this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2026
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Typing quickly on a mechanical typewriter is a skill not easily mastered. It's not just the typing, it is the extreme accuracy needed. There's no backspace and no cut and paste. A letter covered in white out isn't acceptable.
I have a few mechanical typewriters I got into as a hobby, it’s not that hard. This is where I’m just like, skill issue. People didn’t want to type, they just liked having secretaries around and were willing to pay for it. Back in the 70’s and earlier they literally thought typing was “women’s work” like sewing because it required high levels of manual dexterity that big tough men were obviously incapable of.
Well that's everything. If you are an expert you can do it quickly and accurately. Everyone else needs to take more time and will make mistakes. Word Processing software means a single typo doesn't ruin ten minutes of typing. It enabled regular people without skill to type well enough to do the work themselves.