Does Typing Speed Really Matter For Programmers?

theodp writes "I can't take slow typists seriously as programmers,' wrote Coding Horror's Jeff Atwood last fall. 'When was the last time you saw a hunt-and-peck pianist?' Atwood's rant prompted John Cook to investigate just how important it is to be able to type quickly. 'Learning to type well is a good investment for those who are physically able to do so,' concludes Cook, 'but it's not that important. Once you reach moderate proficiency, improving your speed will not improve your productivity much. If a novelist writing 1000 words per day were able to type infinitely fast, he or she could save maybe an hour per day.' At 150 WPM, notes Cook, the world's fastest typist was still only 10x faster than Stephen Hawking."

Comments

it matters for first post!

[Anonymous Coward]

ps - first post!

More important - having a Model M

[anti-NAT]

You'll naturally be a better programmer with a Model M, because you'll be able to kill your programming rivals with one fell swoop.

Re:Depends on what language you use

[msauve]

"Most of the work do is maintenance. Finding bugs in 20 year old code. If I change two characters in one line on one day and close one bug, then thats a good day."

So, you're saying it would have taken you half a day to add an "I" between "work" and "do" in the first sentence of your reply? That's slower than any hunt-and-peck typist I've ever met.