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From: jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Real Time Handwriting Recognition
Keywords: Typing
Message-ID: <3871@ece-csc.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jan 89 14:09:16 GMT
References: <83242@sun.uucp> <7801@boring.cwi.nl> <1059@ns.UUCP>
Reply-To: jnh@ece-csc.UUCP (Joseph Nathan Hall)
Organization: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Lines: 53

In article <1059@ns.UUCP> ddb@ns.UUCP (David Dyer-Bennet) writes:
>In article <83242@sun.uucp> rburns%master@Sun.COM (Randy Burns) writes:
>:The theoretical advantages are considerable most people write 
>:faster than they can type. Good shorthand operators write faster
>:than *any* typists.
>
>Really?  I understood that one serious problem in passing a 20-words
>per minute morse code test was in writing down the words -- that is,
>that few people can write faster than 20 words a minute.
>
>Most people who can type at all type at least 30-40 wpm.  Also, you can
>type a lot more words before serious fatigue sets in than you can write.
>
>(Or were you addressing the fact that most people can't type AT ALL?)

I might as well expound on this topic.

Longhand is by far the slowest way to transcribe speech or text--no more than
20wpm in general, although there are shorthand-like methods ("speed writing,"
etc.) that can be useful but which are not generally legible.  I'd say 10
wpm is average.

A slow, inexperienced touch-typist can do 25-40 wpm.  60 wpm is adequate for
secretaries who don't do a whole lot of typing.  80wpm is a nominal speed for
secretaries (but probably optimistic).  Professional typists can do 90-120
wpm.

Human shorthand speeds range from 40-120 wpm, but this will vary a LOT
depending on the method (Gregg is the most common, since textbook giant
McMillian owns the copyright, but Pitman is faster), and there are probably
people who can take shorthand of conversations at 150 wpm.

Machine shorthand speeds range from 80-100 wpm to over 200 wpm.  Court
stenography can be pretty impressive.  I've seen transcripts of courtroom
dialog (agitated conversation, speakers overlapping, etc.) taken at 240 wpm. 
At that speed, though, you'll find lots of court reporters who'd gladly swap
places with an O'Hare air traffic controller ...

I am personally dismayed at the lack of typing competence in the younger
generation of computer users.  I think it's inexcusable that elementary and
high schools allow students to take computer courses without first passing
SOME kind of rudimentary keyboard competence test--say, 25 wpm on a blank
keyboard.  Typing will eventually replace handwriting of (virtually) all forms.
It's not a difficult skill to master.  It's going to be increasingly
important in the future.  I can't imagine the time typing 80-90 wpm has
saved me writing prototype code and documentation ...


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v   v sssss|| joseph hall                      || 201-1D Hampton Lee Court
 v v s   s || jnh@ece-csc.ncsu.edu (Internet)  || Cary, NC  27511
  v   sss  || the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my
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