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   Mark Sample (samplereality@post.lurk.org)'s status on Monday, 08-Apr-2024 22:27:17 JST Mark Sample

   Twice in the past week I've read scholars who should know better repeat the urban legend that the QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow down typing, and thus, jamming, on early typewriters.

   That'd be cool if it were true, but it's not, and the the truth is even cooler. The QWERTY keyboard evolved over time, shaped by two forces: (1) since the early machines were used by telegraph operators, the keys were arranged to avoid common transcription errors; and (2) competing patents of the typewriter slightly arranged the keyboard layout in order to qualify as new (and therefore patentable) designs.

   Check out this research for more: https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/139379/1/42_161.pdf

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     Matt Campbell (matt@toot.cafe)'s status on Tuesday, 09-Apr-2024 03:22:25 JST Matt Campbell

     in reply to

     @samplereality I guess the urban legend is popular among people who struggled to learn to type. Steven Levy, one of many who propagated the legend, wrote in his book _Insanely Great_: "My own high-school instruction in typing was nightmarish. So fumble-fingered was I that after my mistakes were deducted from my word totals, my scores on the speed drills were usually gauged in negative numbers." FWIW, I can't relate; typing came naturally to me. But I started much earlier.

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     Elias Mårtenson (loke@functional.cafe)'s status on Friday, 26-Jul-2024 16:34:04 JST Elias Mårtenson

     in reply to

     @samplereality But I refuse to believe that it's a coincidence that the letters for the word TYPEWRITER are all on the top row.

     The legend says it was made that way to make demos of the technology more impressive, sice they could write that word very quickly.

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