In high school, students learned to touch type by wearing special black aprons that fastened around the neck and extended over the keyboard and hands, hiding them from view.
I learned to type, not in school, but later on in the Army. We were taught using large, clunky, manual typewriters, and I attained a blistering speed of 26 words per minute. No black aprons were involved.
With the advent of computers, I sharpened my skills using a program called Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (the Commodore 64 version) and today can type moderately fast with only an occasional glance at the keyboard.
The ability to touch type has many important cousins. Walking, for example. And eating. And scratching an itch on our backside.
These depend on our body’s perception of its position and movement. It is sometimes referred to as our sixth sense. The scientific name for it is proprioception (PRO-pree-oh-SEP-shun).
We have special neurons called proprioceptors in our muscles, tendons, and joints that help us know our body’s position and how to move accurately without watching ourselves do it.
Without these specialized neurons, something as simple as eating an ice cream cone would be impossible. We wouldn’t know how hard to grip the cone and might crush it or drop it. And instead of bringing the cone to our mouths, we might smash it against our foreheads. And if we did get the ice cream to the right place, we wouldn’t know if our mouth was open or closed without looking in a mirror.
The good news is, those specialized neurons are trainable. Art and sports depend heavily on proprioceptive tasks that are developed and refined through repetition. Learning to touch type is, in essence, teaching neurons where certain keys are in relation to certain fingers.
In yoga, there is a pose called ‘The Stork’ that involves balancing on one foot. When first attempted, there is often much wobbling about and breaking of the pose. Improvement comes as proprioceptors learn how we want to stand and how to keep us there.
Alcohol can interfere with proprioceptors, temporarily buggering them. Field sobriety tests often include actions such as holding your arms out from your sides, closing your eyes, and touching a forefinger to your nose. Or walking heel to toe with your eyes shut. Such tests can indicate impairment so accurately that 90 percent of the time a breathalyzer only confirms what misfiring neurons have already announced.
Alcohol is not the only thing that can mess with our proprioception. Being overtired can make us clumsy. So can illness and injury. And it’s not just balance and coordination that suffer, but reflexes, as well.
Our ability to sense and control our body’s position can be weakened by inactivity. Healthcare workers often provide specific exercises to help elderly, less-active people regain their balance and become steady on their feet.
Recently, I made an effort to improve my typing speed and upped it from 43 to 47 words per minute. Well done, my little neurons.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
