Let’s talk keyboards — computer keyboards, that is. The QWERTY layout (named for the first six keys, obviously), was introduced in the 1860s on the first typewriter (built by Christopher Sholes.) Sholes’ typewriter keys relied on gravity to fall back down after striking, so typing keys beside each other could lead to jams. The QWERTY layout split up commonly occurring letter sequences (digraphs) and was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate between sides of the keyboard. This jumbling of letters also had the effect of slowing down typing speed to further reduce jamming.

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The Dvorak layout, patented in 1936 by Dr. August Dvorak, was designed to remedy the problems of inefficiency and fatigue which characterize the QWERTY keyboard. As well, obviously the problem of gravity based keys has not been a problem for a long time, and certainly doesn’t affect computer keyboards.

So why have we kept the same outdated keyboard layout?!?

So, how did Dvorak decide on his key placement? If we have any cryptographers around, they’ll tell us that a useful tool in solving cryptograms is letter frequencies.* In English, a list of letters from most to least used looks like: etaoinshrdlcumwfgypbvkjxqz. That being the case, AOEUIDHTNS (the Dvorak choice) makes more sense than ASDFGHJKL (on the QWERTY) for a homerow. (I think Dvorak messed up with the letter R, but anyway…) Additionally, the Dvorak layout is designed so that typing words should generally move from the edges of the keyboard to the middle. Why is that? Speed — when tapping fingers on a table, it’s easier to go from your pinky to your index than vice versa. That motion on a keyboard is called inboard stroke flow.

So where do we find Mr. Dvorak’s keyboards? Well, as it turns out, your PC already has the layout pre-programmed in. It’s simply a matter of telling your computer which key encoding to use. In Windows XP, you’d do this: Start -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages -> “Details” button -> add (under Installed services) “English (United States) - United States Dvorak”. Of course, you’ll need to train yourself, and the keys wont have the correct letter or number on them, but hey! you’re not supposed to look at the keys while you type anyway, right?

Anybody switching to Dvorak with me?

* Speaking of letter frequencies, International Morse code encodes the most frequent letters with the shortest symbols; arranging the Morse alphabet into groups of letters that require equal amounts of time to transmit, and then sorting these groups in increasing order yields: e it san hurdm wgvlfbk opjxcz yq.