Type-d'oh!
A woman I met in the MBA program has a friend Joe who is doing an ergonomics study and needed subjects, so I volunteered. The qualifications were that you had to be a "touch typist" who could type at least 40 words per minute, and be right-handed. I'm right-handed and didn't know off-hand (pardon the pun) how many words per minute I can type, but I typed the first 40 words of his email in under a minute so I figured I was okay. The study pays $15/hr., I'm currently unemployed, and I'm interested to see the results, so I volunteer.
When I get to the UW Medical Center building Joe is waiting for me, and shows me inside. He explains the study and what it will entail, and then I sign my life away. I get comfortable at my chair and he measures the height of the chair, the desk, and the distance away from the desk that I am sitting. He shows me how the keyboard has a strike-plate underneath it to measure the pressure I am putting on the keys when I strike them. Then he has me begin typing some sort of literary work that appears on the computer screen in front of me. After typing for about 3 minutes or so, he stops me. He says, "I'm sorry...This is not your fault, but, you do not qualify for this study."
So, reminisce back to 198x. When I was in grade school I actually chose to go to summer school, because it gave me a chance for social interaction that I wouldn’t normally get living out on the farm. I did have a brother and sisters, but they really were not functioning even close to my level such that I could have stimulating social time with them. (My brother was mentally retarded, and my sisters are 7 and 9 years younger than me.) My parents gave me permission to ride my bike the 5 miles into town, and I took fun classes like Spanish, German, arts & crafts, etc. But this summer, one of my classes turned out not to be so fun – typing. I can still remember Mrs. Gear clapping out A-S-D-F-J-K-L-semi. I was bored almost to tears, and Mrs. Gear was way too strict for my taste. I hated this class!
As it turned out, one day when I was riding my bike back from school my front tire got caught in the railroad tracks I crossed on my route. This sent my bike and me in different directions, and I ended up with both bones in my left forearm broken. Although the event itself was not fun, I had a quiet sense of joy when the doctor told me I had to wear a splint that covered my arm and my hand. This meant that I wouldn’t be able to type! With such a good excuse, I never had class with Mrs. Gear again (or any typing class, for that matter).
So today, after stopping me, Joe had a look of awe and disbelief on his face. He said that I type very well and very fast, but I do not use the correct fingers on the keys. Of course I know that, because I just developed my own typing style over the years, even though I never completed a typing class. I don’t really know which fingers I use on which keys; my fingers just fall where they need to. Apparently, this study was specifically to test the right ring finger, which is supposed to be used for a few specific keys if a person types the “correct” way. Joe told me that I actually alternate between using my ring finger and my middle finger. He even went so far as to say that I should consider myself talented for being able to do that and not having to look at the keys when I’m typing! So, he gave me my $7.50 for the time I spent there and sent me on my way. D’oh!
When I get to the UW Medical Center building Joe is waiting for me, and shows me inside. He explains the study and what it will entail, and then I sign my life away. I get comfortable at my chair and he measures the height of the chair, the desk, and the distance away from the desk that I am sitting. He shows me how the keyboard has a strike-plate underneath it to measure the pressure I am putting on the keys when I strike them. Then he has me begin typing some sort of literary work that appears on the computer screen in front of me. After typing for about 3 minutes or so, he stops me. He says, "I'm sorry...This is not your fault, but, you do not qualify for this study."
So, reminisce back to 198x. When I was in grade school I actually chose to go to summer school, because it gave me a chance for social interaction that I wouldn’t normally get living out on the farm. I did have a brother and sisters, but they really were not functioning even close to my level such that I could have stimulating social time with them. (My brother was mentally retarded, and my sisters are 7 and 9 years younger than me.) My parents gave me permission to ride my bike the 5 miles into town, and I took fun classes like Spanish, German, arts & crafts, etc. But this summer, one of my classes turned out not to be so fun – typing. I can still remember Mrs. Gear clapping out A-S-D-F-J-K-L-semi. I was bored almost to tears, and Mrs. Gear was way too strict for my taste. I hated this class!
As it turned out, one day when I was riding my bike back from school my front tire got caught in the railroad tracks I crossed on my route. This sent my bike and me in different directions, and I ended up with both bones in my left forearm broken. Although the event itself was not fun, I had a quiet sense of joy when the doctor told me I had to wear a splint that covered my arm and my hand. This meant that I wouldn’t be able to type! With such a good excuse, I never had class with Mrs. Gear again (or any typing class, for that matter).
So today, after stopping me, Joe had a look of awe and disbelief on his face. He said that I type very well and very fast, but I do not use the correct fingers on the keys. Of course I know that, because I just developed my own typing style over the years, even though I never completed a typing class. I don’t really know which fingers I use on which keys; my fingers just fall where they need to. Apparently, this study was specifically to test the right ring finger, which is supposed to be used for a few specific keys if a person types the “correct” way. Joe told me that I actually alternate between using my ring finger and my middle finger. He even went so far as to say that I should consider myself talented for being able to do that and not having to look at the keys when I’m typing! So, he gave me my $7.50 for the time I spent there and sent me on my way. D’oh!
posted by AKP at 3:34 PM
4 Comments:
Damn you for being talented! Way to screw up the curve!
Now, stop dilly-dallying with these behavioral studies and enroll yourself into a medical study. Them's big bucks...
By the way, I, too, enrolled in summer school for 'enrichment' rather than 'retakes', and among other things, I, too, took typing. I, um, really liked it, but did not like Ms. Hoefs, and I can hear HER drills like it was yesterday.
[At the front of the class, clapping each beat:]
F-F-F-space J-J-J-space D-D-D-space K-K-K-space...
Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!
I love the flashback!
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