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Discussion on: Programmers that can't type shall be shunned and treated with disdain.

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mortoray profile image
edA‑qa mort‑ora‑y

I suspect it's because you type fast enough that you don't realize how important the skill is. Consider all these things that you use typing for:

  • writing email
  • entering ticket information
  • writing documentation
  • chatting in slack
  • writing comments
  • asking questions online / searching
  • shell commands / app navigation
  • refactoring code
  • new code

If you're a slow typer you'll find your entire day slowed down. It's not about how fast you can write code, but about how fast you can type anything.

During coding I also find that slower typers are generally worse programmers as well. I don't know if this is causation, or merely correlation. I'd guess it's not just coincidental though. Your mind moves quickly. If your hands lag behind you'll have less ability to experiment, and you'll forget ideas that were forming.

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isaacdlyman profile image
Isaac Lyman

These are good points that I hadn't considered. Thanks for sharing.