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+---
+title: I'm switching to Dvorak...
+date: 2023-12-12
+highlight: true
+---
+
+久しぶり!!!
+
+So I've finally taken the red pill and switched to the Dvorak Programmer layout;
+and now you have to read about my experience *heh heh*.
+Now whether Dvorak actually makes you more accurate and/or faster hasn't really been 
+proven and I won't be talking about that, but facts & logic aint gonna change my decision now.
+
+## Y tho
+
+I am not ashamed to admit that the main reason for this was because it's cool and quirky.
+The *other* main reason is that I wanted to get better at typing.
+I, like most people, learned typing the wrong way. I started out by looking at the keyboard 
+while typing, and slowly moved on to touch typing. but looking at the keyboard is bad 
+for your posture and eventually reduces accuracy. Surely it's possible to learn the 
+right way later on, but in my opinion it is just easier to forget everything and learn from 
+the start... preferably the hard way! Now that's where layouts like Dvorak and Colemak 
+come in handy.
+
+### Why not colemak?
+
+Dvorak (especially Programmer's Dvorak) seems more attractive as a programmer, 
+but who knows, maybe I'll try out Colemak one day too!
+I will say that Colemak seems more sensible for keyboard shortcuts but I hated
+the default ones anyways. But I love how Dvorak has commonly used symbols 
+in more accessible places.
+
+## First thoughts
+
+Initally it felt really hard but comfy in Google Docs (yes I sometimes have to use it) and
+it was surprising how many words I can make just from the home row.
+But when it came to other programs... Oh dude
+
+It was hell. It's still hell. I cannot use my window manager, I cannot use Doom Emacs,
+I cannot use vim. Using a new layout is confusing enough, but it's 10x worse when your 
+brain just hits h,j,k,l without thinking. I somehow typed out a part of this article
+in emacs but since "First Thoughts" I switched to vscodium just to keep my sanity.
+
+## Second thoughts
+
+Fuck my typing speed literally became 17% of what it used to be. It actually feels much 
+more frustrating than I imagined. I literally cannot use my pc properly anymore.
+I'm sure I'll get it back bet for the time being typing this article on 14 WPM actually 
+feels like shit. I'm literally taking way too many sanity breaks. I've been writing this
+since yesterday!
+
+On the plus side, `ctrl-t` and `ctrl-s` are soo much more comfier! I've already started 
+to fix my muscle memory. Before, I used primarily the left shift and almost always the 
+left ctrl key and with Qwerty I had to be constantly conscious about it in order to keep 
+the usage of the left and right keys balanced, which was almost impossible! With Dvorak 
+it's much easier because I'm building better habits from the start. That's not a Dvorak 
+thing; that's a new layout thing.
+
+## Does Dvorak help though
+
+Well yes and no...
+In the end, it all boils down to your level of practise. With proper training you can 
+become the best typist while still using Qwerty. It's *you* who is improving! But
+like I said, it's easier to start over with good habits rather than to try to forget 
+older bad habits. It's a more miserable experience but it's a one-time investment.
+Also, I think what helps more is applying blanking stickers on your keyboard in order 
+to encourage you to not look at the keyboard. You *can* find ones meant to be applied 
+on keyboards online, but I used some paper stickers I had lying around. It doesn't 
+look as good since it's DIY but it gets the job done.
+
+With that being said, I do agree that Dvorak is a superior layout. It requires much 
+less finger movement to type the most commmon words and has many more combinations in 
+the home row. Only caveat for me is that most programs have keybindings that only
+make sense for Qwerty. Vim is obviously hell at start, I wonder what Gimp and Kdenlive
+would be like.
+
+### Qwerty is outdated!
+
+Qwerty was made for typewriters. It deliberately spreads apart more commonly used 
+letters, increasing finger movement. In the context of typewriters it makes sense 
+because it prevents jamming. But for computers, It's pretty outdated and less ergonomic.
+The `;` key under the little finger has seemed funky ever since I learned touch 
+typing. Dvorak just makes better use of all the Fingers! Just the position of the
+`s` key is a huge selling point for me.
+
+While other layouts require serious commitment, they also put less strain on your 
+Fingers! It's definitely isn't easy, and it's not for everyone. I've taken the red 
+pill, would you take one too?  
+Let me know!
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