View Poll Results: How fast can you type?

Voters
36. You may not vote on this poll
  • below 15wpm

    1 2.78%
  • 15-35wpm

    2 5.56%
  • 35-55wpm

    12 33.33%
  • above 55wpm!

    21 58.33%

Thread: Speed in Touch Typing

  1. #46
    Ex scientia vera
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    477
    Haha, maybe I'm just a bigot, but I thought that going for the 2-finger hunt-and-peck style to touch typing was just a natural evolution.
    I recently switched to the 10-finger-system from some custom, maybe 6 finger system, as sitting a whole weekend switching between gaming and programming eventually made my left hand hurt like hell.

    I typed 80 wpm before switch, and I'm almost at that speed again now. There's maybe a month since I switched.
    "What's up, Doc?"
    "'Up' is a relative concept. It has no intrinsic value."

  2. #47
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    a whole weekend switching between gaming and programming eventually made my left hand hurt like hell.
    Which brings up an interesting phenomenon in my typing style - straight typing I can do for hours without any pain, but actual computer usage really strains my wrists because all my keyboard shortcuts are on the left-hand. I didn't plan that - they're just they shortcuts that made sense to me and seemed easy to reach - but now my left wrist strains anytime I use a GUI.

  3. #48
    Ex scientia vera
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    477
    Quote Originally Posted by sean View Post
    Which brings up an interesting phenomenon in my typing style - straight typing I can do for hours without any pain, but actual computer usage really strains my wrists because all my keyboard shortcuts are on the left-hand. I didn't plan that - they're just they shortcuts that made sense to me and seemed easy to reach - but now my left wrist strains anytime I use a GUI.
    Haha. Well, I made my left hand travel way too far in comparison to the right hand, so I was repeatedly stretching its fingers all over the keyboard. My wrist didn't hurt, per se, but the hand itself.
    After switching to 10 fingers, I feel how much easier it is to type. I mean, there's minimal movement to all the letters, and it's so much easier. I still feel it's harder to get up to speed on, however, if you wake up tired and start using the computer immediately. Still getting used to it, I guess.
    "What's up, Doc?"
    "'Up' is a relative concept. It has no intrinsic value."

  4. #49
    pronounced 'fib' FillYourBrain's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Posts
    2,297
    typingtest.com can tell you typing speed pretty quick... easy to take test on there.
    "You are stupid! You are stupid! Oh, and don't forget, you are STUPID!" - Dexter

  5. #50
    Resu Deretsiger Nightowl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    /dev/null
    Posts
    186
    I've got a thought. Perhaps music players (piano, violin, flute, etc.) have more accuracy, due to their constant practice on instruments? Let's have a show of hands of musicians . . .
    Do as I say, not as I do . . .

    Experimentation is the essence of programming. Just remember to make a backup first.

    "I'm a firm believer that <SomeGod> gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason - we are supposed to listen, twice as much as we talk." - LEAF

    Questions posted by these guidelines are more likely to be answered.

    Debian GNU/Linux user, with the awesome window manager, the git version control system, and the cmake buildsystem generator.

  6. #51
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    3,229
    Piano + saxophone + clarinet here. I don't think that's the reason, though. I was already typing pretty fast before I started playing.

  7. #52
    Resu Deretsiger Nightowl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    /dev/null
    Posts
    186
    Well, it has to help . . . especially instruments like the violin, where you have to place your fingers in the correct place, really quickly. That must help your finger memory.
    Do as I say, not as I do . . .

    Experimentation is the essence of programming. Just remember to make a backup first.

    "I'm a firm believer that <SomeGod> gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason - we are supposed to listen, twice as much as we talk." - LEAF

    Questions posted by these guidelines are more likely to be answered.

    Debian GNU/Linux user, with the awesome window manager, the git version control system, and the cmake buildsystem generator.

  8. #53
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    3,229
    That's the case for just about every instrument.

    I don't think it helped for me with the speed, though. Sure made my typing more rhythmic however (no kidding).

