Is Typing a Necessary Skill?

cloudwilliam asks: "The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting article on how many schools have stopped teaching touch-typing as a necessary office skill and are now often saying that basic computer skills are more important. I'd agree with the latter, but what about typing? I learned to type on an IBM Selectric II (and still own one, as a matter of fact) in the mid-1980s, and the last time I was tested, touch-typed at around 60 wpm. Is this an obsolete skill? With handwriting and voice recognition technologies, is using a QWERTY keyboard with nine out of ten fingers something worth knowing anymore?"

Don't think so

[Giant Ape Skeleton]

I dont thiunk typiong is a necasary skil ath all!

Nah.

[Anonymous Coward]

Typing one-handed, though, there's a skill...

Touch Typing

[sport_160]

I thnik that it still inportant to be able to touch type quickli and acuraetly.

Tiping?

[fishybell]

Whye shood we lern tiping wen most of us cant even spel?

The short answer...

[Foofoobar]

No. I typed this with body parts that you don't want to know about.

Yes!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, it's important.

If I typed faster, I might have gotten first post! :(

Re:typing is absolutely necessary

[the grace of R'hllor]

It's a pity one of those keys isn't "shift" every once in a while.

Re:Typing IS a necessary computer skill

[Anonymous Coward]

And only typing 3 letter words.

Re:The short answer...

[RicoX9]

Somehow referring to your "body parts" as the "short answer" doesn't seem very flattering for you.

FIRST POST!

[underpar]

Darn.. typed too slow.

I took a one semester typing class in 6th grade.... I think the old BBSes at 2400 baud helped my typing the most.

Re:No

[lucabrasi999]

I don't think that voice and other technologies are going replace the KeyBwa anytime soon though

For some reason, I keep thinking of a scene in Star Trek IV [imdb.com] where Scotty is seated at a circa-1980's computer trying to get it to operate.

Scotty: "Computer!"

Man in room (handing him a mouse): "Maybe you use this."

Scotty (speaking into the mouse like it was a microphone): "COMPUTER!"

Man in Room: "Maybe you should just use the keyboard"

Scotty: "A keyboard? How quaint!"

M4v15 B34c0n T34ch35 1337 7yp1n6

[rogabean]

Enough Said.

(disclaimer: I have NO idea if that is right. Don't speak 1ee7)

Re:No

[Skater]

What always gets me about that scene is that he hasn't typed once in the last five years that we've seen but can still type faster than most people I know.

And they still use Qwerty - or at least that shop happened to be using the same layout Scotty was familiar with!

There are other problems with that scene, too, such as the fact that he was so familiar with the software running on that Mac that he didn't even need to see it, but that's a topic for another /. discussion. :)

--RJ

Re:No

[matth]

Should have added that I use about 7 fingers not 10 :)

Re:No

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a designer/developer/programmer

Read: Unemployed

How quaint!

[Sloppy]

The implication is that he hasn't used a keyboard in decades.

Picture little Scotty, 10 years old at school, whining, "But Mrs. Crabapple, when are we going to use a keyboard?"

"Quiet, Mr. Scott, and just do the assignment!"

Turns out she was right. If Scotty had skipped class that day, the earth might not have been saved.

Same goes for the day when Mrs. Crabapple taught the class how to use 300-year-old MacPaint as a chemical engineering program. You just never know when the little trivia you learn, may be useful.

Kirk probably couldn't have done that, because when he was in school, he hacked the computer to let him run a real chemical engineering program, instead of MacPaint.

"Stupid Mrs. Crabapple. I bet she never rotated the display of a Aluminum alloy structure in 3D, by using the airbrush tool. Well, I'll show her!"

You over-estimate

[kajoob]

how could you post to slashdot without knowing how to type?

Many people post to slashdot apparently without having the ability to read ;-)

wpm?

[Psymunn]

words per minute? you insensitive americans. i believe the SI measumerunt is l/s (letters per second).

Re:typing is absolutely necessary

[the grace of R'hllor]

As bash.org says in one of the best quotes:
Capitalization is the difference between "Helping your uncle Jack off a horse" and "helping your uncle jack off a horse".

--
Shameless Karmawhoring for Charity

Re:typing is absolutely necessary

[mesmartyoudumb]

Capital letters are the difference between;

I helped my uncle jack off a horse.

and

I helped my Uncle Jack off a horse

Re:It depends on what you mean...

[Rinikusu]

Well, when your sentences consist of

How r u? y? a/s/l?

maybe it's not such a stretch....

Re:No

[a1englishman]

the fact that he was so familiar with the software running on that Mac that he didn't even need to see it

That's because the Mac UI is so unbelievably perfect, that it hasn't changed in the period between a Mac SE and the NCC1701. Hadn't you noticed the portrait of Steve Jobs hanging in the back of the engine room, all these years?

Flame suit on!

Re:No

[Skater]

So, the Mac UI is a bunch of unlabeled switches and random blinking lights? ;)

--RJ

Re:Typing IS a necessary computer skill

[Rorschach1]

I was a fast enough typist that when some joker hit the 'bold' key on my typewriter and it had to double-strike everything, I'd have a whole line in the buffer by the end of a timed test. The teacher would call 'stop' and all the noise in the room would stop, except for one single typewriter - mine - going clickety-click, clickety-clik all by itself.

Then there was the blonde next to me who always used 'bold' because it sounded like she was typing faster...

Re:No

[acebone]

CTRL+L is cool too, of course you can accidently hit CTRL+K, bringing you to the search field. If that happens, I go down to the computerstore and buy what is commonly known as a 'mouse' (just say 'a mouse' - they won't laugh at you). I plug in the mouse, and after a reboot I forget what page I wanted to go to.

Special Typing Method: The Biblical Method ...

[auburnate]

For those challenged typing individuals, unite with me and use the Biblical Method ....

Seek and ye shall find ...

Re:No

[Anonymous Coward]

And only one button.

wait one minute!!!

[zoloto]

With handwriting and voice recognition technologies, is using a QWERTY keyboard with nine out of ten fingers something worth knowing anymore?"

I only have 9 fingers you insensitive clod!

Re:How quaint!

[Mike deVice]

What's truely astonishing is that after pecking at the keyboard for 15 seconds, he managed to get a Mac Plus to display a 3D molecular model.

How's that for typing skills? ;)

Re:No

[shufler]

Weird, so do I. For the record, I have all 10.

Re:No

[ebyrob]

I always figured it was because he'd heard of/used keyboards, but that they were some old oddity in his time. (which he was obviously still familiar with)

You know... like uh... the Unix command line ;-)

Re:Some online typing tests

[E_elven]

Hm. Your I/O routines are faster than central processing? I think there may be something wrong. Spray some canned air on yourself in case it's just overheating.

Slashdot good training for kids

[siriuskase]

Yes it is a necessary skill, but not in middle school. I learned in middle school. My son also took touch typing in middle school, but it was a joke because he was already an excellent typist from Slashdot, thanks to you guys for ribbing the hell out of kids who try to get away with crappy grammer and spelling He had his feelings hurt a few times till I explained that you don't tolerate stupid people. He smartened up fast..

BTW, the schools here are having that debate and it appears that they are going to move touch typing down to third grade where it belongs. Then they won't have to waste time on cursive.

High School typing class-Condom class.

[Anonymous Coward]

"The only class that I ever learned anything from, and still use the skills from, is my high school typing class."

Sex-ed obviously was a bust.

Re:No

[lewko]

In high school we had a keyboarding class that I greatly accelled in

And we all bet you excelled in your English class as well!