Try typing the acronym QWERTY, go on, try it. See how fast and easy that was! In fact it’s not really an acronym but simply the top left letters on your standard keyboard. But other than allowing you to type QWERTY quickly, it doesn’t really hold any comparative advantage with any other layout. In fact, a popular myth claims that it was only invented to slow typists down when using old typewriters (the letters were originally laid out in ABCDEF but were later mixed-up to help avoid the “typebars” from jamming together - while typing -- Ironically, MS Word doesn’t even recognize the word typebar).
So why are we still using the QWERTY keyboard layout in the 21st century if it was simply a temporary solution to a now obsolete problem?
In fact, a more rational and ergonomically sound layout called Dvorak was patented in the 1930s but never caught on. So let’s assume that people (along with the computer industry) are not willing to change their habits of using and producing the “standard” keyboard layout. I mean, who would? Nobody would advocate for this change after fighting for years and years with our brains to learn how to type 30 words per minute without looking down (even if we know deep down that the change would be beneficial to future generations).
So here’s a potential solution to the problem. First, we have to assume that learning to type with an ABCDEF keyboard would have been much easier and far more efficient than learning to type with a QWERTY layout (due in part to our familiarity from a young age with the standard ABC alphabet sequence). If we can believe this, it should be no leap of faith to believe that introducing the QWE alphabet into our primary school systems from an early age would actually increase the speed by which we can learn to type. Imagine if we never taught toddlers the standard ABC we grew up learning (think of the resistance from people when the metric system was introduced, now compare it with your resistance to this idea) and instead, taught them the song “Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U… etc., now I know my Q-W-E’s, next time won’t you sing with me!?”
In reality, they would never know the difference! We only “think” A-B-C is the only logical sequence because it is the only one we learned (with some variations stemming from the adaptation of the Greek alphabet in other languages). But the fact remains; if only Q-W-E had been introduced to you from an early age, and sung to the tune of A-B-C, you would never have known the difference and would now be able to type faster than your predecessors using your current computer keyboard!
Alas, setting up a two-group experimental design research project to test such a hypothesis would never meet today’s ethical committee standards (one group of children would have to be completely disconnected from normal society, only being exposed to the Q-W-E alphabet until they reach full typing maturity and finally compared with a control group on the basis of typing speed).
But what if we simply posted the Q-W-E alphabet on the walls of classrooms and computer labs in primary schools around select cities across the country, or taught some children the Q-W-E in kindergarten, and finally measured the average typing speed of these school children as they reached adulthood (controlling for different socio-economic factors, of course), the results might just be surprising.
Or better yet, try teaching an old dog a new trick. Close your eyes and try reciting the letter sequence on your keyboard. How far did you get? Isn’t amazing that we have engrained in our brain the now utterly useless A-B-C alphabet but are virtually incapable of remembering the most important letter sequence of the 21st century? Don’t fret, there is still time to learn, just keep practicing until you get it right.
Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U-I-O-P
A-S-D-F-G-H-J-K-L
Z-X-C-V-B-N-M
So the next time (if ever) you cross a pupil singing Q-W-E to the tune of A-B-C, don’t laugh at them, they are merely singing the only alphabet your grandchildren will ever know.
So why are we still using the QWERTY keyboard layout in the 21st century if it was simply a temporary solution to a now obsolete problem?
In fact, a more rational and ergonomically sound layout called Dvorak was patented in the 1930s but never caught on. So let’s assume that people (along with the computer industry) are not willing to change their habits of using and producing the “standard” keyboard layout. I mean, who would? Nobody would advocate for this change after fighting for years and years with our brains to learn how to type 30 words per minute without looking down (even if we know deep down that the change would be beneficial to future generations).
So here’s a potential solution to the problem. First, we have to assume that learning to type with an ABCDEF keyboard would have been much easier and far more efficient than learning to type with a QWERTY layout (due in part to our familiarity from a young age with the standard ABC alphabet sequence). If we can believe this, it should be no leap of faith to believe that introducing the QWE alphabet into our primary school systems from an early age would actually increase the speed by which we can learn to type. Imagine if we never taught toddlers the standard ABC we grew up learning (think of the resistance from people when the metric system was introduced, now compare it with your resistance to this idea) and instead, taught them the song “Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U… etc., now I know my Q-W-E’s, next time won’t you sing with me!?”
In reality, they would never know the difference! We only “think” A-B-C is the only logical sequence because it is the only one we learned (with some variations stemming from the adaptation of the Greek alphabet in other languages). But the fact remains; if only Q-W-E had been introduced to you from an early age, and sung to the tune of A-B-C, you would never have known the difference and would now be able to type faster than your predecessors using your current computer keyboard!
Alas, setting up a two-group experimental design research project to test such a hypothesis would never meet today’s ethical committee standards (one group of children would have to be completely disconnected from normal society, only being exposed to the Q-W-E alphabet until they reach full typing maturity and finally compared with a control group on the basis of typing speed).
But what if we simply posted the Q-W-E alphabet on the walls of classrooms and computer labs in primary schools around select cities across the country, or taught some children the Q-W-E in kindergarten, and finally measured the average typing speed of these school children as they reached adulthood (controlling for different socio-economic factors, of course), the results might just be surprising.
Or better yet, try teaching an old dog a new trick. Close your eyes and try reciting the letter sequence on your keyboard. How far did you get? Isn’t amazing that we have engrained in our brain the now utterly useless A-B-C alphabet but are virtually incapable of remembering the most important letter sequence of the 21st century? Don’t fret, there is still time to learn, just keep practicing until you get it right.
Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U-I-O-P
A-S-D-F-G-H-J-K-L
Z-X-C-V-B-N-M
So the next time (if ever) you cross a pupil singing Q-W-E to the tune of A-B-C, don’t laugh at them, they are merely singing the only alphabet your grandchildren will ever know.
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