  9. #54
    Resu Deretsiger Nightowl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    /dev/null
    Posts
    186
    What I meant is, with the violin, your finger must be in the *exact* right place, otherwise the sound is high or low. With the piano, you've got some margin of error.
    Do as I say, not as I do . . .

    Experimentation is the essence of programming. Just remember to make a backup first.

    "I'm a firm believer that <SomeGod> gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason - we are supposed to listen, twice as much as we talk." - LEAF

    Questions posted by these guidelines are more likely to be answered.

    Debian GNU/Linux user, with the awesome window manager, the git version control system, and the cmake buildsystem generator.

  10. #55
    Lurking whiteflags's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    9,613
    I think it's the case that anything which improves dexterity will improve accuracy in anything else over time.

  11. #56
    Resu Deretsiger Nightowl's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    /dev/null
    Posts
    186
    True enough . . .

    I did a few speed tests, and my speed and accuracy vary depending on the age of the text (no joke). Ransome's Swallows and Amazons is 75 WPM, but an except from Paolini's Eragon is closer to 80 WPM. (Based on a trial of three different sections from each book)
    Do as I say, not as I do . . .

    Experimentation is the essence of programming. Just remember to make a backup first.

    "I'm a firm believer that <SomeGod> gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason - we are supposed to listen, twice as much as we talk." - LEAF

    Questions posted by these guidelines are more likely to be answered.

    Debian GNU/Linux user, with the awesome window manager, the git version control system, and the cmake buildsystem generator.

  12. #57
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    9,607
    Last time I was timed I got around 95 to 105 WPM. I refused to use the homerow idealogy much to the chagrin of my teacher in high school. I made a claim that I could type as fast or faster than her with equivalent accuracy using my method of typing. We did the contest and I won hands down. She told me after that to continue using my technique because she really did not think what she was teaching could improve my speed and would probably reduce it.

    I learned to type by playing adventure games like Kings Quest 1. I had to learn to type really fast in order to type commands before some ogre would kill me. Honestly that is how I learned to type and it has served me well. I do not use my thumbs at all and I don't stay on home row. Shift + any character is probably my slowest typing motion. But at this point I've completely memorized my keyboard so I know where everything is spacially and relative to other keys.

  13. #58
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    3,229
    I started with all standard (hands on home row, all keys with the right fingers), and got to ~80 WPM. After a few years of typing like that, i started making my typing more "flexible" (borrowing fingers when one finger is overloaded, not staying on the home row, etc), and got to ~95-100.

    Another thing I noticed is that with much practice (I had some formal training in typing when I was in elementary school), my fingers will move simultaneously to different characters in a word (before the first finger actually hits the key). It's like multi-threading.

  14. #59
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Posts
    8,895
    Quote Originally Posted by cyberfish View Post
    Another thing I noticed is that with much practice (I had some formal training in typing when I was in elementary school), my fingers will move simultaneously to different characters in a word (before the first finger actually hits the key). It's like multi-threading.
    No, that's just superscalar computing
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  15. #60
    Guest Sebastiani's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Waterloo, Texas
    Posts
    5,708
    >> No, that's just superscalar computing

    And all this time I've been calling it dyslexia. Silly me.
    Last edited by Sebastiani; 11-30-2008 at 05:36 PM. Reason: amendments
    Code:
    #include <cmath>
    #include <complex>
    bool euler_flip(bool value)
    {
        return std::pow
        (
            std::complex<float>(std::exp(1.0)), 
            std::complex<float>(0, 1) 
            * std::complex<float>(std::atan(1.0)
            *(1 << (value + 2)))
        ).real() < 0;
    }

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. I am very new . . . :(
    By Eternalglory47 in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 09-05-2008, 11:29 AM
  2. Flight Simulator Wind Speed!!
    By Dilmerv in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 03-20-2006, 12:40 AM
  3. Replies: 6
    Last Post: 01-08-2006, 02:49 PM
  4. What is your typing speed?!?!?!?!
    By KneeGrow in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 31
    Last Post: 01-22-2004, 04:02 AM
  5. Typing speed
    By -KEN- in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 06-23-2003, 02:34 AM