The QWERTY keyboard was designed to reduce mechanical jamming in early typewriters.
We kept it for computers. Which don't jam.
How many of our systems are just preserved solutions to problems that no longer exist?
And how would we even know?
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@Daojoan It is not that easy to switch. I learned qwerty blind typing, so e.g. switching to Dworak or Azerty will make me to learn blind typing again.
I admit, that qwerty has a lot of issues. E.g. Del (delete) is definitely in the wrong place. When you doing 3D / 2D edit that operation is used frequently. Sure you can use ctrl + x, but some times you dont want to override buffer data (majority of editors dont support buffer stack).
There some curios keyboards around. e.g. beeraider.
@Daojoan After "the fall", when our energy grids are all offline, manual typewriters will be back with a vengeance and our ASDFG typing skills will be essential.
@Daojoan there's also row stagger which I'm proud to be rid of
@Daojoan We would know by questioning the status quo all the time! Why do we still have 360 degrees in a circle? Why do we still shake hands?
@Daojoan I mean, just staying on the topic of keyboards: the offset between the rows is there so that the levers for the four rows (numbers and letters) can go right next to each other.
@Daojoan On-screen keyboards, say like on phones, are much more varied and quite customizable.
@Daojoan Just look to the works of Frederick Taylor and Elton Mayo for how to mold man to benefit (the owners of) machines.
@Daojoan marriage
Cursive
Saucers
Coffins
Labeling the large chips as "Family" or "Party" size
@Daojoan all of the institutions of representative democracy were designed in a world without telecommunications or even reliable transport faster than a horse.
we have things like electoral colleges because that was a reasonable trade-off at the time between wanting to have a democratic process and needing to actually make decisions in a timely manner.
@Daojoan And of course an additional challenge is to distinguish between “unneeded solutions to problems that no longer exist” and “solutions that are the reason WHY the problems no longer exist, without which the problems would come roaring back.”
There's that ancient internet meme about how space shuttle engines are based on the width of a horse...
But never mind engineering, think of our DNA!
@Daojoan *laughs in Dvorak*
@Daojoan we could always check the appendix! <rimshot> <booing>
@Daojoan I watched a video essay on this, and there are keyboard styles better fit to typing. Wish I remembered it offhand so I could link it. Though I know your point is bigger than that!
