Dennis B. Kottler, MD
Westlake Village, CA
Appointments: 818-991-8376
Email: doc@psychiatrix.com
What do the following have in common:
8 glasses (of water) a day
3 meals a day
8-1/2" by 11" paper
26 oz. wine bottle
4 years of college
40 hour work week
2-day weekend
"QWERTY" keyboard (See Below)
These are all examples of STANDARDS.
(See: Psychiatrix interpretation of these standards).
On the Pro Side: Standards are an essential, common language in commerce, science, and technology.
On the Con Side: Standards have perpetuated erroneous information and hamstrung innovation.
Epitomizing the "CON" argument against standards is the notorious "qwerty" keyboard...the one we all use:
The Q-W-E-R-T-Y keyboard
Almost all keyboards use the Q-W-E-R-T-Y layout, named for the six letters above the resting position of the left hand...assuming you're not a one-finger pecker.
An alternative keyboard, called the Dvorak, never caught on, even though it results in easier, faster, and healthier typing! According to customer support at HP:
"Dvorak layouts reduce the amount of motion required to type common English text. This may help avoid some types of repetitive strain injuries associated with typing. Studies have also shown an increase in typing speed and accuracy when using the Dvorak layout for two hands."
The DVORAK keyboard (first appeared in the 1930's):
On
most computers, it
is possible to convert to a “Dvorak” layout by changing a
setting and relabeling the keys, but nobody does this,
and very few people even know this option exists.
Conclusion
LIke the keyboard, for better or worse, and often worse, YOU CAN'T FIGHT THE STANDARD. I call this the "QWERTY" CONCEPT."
Footnote:
Apparently,
the
Q-W-E-R-T-
Y keyboard was designed by Christopher
Sholes, the inventor of the typewriter,
in 1868. A concern at that
time was the tendency of a fast typist to jam the keys.
The moving parts of the typewriter did not move as fast as the
person's fingers! The
Q-W-E-R-T-
Y was
designed to slow the
typist down by spacing out commonly used letters.
With modern keyboards this is no longer a problem.
Appointments: 818-991-8376
Email: doc@psychiatrix.com