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Gregg Typing I: Series 7 General Course
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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August 11, 2016
It's very strange to be a living fossil. Imagine, if you will, an ancient Athenian or Egyptian resurrecting to observe a modern archeologist dig up some mystifying object or rudimentary machine at the Parthenon or at the Pyramids, wondering how the modern digger could be so clueless as to its obvious usage, function and operation?
In the age of fast-evolving technology, it's possible to be not so very old and observe this phenomenon yourself. Anyone over the age of, say, 20, has the privilege of watching someone less than half a generation his or her junior puzzle over some electronic device that is already now quaint and seemingly inoperable or simply too inscrutable for easy understanding.
I was watching the REACT Channel on Youtube recently and came across a segment titled, "Kids React to Typewriters," with more disbelief than I might have imagined. A bulky typewriter placed before them, with all its spidery mechanicals seemed so off-putting to the kids that they could only stare at it, having no clue as to the first step in operating it. In a paperless world of word processing, texting, data stored in the cloud, they didn't even realize that the thing required paper from the get-go. From there, they had no idea how or where to insert the paper, how to use the roller and the arm to advance the paper, and so on. For some reason, I thought all of this was intuitive, especially as I can't remember how I first learned to use a typewriter back in the mists of time. I've always assumed that somehow I took to it like fish to water. This might be because I remember learning how to ride a bike but have no memory whatsoever of learning how to operate a typewriter.
Learning how to actually type, that is, how to perform proper and efficient fingerings -- that I do remember. I remember the rigorous training in high school to master the "home row keys," and the exercises geared to memorizing the entire keyboard so that characters could be tapped in rapid succession without having to even look at the display. The emphasis was on speed and accuracy. There used to be tests for these kinds of things if you were competing to be employed in journalism or office work. I'm not sure if WPM speeds are even required of people anymore, given the changing nature of these kinds of jobs, in whatever variation they exist today.
In learning how to properly type, I remember using a big bulky book that was bound rather loosely on the width end of the cover, so that the lesson pages could be flipped over on a desk stand while taking the lessons. This book was one of those, and don't ask me which edition or brand (Gregg or Rowe?) or year of publication of the typing lesson book. I can't even remember if we learned on manual or electric typewriters (I think it was electric). Manual typewriters are like typing with an ax, by the standards of today's touch screens. You could really work up some badass muscles in the hands, fingers and wrists punching away at these things. You could probably also work up a wicked case of carpal tunnel and arthritis. The electric typewriter eased that burden a lot, having a rapid and easier touch. Curmudgeons were aghast at this, of course.
With all this knowledge gained and a high-school diploma in hand, I went off to college to work at the college newspaper and, surprise of surprises, there was not a typewriter to be found at The Marquette Tribune. We were working on this newfangled contraption called the PC. Of course, the fingering knowledge was still all good, but the typewriter was already dead. Editions of the Gregg and Rowe typing textbooks were now being called "Keyboarding" guides. The word "typing" was already archaic.
I have no idea how to rate a book like this. It was functional, it provided me a skill that allowed me to make a few hundred thousand dollars, and now it's a relic, as am I. Now, I can watch with wizened bemusement as last year's apps and beta-tested wonders have already become passé. I suppose as the day rapidly approaches when a technology is already out of date before it is even thought up, we have come full circle.
(KR @KY, written for my own reflection and amusement in the year of our Lord, 2016)
In the age of fast-evolving technology, it's possible to be not so very old and observe this phenomenon yourself. Anyone over the age of, say, 20, has the privilege of watching someone less than half a generation his or her junior puzzle over some electronic device that is already now quaint and seemingly inoperable or simply too inscrutable for easy understanding.
I was watching the REACT Channel on Youtube recently and came across a segment titled, "Kids React to Typewriters," with more disbelief than I might have imagined. A bulky typewriter placed before them, with all its spidery mechanicals seemed so off-putting to the kids that they could only stare at it, having no clue as to the first step in operating it. In a paperless world of word processing, texting, data stored in the cloud, they didn't even realize that the thing required paper from the get-go. From there, they had no idea how or where to insert the paper, how to use the roller and the arm to advance the paper, and so on. For some reason, I thought all of this was intuitive, especially as I can't remember how I first learned to use a typewriter back in the mists of time. I've always assumed that somehow I took to it like fish to water. This might be because I remember learning how to ride a bike but have no memory whatsoever of learning how to operate a typewriter.
Learning how to actually type, that is, how to perform proper and efficient fingerings -- that I do remember. I remember the rigorous training in high school to master the "home row keys," and the exercises geared to memorizing the entire keyboard so that characters could be tapped in rapid succession without having to even look at the display. The emphasis was on speed and accuracy. There used to be tests for these kinds of things if you were competing to be employed in journalism or office work. I'm not sure if WPM speeds are even required of people anymore, given the changing nature of these kinds of jobs, in whatever variation they exist today.
In learning how to properly type, I remember using a big bulky book that was bound rather loosely on the width end of the cover, so that the lesson pages could be flipped over on a desk stand while taking the lessons. This book was one of those, and don't ask me which edition or brand (Gregg or Rowe?) or year of publication of the typing lesson book. I can't even remember if we learned on manual or electric typewriters (I think it was electric). Manual typewriters are like typing with an ax, by the standards of today's touch screens. You could really work up some badass muscles in the hands, fingers and wrists punching away at these things. You could probably also work up a wicked case of carpal tunnel and arthritis. The electric typewriter eased that burden a lot, having a rapid and easier touch. Curmudgeons were aghast at this, of course.
With all this knowledge gained and a high-school diploma in hand, I went off to college to work at the college newspaper and, surprise of surprises, there was not a typewriter to be found at The Marquette Tribune. We were working on this newfangled contraption called the PC. Of course, the fingering knowledge was still all good, but the typewriter was already dead. Editions of the Gregg and Rowe typing textbooks were now being called "Keyboarding" guides. The word "typing" was already archaic.
I have no idea how to rate a book like this. It was functional, it provided me a skill that allowed me to make a few hundred thousand dollars, and now it's a relic, as am I. Now, I can watch with wizened bemusement as last year's apps and beta-tested wonders have already become passé. I suppose as the day rapidly approaches when a technology is already out of date before it is even thought up, we have come full circle.
(KR @KY, written for my own reflection and amusement in the year of our Lord, 2016)
Displaying 1 of 1 review