Since I had first learned to type on a keyboard, I wondered why the keys were arranged so weirdly. Why not put them in alphabetical order? It wasn’t until years later that I learned the reason behind the keyboard we are all so used to using today, also known as the QWERTY keyboard.
Christopher Latham Sholes initially invented the QWERTY keyboard for the typewriter in the 1870s. The QWERTY keyboard was made to prevent jams in the typewriter keys by spacing out commonly used letters and characters, and in the process, slowing down the rate at which people typed, allowing the machine to catch up.
When mechanical keyboards first hit the market around a century later in the 1970s, the QWERTY keyboard had so much leverage already in the market, and everyone was so used to it that it became the standard for just about every keyboard.
There are other keyboard layouts, such as the DVORAK and the COLEMAK, that are more efficient, yet the QWERTY keyboard has stuck.
The DVORAK was invented in the 1930s by Dr. August Dvorak and William L. Deale. August Dvorak never learned to type but did know the “pattern of error”. He figured since in handwriting the most common reasons for misspelled words were difficulty spelling and infrequency of use, the same would apply to typing. Since the most common misspellings were with short, easy words, he assumed it was a problem with the mechanics of the keyboard. He figured that the keyboard requires a lot of jumping from row to row. He thought if he could make a new keyboard that simplified the motions and made typing faster, fewer spelling mistakes would occur.
It was made for efficiency and comfort, unlike the QWERTY. The DVORAK is also arguably easier to learn and use than other designs, including the QWERTY. The DVORAK puts 70 percent of all English keystrokes on the home row, meaning you can type thousands of English words with just those keys. DVORAK groups special characters together for more efficient and quicker typing, while the QWERTY spaces them out randomly to accommodate the typewriter.
The commonly used keys on the QWERTY keyboard being spread out make for awkward hand movement and placement, putting strain on your hands.
If we were to make the switch to a different keyboard standard, the DVORAK would be the way to go. It is actually pretty easy to learn and is a lot faster than the QWERTY. Although the DVORAK is more efficient and faster, it would be difficult to switch over because most standard systems are wired for the QWERTY, and most video games are not compatible with the DVORAK. Not to mention the language barrier, the DVORAK was mainly designed for English, while the QWERTY works for many different languages.
The QWERTY may be the standard for many keyboards, but there are many other options out there if you don’t like it, such as the DVORAK.