Typing is a science as well as a skill, and ever since the invention of the typewriter in the 1800s there have been people studying the process. How does information come in through the eyes and ears and flow out through the fingers, and what happens in the brain during that transmission? If you think about it, it’s pretty amazing that people have all ten fingers moving quickly and accurately when touch typing. Actually, don’t think about it – there’s no time to “think” about each of the finger movements in typing, at least not once you’ve built your skill to a certain level. It’s all about automatic muscle movements, stored memories, and developing the ability to keep typing what you’ve just processed in short-term memory while absorbing the next set of information to type out.

In the book Cognitive Aspects of Skilled Typewriting (Springer-Verlag, 1983), researcher and editor William E. Cooper collected a series of articles by scientists and theorists about typing, and specifically about transcription. “Transcription” is the act of taking in words via the ears or the eyes, and typing them into a document. Other topics discussed include the amount of information kept in short-term memory; in general, people’s eyes move ahead of their fingers by about 8 characters. In other words, you “read ahead” as you type, but only by a word or two, and your fingers are typing what your eyes have just finished looking at, not what they’re currently looking at. With practice, a good typist can increase the number of words/characters in short-term memory. It’s an important skill for a transcriptionist, especially since most people read faster than they type. It’s even more important to increase the speed at which you can take in information through your ears and type it out. All this happens with a lot of practice, so take every opportunity you can to work on this skill. Even if you don’t have or want a job that involves transcription, it’s a good way to hone your overall typing skills.

P.S. If you DO want a job as a transcriptionist, read this post.

There’s a good chance that a person born after 1985 has never used a typewriter – and an even better chance that anyone born after 2005 never will. Once a staple of the business environment, typewriters have been replaced by computers in almost every office in the developed world. However, they’re still valuable resources in places where electricity isn’t guaranteed, and they don’t need an internet connection to work. Some people still hold on to their old typewriters because they like the way using them changes the way they work as writers. Other people see vintage typewriters as works of art; they’re often very complex and highly-crafted machines, and the amount of work that goes into making them isn’t generally appreciated. Of course, the amount of work that goes into making a computer keyboard is also underappreciated, but everything that happens in a computer is hidden and usually on a microscopic scale. It’s easier to see how a typewriter works, and watch the interaction between the keys and the letters that appear on the page when those keys are struck.

It’s also interesting to see how keyboards and typewriters have changed over the years, and at the Virtual Typewriter Museum, you can do just that. You’ll also get a good overview of the history of typing, the important people who played a role in bringing typewriters into the mainstream, and even a set of recommended resources if you want to learn more. Take a break from your touch typing practice and click over to the Virtual Typewriter Museum – you’ll get a new perspective on what you’re learning. You might even be inspired to look for a typewriter of your own!

It’s always interesting to look at the history of some of the things we use on a daily basis but rarely think about. For example, take a look at the keys on your computer keyboard. Why are they arranged in rows like that? Who chose the order of the letters on each row? And why did people start to type instead of writing things out by hand? You can read about the history of typewriters and typing to get the answers to these questions, and you can also find books that feature typewriters and how they’re used as part of the story. We’ve listed five of these books below. If you know of any more, or of books that have computer keyboards as central plot elements, share them in the comments!

The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typing (Darren Wershler-Henry)
A global and a personal look at the history of the typewriter, and the way that it has influenced authors and writing over the years.

The Typewriter: An Illustrated History (Dover Publications)
First published in the 1920s, this is a fascinating look – a real look, with pictures – at early typewriter models dating all the way back to 1829. Although the antique typewriters are no longer used, it’s fun to think about what they might look like when put into an ultra-modern setting in one of today’s high-tech office spaces!

The Typewriter Sketchbook (Paul Robert)
Another look back at the first typewriters, the people who invented and improved them, and how these machines were gradually incorporated into business use.

The Story of My Typewriter (Paul Auster)
Novelist Paul Auster has written many award-winning books, including In the Country of Last Things, The Brooklyn Follies, and Sunset Park – and he wrote all of them on his typewriter, a manual machine that he’s had for more than 30 years. In 2002, he wrote a short book about his faithful typewriter, illustrated with sketches and paintings by artist Sam Messer, which shows that the tools we use to write with can be just as compelling as the works themselves.

Typewriter in the Sky (L. Ron Hubbard)
A novel about a man who finds himself transformed into a character in a book that someone else is writing on a typewriter. Are we writing our own story, or is there someone else tapping out the keys to what happens next in our lives? Read this book and find out!