Mao-era Chinese typists solved problems that cell phones only came to recently

[Journeyman]

2. Here in the US, the traditional keyboard is intended to slow down the typist. . .

since the swing-arm typebars jammed in the guide when striking the platen. And though the decision to make typing harder was made more than 100 years ago, and is largely irrelevant on modern computer systems, old traditions and methods die hard.

A good typist could see a supposed speed increase of 50% by switching to the Dvorak keyboard, but the time spent learning the new layout, and the isolation the keyboardist would self-impose by knowing a layout few others utilize, makes the effort less than productive.



Dvorak Keyboard