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Touch typing is a method of typing without the use of the sense of sight, or simply by feeling the keyboard. However, the sense of touch is only slightly involved since this typing method is governed by muscle memory through rigorous training with the proper typing method. This way, the fingers get so used to typing that they instinctively go to the appropriate keys without the typist needing to see or even feel around the keyboard.
Techopedia Explains Touch Typing
Touch typing was said to have been invented by a court stenographer from Salt Lake City, Utah named Frank Edward McGurrin in 1888 while teaching typing classes. Touch typing is done using a standard QWERTY keyboard with the hands placed at a starting location, called the “home row keys.” The home row keys for the left hand are the “ASDF” keys, and are “JKL;” for the right hand. On most modern keyboards the home keys for each index finger have a raised bar or dot to help the touch typist to maintain and recover the correct position of the fingers on the keyboard quickly without having to look at the keys.
Each finger of each hand has dedicated keys assigned to it which it can easily reach. The design of the QWERTY keyboard, for the English language, ensures that letters that are commonly pressed or used in succession are as far away as possible to promote speed and the use of both hands, thereby distributing strain to all fingers rather than just a few. Though the standard QWERTY keyboard is said to have room for improvement in terms of speed and ease of typing, it is said that this change has been resisted by touch typists everywhere because of familiarity. If the standard is changed, all touch typists would have to relearn and spend a considerable number of hours training for the new layout.
