Data is always easier to see

I have a very strange way of typing. I use my left hand for the far left corner of the keyboard (using exclusively my index finger to type) and then use my right hand for everything else since it is big enough to cover the entire keyboard (my right thumb is exclusively reserved for the keyboard.) Anyway it was nice to see this graphic which indicated to me that I have optimized my typing over time, given the placement of the keys (and words of the English language). I found that interesting in itself, but there are two other points I wanted to raise.

Originally the keyboard was designed to slow down typing (because typewriters were not set up to handle such fast input) and so over time, the QWERTY keyboard became standard. Others attempted to get the industry to adopt the DVORAK keyboard (optimized so that the most common keys would literally be at our fingertips, but it never caught on.) I guess this is a lesson that even when great ideas present themselves, the cost of invested learning might be too great to outweigh them - a good reminder for iconoclastic, idealist types like me) 

The two photos below are also two excellent contrasts. The bottom is obviously a tired looking histogram that shows letter frequency. The second is a keyboard that shows letter usage by increasing the key height. It's a good reminder that creativity in delivery is as often just as important in the underlying data itself. 

This article on word preference is also interesting, but unrelated....