It is unsurprising that touch-typists and non-touch-typists alike can achieve similarly high typing speeds (Is learning to touch-type a pointless skill?, G2, 15 February). Today’s auto-correct, predictive text functions and light-touch keyboards make fast typing child’s play. But touch-typing is not all about speed. Leo Benedictus wisely counsels us not to think about how we are typing – and thus pinpoints the second crucial aspect of touch-typing: it confers automaticity, thus freeing the brain to think and compose without having to occupy itself with the mechanics. This ability to give all one’s attention to the content is surely even more important now than in the days when most typing was done from dictated shorthand or handwritten copy, rather than out of the typist’s own head. Far from being pointless, touch-typing is a useful skill we would all do well to acquire, preferably from an early age. (Education secretary take note.)
Rosalind Stevenson
Oxford
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