Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

No, this is not a thread about marriage, It`s about typing. I`ve generally been very sparing with the number of words I send out to SuN simply because it`s just so much work getting it out there into space.
I type mostly with the right finger to key match, but i seem to be a little ( a lot) undecided about the ring fingers like  keys S X W, using any finger thats around, and of course I look down a lot. I can go for a few sentences, then i get dizzy and start looking up at the screen and start correcting the mistakes.

Over the years I`ve tried several typing programs. It goes great for a week or two, and then i get to that 3rd finger and I cramp up and get discouraged.  My next plan was to watch people typing to see if I could glean some sort of technique from them.  I could not believe what i learned. It`s total chaos out there.  I did see one person typing, turn their head and talk to me about something else and never skip a beat.  This turned out to be a visitor from an alien world.  
Eventually I noticed that the `10 finger people` could move their ring finger. Or am I just deluding myself?

This is  the test.
Shape your hand as if you`re about to throw a softball. Place all your finger tips on the table.  Can you lift your ring finger without lifting  any of the other fingers?  All finger tips need to maintain contact except the ring finger.
Obviously, I can`t do this.
I`m really interested in who can, and who can`t and what type of a typist are you?

I think I might be a visitor from an alien world, because I can move my ring finger when I do your test.  But I`m also the kind of person who can type really fast with all 10 fingers, without ever looking at the keyboard.  I`m pretty handy with a number keypad too, without ever having to look down.  I learned typing on a good old-fashioned typewriter in high school.  I picked up the number keypad skills from balancing the day`s receipts everyday at my high school job at a hardware store. :)

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Jessica Schlick StartupNation

I have to admit...my typing style sounds very similar to yours...although a lot of the time I don`t need to look down...I do find that my hands will wander enought to have to look down and realign. I will say this though...I type approximately 80 words a minute when I am copying text from a page to the computer....and about 110-120 when I am typing what is in my head. I found a long time ago if I relaxed and allowed my fingers to go where they needed to when they needed to I ended up typing faster and cleaner than when I trie dto THINK about where I was going. Eventually my brain gets confused and that is when I have to look down for a second...but ultimately I can go for a while and really not have any idea where my fingers are going except to look at the screen.

My typing teacher in high school HATED me...would come by and smack the back on my hand with a ruler because I NEVER held my position correctly and was always just typing....mind you I typed faster than anyone in my class this way...but it wasn`t "correct". My feeling has changed on typing....I say...if you can type...and you can increase your speed by practicing and typing more often...then really...does the POSITION matter?

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Leah Tucker

I`m terrible with "proper typing" (you know, that stuff they teach you in typing class in high school.) But through the years of instant messaging with friends, I`ve apparently learned my own style of typing, and now am much faster than I ever was when I was practicing typing in school.

I used to hunt-and-peck, but I guess I just evolved into my own typing style. I do still have to look at the keyboard sometimes. But it`s plenty quick enough to get my messages out on the `net.

I`ve never tested myself to see how many words per minute I can type. Perhaps I should try that sometime.


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The test you`re discussing is a bit more detailed. Place your hand, palm flat on a table. Curl your middle finger under the palm until the second joint is also flat on the table. It`s then impossible to lift the ring finger. The reason relates to the way the bones of the hand are joined between those two fingers.

The best typing instructor I`ve seen, being a life-long touch typist, is Mavis Bacon Teaches Typing. You can find it all over, and on eBay probably get it even cheaper than it is retail. It`s excellent if you really do want to learn how to type without looking at your fingers.

Like any physical habit, your goal is to train your body by examining the situation with your mind. Repeat the training, then (most importantly) let go! Hand off the habit to the body, and STOP interfering with the mind. It`s only when the mind tries to continue to supervise that the habit fails.

The body and fingers can move way faster than your mind can process everything that goes into typing (or any other physical activity). So, as with Tai Chi, move verrrrry slowly through the robotic task you want to train into your body. Then gradually speed it up until you can do it with your eyes closed. Then stop thinking about it, and let the body practice getting faster on its own.

Thanks for the post Craig, but that`s not the test I`m thinking about. I just sort of made this up and have asked people I meet in the physical work if they can do this or not. Some can, some can`t. I`m wondering if certain hands are `made` for typing, and others not. Like certain players are going to be wide receivers and others just are not going to get there  no matter what.

I tried Mavis Beacon years ago. They (instructors) just never seem to give any good advice once you start cramping up. The issue is never addressed.
I understand your comparison to Tai Chi, but I think the moves in Tai Chi are achievable. What if you can`t even do them slowly?

Thanks everyone for your typing stories. I may join some of you and just sort of invent my own style ... Don`t know yet.  Christina & Solidgrnd ... let me know if you can do the test.

Tried the test, and I can lift the ring finger just a bit. Not drastically, but a tiny bit.

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I`m not *that* fast at typing, but I can move the ring finger.

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Daniel the Denim Doctor

Bottom line, if you have a physical problem with moving a finger or two, so what? Use "Dragon Naturally Speaking" and forget about typing completely. :-)

I can move it, but maybe only a hair off the table. Any higher requires lifting my middle finger too.

And I type about 70-80 wpm. Lifting my ring finger is honestly not even part of the equation. It either bends or sticks out ... lifting doesn`t happen. (I do lift my middle finger and pointer on that side though, when I type.)

This is for the right side. The left ... man that one doesn`t lift at all.

FWIW - I agree with some of the others on here. I learned to type VERY young, as in I could type on a keyboard before I had even learned to write all my letters. So I type very fast, without looking, and without my hands in the proper places. It`s just a more natural extension of my body to the keyboard, the way I have been typing for 25 years.