[TUHS] Re: Early Unix and Keyboard Skills

[Larry McVoy <lm@mcvoy.com>]

Self taught touch typer here.  I frequently compare typing to running
my excavator.  If I don't think about what I'm doing, everything works,
I can type in the dark (doing that right now) but as soon as I start
thinking about where the keys are (or what the joysticks on the excavator
do) it all goes to shit.

And getting back to writing, I personally feel like if you write the 
man page first, it settles my messy brain into a good space, the code
comes easier after writing docs.  I view writing docs as sort of the
first pass of thinking about how to write the code.  Doesn't always
work but it is pleasant when it does.

On Wed, Nov 02, 2022 at 09:07:31AM -0400, Larry Stewart wrote:
> In 1969 at the end of 9 th grade I got a foot injury that kept me on crutches for the summer so I took summer school typing. very worthwhile. I think 90% of the class were young women. My parents encouraged it mostly because it would make  writing term papers much easier, which it did, but of course it had many computing benefits as well.
> the ancient typewriters had really heavy keys with long strokes. Much like teletypes.
> 
> > On Nov 2, 2022, at 8:27 AM, John P. Linderman <jpl.jpl@gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > ???
> > When I was in high school (in the early sixties) I tried to sign up for typing, which was taught on manual typewriters. I was told that the class was for girls only, and I was turned away. I never did develop good typing skills. I'm pretty much a two-fingered typist. Ironically, I have probably done more typing than 90% of the female classmates who were allowed to take the class.
> > 
> > Precision figured mightily in those days, which may also have pre-dated white-out. Eliminating an error was a big deal. Now it's dead easy, and auto-correct has already fixed several errors in this message. 
> > 
> >> On Wed, Nov 2, 2022 at 8:14 AM Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen@sdaoden.eu> wrote:
> >> steve jenkin wrote in
> >>  <E212D205-B786-4441-A95B-B5F5546B5C6C@canb.auug.org.au>:
> >>  ...
> >>  |I???ve never heard anyone mention keyboard skills with the people of \
> >>  |the CSRC - doesn???t anyone know?
> >> 
> >> What i personally find more fascinating (given that -- in the
> >> right condition -- i type pretty fast even in total darkness but
> >> darkest possible monitor brightness) is the multitaskability some
> >> show, in respect to combination of mouse and keyboard (or even
> >> dual-mouse if i remember a message of Rob Pike right).  I once
> >> watched a video on the google tube of Russ Cox dancing acme doing
> >> go testing, could be it is [1].  When he starts to actually work
> >> a bit (late on iirc), that is thrilling, i could never select /
> >> paste (kill snarf yank what do i know) that fast.
> >> 
> >>   [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP1xVpMPn8M
> >> 
> >> --steffen
> >> |
> >> |Der Kragenbaer,                The moon bear,
> >> |der holt sich munter           he cheerfully and one by one
> >> |einen nach dem anderen runter  wa.ks himself off
> >> |(By Robert Gernhardt)

-- 
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Larry McVoy           Retired to fishing          http://www.mcvoy.com/lm/boat