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    Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    • Started by BigDave
    • 7 Replies:
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    • Registered: 27-Jul-2011
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    27-Jul-2011 03:03:11#1 Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    Hi.

    I've been a qwerty touch typist for over 30 years, with a qwerty speed of 90-100wpm depending in what sort of material I'm typing.

    I changed over to Colemak "cold turkey" on June 15th, after a week or so managed to get to a reliable 30wpm. The problem is now I seem to be stuck at around 35 wpm under colemak.

    I changed back to QWERTY this morning to see how badly my speed had gone, which was around 80wpm but my accuracy is shot.

    I didn't expect my speed to reach my QWERTY speed right away, but after a month to still be at 35wpm is pretty disheartening.

    Is there a point where one has simply been touch typing on QWERTY too long, or is simply too old, for the change to Colemak to be made with a return to similar levels of efficiency in a reasonable time-frame?

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    27-Jul-2011 07:00:10#2 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    All the points you mentioned are in your head. You cannot do things that you think you can't.

    Please try to use Colemak full time. Using both Qwerty and Colemak slows your Colemak progress, of course.

    And please focus on accuracy. Do not worry about the speed, it will increase in its own accord.

    Relax and enjoy the switching process. 35wpm is very good speed after a month.

    Full Qwerty speed are usually reached after 6 months of use.

    Last edited by Tony_VN (27-Jul-2011 07:14:51)

    My fastest typing records http://hi-games.net/profile/4314
    My switching experience https://forum.colemak.com/viewtopic.php?id=970

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    • From: Viken, Norway
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    02-Aug-2011 08:52:12#3 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    Luckily, I don't think there is such a point. Furthermore, the training of a new layout may help keep your brain young!  :)

    However, I too have used quite a while to become good with Colemak (and with Dvorak before that). I'm 44 years old and I think that at this age I can't learn a layout as fast as I could've done in my 20s. But so what, I'm not rushing it. Colemak is comfortable, quirky fun, efficient (eventually) and I'm very happy I stuck with it!

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    06-Nov-2011 21:25:30#4 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    I don't understand why people are learning to type so slowly. My fastest speed on Qwerty used to be around 90-100 wpm (no touch typing, by the way), and two months after switching cold turkey to Dvorak I was at 100-110 wpm. Right now I am using Colemak around 80 wpm even though I picked it up a month or two ago because in that time I also learned Arensito (reached 50 wpm in a week, 95 wpm max) and a couple other random layouts which I got to 40 wpm in. I play TypeRacer, and it helps enourmously (this is what it seems like, anyway, if everyone gains speed so slowly). There is no need to play insane amounts either. You just need challenge yourself. You won't get better by typing at a comfortable 40 wpm rate.

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    • From: Sofia, Bulgaria
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    06-Nov-2011 23:45:39#5 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    People are different, zolaric ;) Some get it faster than others.

    Hi-games profile: http://hi-games.net/profile/4663
    TypeRacer profile: http://data.typeracer.com/pit/profile?user=patcm

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    07-Nov-2011 09:29:15#6 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    It's a mix of several factors. One is how your brain is "wired": Some people have a very focused brain, others scan around more which helps situation awareness but not focus. And that's just one single factor among many.

    How fast you were on QWERTY will also determine how fast you'll be with other layouts, as there is much non-layout specific skill involved. Interesting that you were that fast without touch typing but it should nevertheless matter.

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    10-Nov-2011 19:26:35#7 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    @bigdave
    Touch typing is slow at the beginning - or rather it was for me.  A lot of the speed is built from just learning to type certain words over and over again.  You must have a huge Qwerty vocab stored in your brain and fingers - and I figure you have to relearn and recover those speeds under Colemak.

    It's taken me a good year and a half - to get to the 70wpm mark (dvorak without touch typing formally under Qwerty) - and my speed fluctuates throughout the day.  I was dreadfully slow when I first started out.  My hunt and peck was relatively fast (well, it felt that way - whether it was or not is anyone's guess.)

    With such a high WPM in Qwerty can I ask why you are moving over to Colemak?

    @zolaric, all I can say is your fingers and brain must be pretty darn fast.  Have you the same speed in long texts?

    I'd love to see your style - or other fast typists for that matter.  Can you video it?

    Last edited by pinkyache (10-Nov-2011 19:32:52)

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    10-Nov-2011 19:49:48#8 Re: Can't teach an old dog new tricks?

    Hm.. Indeed there aren't many videos like that. I'd also like to see one.

    Hi-games profile: http://hi-games.net/profile/4663
    TypeRacer profile: http://data.typeracer.com/pit/profile?user=patcm

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