move
their head/eyes back and forth.