problems typing?

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Does anyone else have trouble typing? I have been programming professionally for about five years now and I still have to look at the keys as I type. I mean, I can still type fairly fast this way, but it can be embarrassing in front of other developers. I'm just wondering if this is an "Aspie" trait or just me. I assume that most programmers picked up typing naturally, but maybe a typing class would help.

I allways look at the keys when I am typing. I actually only look up to see what I have typed at the end of each sentence or when I think I've made a spelling error.

Only when it's cold out or my arms are aching from workout, is it hard to typ.e

I have found that if you learn the keyboard like a videogame control: its a lot easier to learn how to type without looking.

I type without looking, of course, being a lit major, and a writer, it helps.

I used to until about ninth grade when they forced us to type non-stop in Computer Applications class. Now it's second nature not to look at the keyboard as I'm typing. But trust me, this took TONS of practice. It was torture to learn. I'm just glad I'm over with it! lol

Most of the time I look at my fingers when I type, but over the years I've slowly gotten out of that bad habit. The one thing that really annoys me is that when I need to touch-type the most-- when it's dark in the room-- I can't touch type for squat, but when it's not important (like right now) I can touch type a storm.

When I was in high school, I drove my typing teacher insane. (This was the last year of typing... from then on it was keyboarding.) I'd learned on a typewriter, but had spent a lot of time on a computer and word processor, so I was really effecient, but I looked at my fingers. She moved me to the typewriter that had no letters on the keys, and I still looked at my fingers. She finally gave up because I was typing faster "the wrong way" than most of the other students were typing "the right way."

I program for a living, and STILL kind of touch type. On that last statement, I made no mistakes, and almost instinctively hit the keys. If I REALLY get into it, I can type without looking, like this sentence. I can't type NEARLY as fast as I would like, but that is because I usually switch sides a bit, and use 4-6 fingers. I COULD have tried to type with all fingers, and maybe type 100 or so WPS. So I doubt AS hurts this much if at all.

EVERYONE struggles with it.

Steve

I struggled learning how to type, but once I found a way that worked for me (I type mostly with my left hand and only use my right hand for about a third of the letters...), I can almost touch type and do so fairly quickly or at a decent rate. This only came after a lot of practice, however... it was about four years ago when I started writing and needing to type my stories up on the computer and I got pretty good at typing because of that. Except for checking this entry to make sure of spelling/grammar and punctioation, I typed with this with my eyes closed... and I only had to edit a few parts where my fingers were moving slower than my brain was...

I look at my fingers.I have a general idea of where the letters are but if I move a little my fingers are no longer lined up.I have difficulty staying centered on the keyboard,so I look a bit but the typing it self is pretty fast.

I don't look at the keys but I only type about 40 wpm and make a lot of mistakes.

I can type fast without many mistakes, but if someone asks me where a key is I may have trouble finding it. I think typing is related to "muscle memory":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory

I don't think much thought is involved. If I think too much it falls apart and I'll have to look. Try thinking about how to hold your fork or spoon when eating(or switch hands). How often do you remember to swallow? lol, silly things, but if you think about it, you might find your self swallowing a bunch while holding your spoon funny.

I guess I believe when we type we aren't thinking about the letters we are touching. Just like when we speak, we aren't considering picking every word we use(even if you think you do, what about article adjectives or pronouns??).

I can type rapidly with ease, with peaks of 100 wpm, and 70-80 sustained. However, I'm a bit clumsy and miskey often, dropping my adjusted wpm to 55-70 sustained depending on the words involved.

I know I've miskeyed even before I see the wrong letter appear on the screen, but I can't help it =\


The sad thing is, I nearly failed typing courses back in school. The testing system was rigged against me, in a sense. The letters and words would lock in immediately, making typo corrections impossible, significantly dropping my typing accuracy and distressing me. I absolutely hated seeing a red mispelled word among black ones. (Which is how the program worked.)

Working with more flexible typing tests, my scores improved drastically. It just goes to show you how important method of testing can be.


While typing, I don't think about it at all. Whether writing from my mind, dictation, or copying a document verbatim, it translates directly to action. Typing feels a lot like playing an instrument to me, in a sense. Just with letters instead of notes.

I can barely type well; somehow, I can type fast but I can't rest my hands on the home keys or not look up to the screen when I type. I have to repeatedly glance at the screen while I type; also, I can type with both hands but only because of a typing CD my mom bought me.