On Sat, 31 May 2025 20:49:21 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<
frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
On 5/31/2025 5:07 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 31 May 2025 20:42:31 -0000 (UTC), Beej Jorgensen
<beej@beej.us> wrote:
In article <ma12kgF4l8nU1@mid.individual.net>,
Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com> wrote:
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:
- What are the first few letters on the bottom row of a QWERTY
keyboard?
>
Despite being trained as touch typists that escaped me!
>
I think being so-trained or well-practiced makes this a more
difficult question. I could get you the answer, but I'd have to imagine
typing every letter of the alphabet and keep track of which were on the
bottom row. :)
Actually, it can be easily done and demonstrated. Find a line drawing
of a typical QWERTY keyboard that does NOT have the characters and
functions.
<https://www.google.com/search?q=qwerty%20keyboard%20without%20labels&udm=2>
This should work:
<https://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/crud/keyboard-blank.jpg>
Print it on paper as close to actual size as possible.
Then, go through the alphabet A -> Z while pressing the corresponding
letter on the paper keyboard. Watch which key you hit. Every time
you hit something in the bottom row, scribble it down somewhere. I
just tried it and it works (for me).
My desk usually has one (or more) keyboards buried under a pile of
paper. I use it every day for many hours. One might expect looking
at the keyboard and using the keyboard would imprint an image of the
keycaps on my caffeine saturated brain. Nope. My blank mind is an
uncluttered mind.
>
FWIW, I missed the keyboard question and the $10 bill questions.
That's very good. Most people handle US paper currency very often,
but rarely look at it in detail or memorize its design. It's one of
my favorite party tricks. I ask people who's on the face of the
various denominations. Most get the $1, $5, $20, and $100 correct.
However, they miss the $2, $10 and $50 bills. For the back, most
people get the $5 bill correct and miss all the others.
I then show the group the front and back of whatever is in my wallet.
About an hour or two later, I get the group together again and ask
them the same questions. Most people will recall what's on 1 or 2
addition bills, but have forgotten the others. (No, it's not short
term memory failure).
However, if I do the same party trick with a group of 8 to 11 year
olds, they using get both sides of the bills correct on the first try,
except for the $50 and $100 bills.
Ok, want to speculate on why this happens?
Hint: It only happens with paper money.
I'll provide an answer later (probably tomorrow).
Sorry, no prize for the correct answer.
The
rest were not hard, mostly because of quirks: I've got a repair project
pending on my side porch steps; I had to align my reflecting ceiling
sundial with due north-south, and learned my house is precisely oriented
that way... etc.
In the distant past, I use an analog watch:
<
https://www.wikihow.com/Use-an-Analog-Watch-as-a-Compass>
The tricky part is dealing with daylight savings time.
These days, I find a printed paper road map. I locate two points. One
is my own location. The other is an identifiable landmark in the
distance. Mountain peaks work well. Lay the map on a flat table.
Align on the map your location and the distant landmark. True north
is printed on the map as an arrow.
About the blank keyboard, I dimly remember reading about some sort of
experiment where users learned an internet password entirely by touch,
so they "knew" it but could generally not say what the letters were.
Finger memory. It's quite real. Ask any musician. For me, it's a
problem. I play piano and organ. For a piece that I know, I can
close my eyes and continue playing without difficulty. However, if I
make too many mistakes and need to stop, I have considerable
difficulty resuming from where I stumbled.
For passwords, I use a variation of the same effect. I can remember
any password but only if I created the password on the same computer.
If I move to a different computer or keyboard, I can't remember the
password or "play" it on the keyboard. Worse, even if I use the same
computer and keyboard, but use a different chair, it doesn't work
because my hand positions have changed.
-- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.comPO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.comBen Lomond CA 95005-0272Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
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