QWERTY was intentionally designed to slow typing, making it worse than a random layout ergonomically

The QWERTY layout is intentionally anti-ergonomic — worse than a random arrangement. Early mechanical typewriters jammed when adjacent heads were struck too rapidly in succession, so vendors created a layout that made common two-letter combinations difficult to type quickly. This historical optimization for mechanical reliability creates an ergonomic burden for modern users: common sequences require awkward hand positions and diagonal reaches. Understanding this history explains why Dvorak and other alternative layouts exist and why QWERTY contributes to cumulative strain for heavy typists.

Examples

The common English bigram TH requires reaching across non-adjacent positions in QWERTY. In Dvorak, common letters sit on the home row, reachable with little movement.

Assessment

Name two ergonomic problems with the QWERTY layout for extended typing, and explain the historical reason these problems were intentionally introduced.