How do i learn to type without looking at keys?

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MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
9,365
8,705
136
Haven't the notches on F and J been standard since...at least the 80s on every keyboard?
I'm sure it goes back much further than that, probably the late 1800's or early in the 1900's. At home we had a 50's era typewriter, with bumps on home keys.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,543
6,368
126
Yeah home keys have had something on them you can feel since I was typing back on type writers back in the early 90's.

Some of them used to have the bumps on D and K though and not always where your index finger goes.
 

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,598
774
136
I have to admit that I am surprised by all the positive responses concerning touch typing.

Yes, I did take a touch typing course back in high school. I remember being told that the key to speed was to avoid thinking about what you were typing, which I couldn't ever manage to do. In any event, I do not see much point in acquiring a typing speed that is faster than my thinking speed. I can safely say that the latter has always been my bottleneck. The 30-ish words per minute I can achieve using a streamlined "hunt and peck" is plenty fast for me.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,695
31,043
146
I'm sure it goes back much further than that, probably the late 1800's or early in the 1900's. At home we had a 50's era typewriter, with bumps on home keys.

I actually checked my c. 1940s Woodstock typewriter earlier today and it doesn't have them.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
65,904
14,305
146
I took touch typing in high school in the 60's. The keys on the IBM electric typewriters had "bumps" on them back then. Typing teacher carried one of the wooden pointers...and would whack you with it if he caught you looking at the keys.

Formthe OP, buy a blank keyboard...or get these:

and yes...period-space-space. That was "beat" into us back then and has been difficult to "unlearn."
 
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purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,543
6,368
126
I have to admit that I am surprised by all the positive responses concerning touch typing.

Yes, I did take a touch typing course back in high school. I remember being told that the key to speed was to avoid thinking about what you were typing, which I couldn't ever manage to do. In any event, I do not see much point in acquiring a typing speed that is faster than my thinking speed. I can safely say that the latter has always been my bottleneck. The 30-ish words per minute I can achieve using a streamlined "hunt and peck" is plenty fast for me.
You can only think of 30 words per minute? So it takes you 2 seconds on average to think about what word you are about to say?

Yeah I don't buy that.
 

TheOnlySuperdog

Junior Member
Oct 20, 2006
11
6
71
Definitely find a typing-based game or something that challenges you...something you'll want to do each day for a while. I was in high school/college in the 80s and early 90s. Learned touch typing in high school and did okay. But I became really proficient due to the PC games being primarily text-based at the time.

For anyone that remembers MUDs, I spent way, way, way too many hours on those.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,234
5,302
146
It's one of those things you just need to practice. I took Keyboarding I and II in high school and dominated - A+ and always the first done. 20+ years later and my typing hasn't slowed down a bit. Chicks dig it.
 

MtnMan

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2004
9,365
8,705
136
and yes...period-space-space. That was "beat" into us back then and has been difficult to "unlearn."
In a world where younger don't have a clue about, or use capitalization, or punctuation I don't/won't bother to try and comply with the current whims. Never mind that there/their/they're, or your/you're absolutely stumps them.

 

pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
14,933
9,834
136
But, seriously, if you pay enough PC games with a keyboard, your brain will learn the layout quickly enough that you'll no longer need to think about it.


As long as you are only typing things like "We saw Aswad".
 

PowerEngineer

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2001
3,598
774
136
You can only think of 30 words per minute? So it takes you 2 seconds on average to think about what word you are about to say?

Yeah I don't buy that.

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that I can only come up with thirty word that are carefully chosen enough to warrant typing down for someone else to read. Of course, I am a stereotypical engineer and composition is not my forte. That said, I'm also guessing that typing speed is not the limiting factor for high level computer programmers either.

Well...he IS kinda slow... :p

Perhaps. I like to think of it as being careful and thoughtful.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
As long as you are only typing things like "We saw Aswad".

I was thinking of things more like Civilization that had a lot of different keyboard commands. But, hell, even FPS games like Quake made you a better touch typist because you had to learn how to talk smack in team chat without taking your eyes off the screen :)
 
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pmv

Lifer
May 30, 2008
14,933
9,834
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Not if it's this game...


Jump to 14 minutes for a better taste. :)

I remember thinking that game sounded like a fun idea back in its day. A lot more engaging than 'Mavis Beacon, typing tutor'.
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,225
136
The most useful class I took in high school was typing. It was a long time ago... on a manual Royal typewriter with blank keytops. I got up to 60 WPM on that thing.

Then spending a career in the computer industry (pre-PC) it proved invaluable. Still freaks my grandsons out when they see me typing without looking at the keyboard.

My mother put me into a typing class first chance she got...it was 8th grade for me. Hated her for it and hated the class...only boy in a classroom full of girls. We had Olivettas but set up the same...blank keys. I managed 50wpm then, with venom in every letter typed.

I still thank her today for her wisdom. Was and still is an invaluable skill.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
I remember thinking that game sounded like a fun idea back in its day. A lot more engaging than 'Mavis Beacon, typing tutor'.
I got it on PC and played it there back in the day but also got several copies on Dreamcast when they went on clearance. A flea market game vendor friend of mine asked me for a copy recently so we finally broke the seal on one of them. He was using a PS/2 keyboard adapter but I finally got this several months ago:
4431c74241c995db33bd5c75b9a0a2a0.jpg


Finally played on Dreamcast-proper only days before this thread. :) Until then I didn't realize my Japanese keyboard is clear:
bb2705ebd6ff47483e313e8cf7158879.jpg


The better the lighting the harder it is to read! Also, the key caps are crowded with distracting foreign characters so the letters I recognize are sorta camouflaged. I was essentially typing blind except that I could hunt for the odd special key, like Pause/Break, when needed... and even that took 10x longer than it should so I had to memorize the location after the first time.

Fastest way to git gud. ;)
 
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