The Aspiring Crackpot

This is probably going to turn out to be the shortest blog post ever. I’m doing little better than hunting and pecking, you see. I have decided to take on yet another challenge - learning the Dvorak keyboard layout! If you have never heard of it, don’t worry, you’re not alone. For an amazingly well developed explanation, check out dvzine.org.

Basically, the original QWERTY layout (just look at your keyboard, you’ll see why it’s called that) was actually developed to be as inefficient as possible. See, to avoid jams, the typewriter was designed to literally slow down its user. In today’s world (ever since the 1930s in fact), keyboards don’t jam (at least, mine doesn’t). With everyone typing as inefficiently as possible, fatigue became a problem. In 1936 a professor of ergonomics named Dvorak developed and patented a keyboard designed specifically for comfort and efficiency.

Sadly, because so many had already learned QWERTY, Dvorak was never accepted by the typewriter companies, and fell into obscurity. Despite the world land-speed typing record (212 wpm!!) being set with none other than Dvorak, most people have never heard of it. Unfortunate, since by reducing hand movement, it greatly lessens the risk of repetitive motion injury (which I need to be very careful with!)

So, in an effort to keep myself challenged and out of physical therapy for carpal tunnel, I’ve switched my keyboard to Dvorak, and am struggling through the adaptation period. I am already twice as fast as yesterday!

Anyone interested in taking up the challenge with me?

I like to listen to audiobooks, especially those regarding personal development, or that are about new skills and new ways to see the world. Unfortunately, I find that if I listen to them while working, the drawl of the speaker not only distracts me, but often makes me feel sleepy at the desk.

I learned this trick a year or two ago listening to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Basically, you use Media Player to increase the play speed to 2x or beyond, so that the information is presented to you more rapidly. You’d be amazed at how fast your brain can process audio information. I find that with concentration, I can listen effectively to 2.2 or higher, but really, 2x is enough. It’s like speed-reading with your ears. What’s really funny is to later return to 1x, and notice how the speaker sounds like he’s talking in slow motion.

This is an excellent time saver, and the speed seems to keep my mind a little sharper while I do my job. I use it primarily when doing right-brain tasks, like painting or designing, though I find it a little distracting when I’m writing, so I’ll usually pause the program for tasks that require a lot of direct conscious involvement.

Give it a go, it might get you to that gem of wisdom you’ve been waiting for in half the time.