I don't even think about it, but apparent pivot on my wrist to hit the 'Esc' key (top left of my keyboard) with my middle finger, rather than my pinkie as would be prescribed by a strict "home row" typing style.
I find emacs's ctrl-meta-foo-bang key combinations to be far more stressful (you have to hit multiple keys in one swell foop) than vi/vim's modal just-one-key-at-a-time standard keystrokes.
When I started using Vim, I found ESC to be too far of a reach and ctrl-[ to be too unfamiliar. I used ctrl-c for years, but that caused muscle memory problems when switching between other editors that use vim keybindings.
Eventually, I got used to ESC. I move my hand more than bend my wrist, so it isn't so bad. I hit ESC with my left ring finger. I also try to plan my next keystrokes and/or move my right hand into next position while my left hand reaches for ESC.
I've found that moving ctrl to the capslock key also helped reduce wrist motion, though it makes using other people's computers more annoying, since I try to do everything on the keyboard with pure muscle memory.
At least it's a "home-row pinky" with Emacs' Ctrl, too. :)
Personally, though, I don't find the worst strain comes from the placement of Ctrl. The worst comes from the awful staggered layout of keyboards that serves no purpose save for a long chain of HCI backwards compatibility with the typewriter. I hope someday keyboards like the TEK (which, incidentally, gives a perfect spot for Alt or Ctrl under the left thumb) become more commonplace, or eye movement-based systems supplant the use of one's hands for focus control.
is it? I have ctrl mapped to caps-lock. so for me it's essentially home-row. left pinkie+right pinkie going almost nowhere. reaching for esc is decidedly not home-row.
That's a good point, it was an overstatement to say I was forced to switch. The reason I did is because I naturally rest my right hand with my index finger at the gap between the i/o/9 or o/p/0 keys and the rest of the hand stretched comfortably, but all the vim tutorials I'd read suggest you should rest your hand at the home row. If I rest my hand like that, it forces me to use the touch typing technique that I diligently studied and practised at school but never found comfortable.
I use Ctrl+[ instead of Esc, since I find that far faster and requiring less hand movement.
I notice from observing other people type that there is an aversion to moving hand position, whereas the idea of moving hand position is not unfathomable to me, perhaps as I have played piano and violin.
I'm not averse to moving hand position, and I don't use the strict one-finger-per-key rules either, but I do try to minimise hand movement overall since it means faster typing.
I'm a Vim user so I'm constantly pressing Ctrl, but I press it with the edge of my palm.
Something like Ctrl+R, -T, -Y, etc. one-handed is extremely uncomfortable using a pinky (either rotate your hand to use the thumb or stretch your whole hand) or crossed-under thumb. When palming Ctrl? Any of those combos is just another keypress to me---more natural than capitalizing a letter.
If the corner key were Fn, I could no longer just palm Ctrl, and that does not sit well with me
I also type this way. I never took a typing class and evolved directly from hunting and pecking, to hunt-and-peck without looking, to typing in the way you describe — if I extend my fingers, my thumbs and index fingers form a triangle.
I rarely type at the manic rate I see in home-row typists but have never had RSI symptoms in 18 years. I did cause myself temporary soreness by constantly using Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-X and Ctrl-C by holding Ctrl and doubling my left thumb under my palm. That was the one conscious adjustment (switching to my little finger for Ctrl) I have ever made, and once I started using Mac keyboards (Command instead of Ctrl), I switched back.
I'm interested in your editor choice. I've always used CUA editors (currently TextMate) and recreational Emacs. Also, I have no interest in the Dvorak layout since I already get by being wildly inefficient. My only doubt is whether I'm missing the flow state in vi that is accessible to home-row typists.
I don't feel uncomfortable when reaching for the arrow keys with my right hand.
But I _do_ feel very uncomfortable when I press wrong navigation key in Vim (was it h or j? My fingers don't _feel_ it), and it's really uncomfortable reaching for Ctrl for anything in Emacs, especially Ctrl-B — now _this_ is RSI-prone).
Yes, I rest my fingers on the home row. Usually what happens is I press one of the number keys and the tip of my finger extends past the top the key I am aiming for.
I am also a heavy vim user with caps mapped to ctrl, so perhaps you're not as odd as you think :-)
I am a vim user and didn't remap esc. I use my ring or middle finger to hit esc which means I leave the home row (shock horror) but my wrist moves less far than if I use my pinky and I can find the home row again without looking
Hand angles and wrist position are somewhat glossed over if you only know "finger x presses key y"
If you think about violin and guitar - you learn how to play the same note from different hand positions so there is some (small) potential for this on the keyboard
I've gotten used to typing CTRL-[ instead of reaching for the Escape key because of the inconsistencies in its size and placement on various keyboards I use. Yes it's two fingers but you have to use CTRL in vim to get any benefit anyway.
Well I suppose my fingers normally stay around the home row because that's how I was taught. I suppose it's my mistake for assuming that's how others type!
Nevertheless, esc is still super far away from all the letters which is presumably what you are likely to be pressing.
If you have a proper keyboard with a wrist rest, you only have to extend your fingers to press esc (not actually lift your hand, or move your whole hand which requires moving your whole under arm, if you're typing on a keyboard without wrist rest and where you have your hands hover over the keyboard. Ctrl-c requires you to twist your wrist in an awkward angle, several times a minute. If you keyboard really puts the esc key far away from the home row, you can remap caps lock to esc.
All of this assume that you type 10-finger blind, but I guess if you can't even do that you have other priorities than learning vim.
You don't worry about repetitive strain injury from all that chording? I try to avoid that sort of thing as much as possible; even though I use emacs, I do it with evil bindings. Capslock rebound as control is useful, but the bottom row modifiers seem problematic. I can't easily reach those modifier keys while also keeping my fingers on the home row; I have to either contort my thumb or pinky in a bad way, or move my entire hand (which is usually how I use those keys.) Either way, keeping hands straight and my fingers positioned on the home row seems much safer and comfortable. I just can't imagine using a language where I have to altgr for every character I type.
I don't think focusing on hitting Ctrl on one side or the other is the problem -- it's the awkward contortion your hand has to make to hit the key, pinky or otherwise. It's in the same bad position on either side on a standard IBM PC 101 and later keyboard layouts. You'll just end up hurting both your hands if you alternate.
Caps Lock as Ctrl will serve most Emacs users for quite a long time, and it's traditionally where the key was before IBM in their infinite wisdom moved it in 1986.
This was my thought when I first tried learning Vim, but I quickly realized that my right-hand home row position for roguelikes is one key too far to the left, meaning that I either had to unlearn those years of DCSS or else teach myself how to type all over again. Not to mention the incessant frustration of unintentional jumps, yanks, and undos when all you're trying to do is move diagonally.
Around the time I learned vim I also got myself into the habit of using the opposite hand for Ctrl, the same way you would for Shift. It has pretty much eliminated any need to stretch for a key chord.
The best thing I ever did for my hands was putting ctrl to the left of the spacebar where alt usually is. I hit it with my left thumb. I never have to contort my wrists. And it works across all programs, not just vim/emacs. Capslock is still using the pinky.
I also switched to Dvorak and put backspace on Capslock, which I think also helped but might be diminishing returns. But I still really like ctrl on alt for my single best ergonomics tweak.
I find emacs's ctrl-meta-foo-bang key combinations to be far more stressful (you have to hit multiple keys in one swell foop) than vi/vim's modal just-one-key-at-a-time standard keystrokes.
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