Is learning the Dvorak keyboard layout worth the trouble? [closed]

Question

The Dvorak keyboard layout claims to be far more efficient than the standard QWERTY layout.

I'm already quite fast with QWERTY (around 100 wpm), and I wonder whether learning Dvorak would be a good move.

Is it easy to switch between keyboard layouts (I mean for a human being point of view, I know switching the layout on the computer is easy :) ) ?

Answer 1

I believe it worth it for the ease of typing. Qwerty feels like a lot of work while typing fast, Dvorak seems less jarring.

After I first learned Dvorak, it was hard to switch between it and Qwerty. It was almost like I had replace Qwerty with Dvorak. After I had spend about a year or so switching back and forth between the two, all I had to do to put my brain back into Qwerty mode was to glance down at the keyboard layout to remind myself.

Now that I've been using Dvorak for 8+ years, just being at someone else's computer instead of my own is enough for my brain to switch back to a Qwerty context. In fact, if I've switched someone else's computer over to Dvorak, my brain will often stay in Qwerty context and I will forget or feel weird typing in Dvorak for a few minutes.

It's analogous I think to bilingual speakers. It may take a few seconds to sort out which language you need to use to communicate to the person in front of you, but after that you lock in and can continue without a problem.

Answer 2

If you're typing 100 wpm comfortably, I'd see no reason to switch layouts.

Answer 3

I used Dvorak for several months a couple years ago. I was surprised at how quickly I got up to speed on Dvorak, and it was much more pleasant to type. If you spend most of your time typing text, I'd definitely recommend it.

However, I ended up quitting Dvorak for a couple of reasons. I spend most of my time programming and working in the terminal. You have to relearn or remap all of the key shortcuts, which means that they are either no longer in convenient places, or no longer correspond to some mnemonic key. ls is easy to type on QWERTY, but less pleasant on Dvorak, and so on.

So if you spend most of your time typing text and using the mouse for commands, Dvorak might be great. But if you're like me and have emacs or vim burned into your muscle memory, you may lose more time to relearning/remapping shortcuts than you gain by the better layout.

Answer 4

I also wonder if it's worth it to have a different layout than practically everyone else, I find that it's not.

Answer 5

I use Dvorak pretty much exclusively. I find it's really good and feels easier to type with (now that I've got used to it).

Of course, the human mind likes to justify decisions it has made in the past even if they weren't the right ones...

One extra point: while I find switching from Dvorak to QWERTY and back pretty easy now, sometimes you'll be surprised when certain programs (often games) don't notice that you have a Dvorak keyboard installed, and pretend you're still using QWERTY. It's all fine once you notice, but it can take a second or two and, if it is a game, then you might find that you've just died because you didn't manage to pause or something.

Answer 6

I switched to dvorak 4 years ago b/c I thought I had a bad case of carpal tunnel (turned out to be a pinched nerve in my neck causing pains in my wrist) and I looked at things I could do to alleviate the symptoms of RSI. I found that Dvorak uses 3X less hand and 16X less finger movement so I switched. It was difficult to switch (took about 3 solid weeks of much practice - was in a useless govt. job where I could goof off or do whatever I wanted - before I could even be useful on a keyboard and about 8 weeks before I was proficient). A few common key tasks are not as natural (cut, copy, paste), but I'm still glad I switched. As a programmer, I don't find any common commands (like 'ls' mentioned above - I'm a windows programmer) any more difficult. I've never tried to master both Qwerty and Dvorak; I either hunt and peck on friend/family/kiosk computers or go into windows settings and enable the "language bar" in settings. I think I type slightly faster, but I'm still in it for the RSI benefits.

I'm betting any person who has an interest in switching will not be disappointed.

Answer 7

It took me about 3 weeks to get to a decent typing speed (25wpm, from ~50 in QWERTY) and about 3 more weeks to get above 50. I now type around 70+. I am on my computer over 12 hours per day, so I am starting to get arthritis or something in my hands and wrists, and since I switched 3 months ago, I haven't regretted it one bit.

I also work on other people's computers for extra money, and I have taught myself to switch between them relatively easily. I still press 'e' sometimes instead of '.' while using Qwerty though. My qwerty speed has gone down, but I can still type with a bit of looking every now and then.

I like the fact that it makes it so next-to-no one can use your computer, it keeps unauthorized personel off my computer.

Answer 8

If you ever do any pair programming, your "pair" isn't going to be amused...

Answer 9

2 weeks of "trouble" for 13 years (and counting) of quick, comfortable, accurate typing - so yes, for me, worth it. The main advantage of Dvorak is it's less effort rather than faster. (Although it's faster too. :))