> If you struggle with typing, the first thing you're likely to do is reach for the mouse for anything other than text entry. Which means you reeaach over to the mouse, then mooooove the mouse, click, and...what was it you were doing again?
The same thoughtless action that comes from using a familiar tool for expression can carry over to any tool, including the mouse. I don't think about the keys or where my fingers are in relation to the keyboard when I'm typing this--the thoughts just go from my head straight to the text box where my eyes corroborate what my brain is thinking. But the same can be said for when I'm browsing the web and I move my hand to the mouse and scroll down... I don't think about it, it just happens. My brain thinks, "I wonder what's further down the page" and my body responds accordingly.
That said, there's much to be said for the efficiency of a keyboard. A few months ago I installed the Vimium Chrome extension and I've been trying to get myself to use the keyboard for scrolling down and clicking links. It's hard. My brain instinctively (still, after months) tells my hand to move to the mouse. I often need to take my hand off the mouse and go back to the keyboard to force myself to use the keyboard shortcuts.
The same is true with reading code: if your brain has no association with curly braces, you're not going to be able to scan a chunk of code and intuitively separate code within curly braces from code outside the curly braces.
So there's more to it all than just the difficulty or familiarity with the tools. It's also about skill and habits.
The same thoughtless action that comes from using a familiar tool for expression can carry over to any tool, including the mouse. I don't think about the keys or where my fingers are in relation to the keyboard when I'm typing this--the thoughts just go from my head straight to the text box where my eyes corroborate what my brain is thinking. But the same can be said for when I'm browsing the web and I move my hand to the mouse and scroll down... I don't think about it, it just happens. My brain thinks, "I wonder what's further down the page" and my body responds accordingly.
That said, there's much to be said for the efficiency of a keyboard. A few months ago I installed the Vimium Chrome extension and I've been trying to get myself to use the keyboard for scrolling down and clicking links. It's hard. My brain instinctively (still, after months) tells my hand to move to the mouse. I often need to take my hand off the mouse and go back to the keyboard to force myself to use the keyboard shortcuts.
The same is true with reading code: if your brain has no association with curly braces, you're not going to be able to scan a chunk of code and intuitively separate code within curly braces from code outside the curly braces.
So there's more to it all than just the difficulty or familiarity with the tools. It's also about skill and habits.