Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekcrl!tekgvs!toma From: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Left Handed programmers (was Sinister Hackers 8-)) Keywords: Left Hand Message-ID: <7968@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> Date: 16 Aug 90 18:57:56 GMT References: <1990Aug6.233133.4791@actrix.co.nz> <10401@stiatl.UUCP> <1990Aug16.080332.1572@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk> Reply-To: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, OR. Lines: 22 In article jdarcy@encore.com (Mostly Harmless) writes: >adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes: >-In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. [...] >-I wonder what the distribution is across the industry? >Actually, there's a simple explanation. You see, hackers like to use EMACS, >and many important keystokes in EMACS (ESC, ^X, etc.) are left-hand-intensive. >For the humor-impaired: :-) :-) :-) Well, I don't think you are far from the truth (assuming there is truth). The QWERTY keyboard favors lefties since it contains the most commonly used letters as well as the bulk of the control keys. In fact, the original carriage return (a lever on the carriage) was operated by the left hand as well. It could be that left-handed people are naturally attracted to the keyboard. Tom Almy toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com Standard Disclaimers Apply (I'm right handed)