> I would be very interested to a) see this claim tested
I would too. But I'd be willing to wager on the results beforehand.
> b) see if it makes a difference in productivity. (Most of what makes me slow at work is trying to understand technical problems, not trying to find parts of text in my editor.)
There's no doubt that things like understanding technical problems, avoiding procrastination, and many non-technical factors are the high-order bits of productivity.
That said, the context of this conversation is text-editor optimization. Also, I think the true benefit of an optimized text editor isn't in raw time savings but in increased flow and just the joy of having a tool that feels like the extension of your mind, rather than something your mind works around.
I would too. But I'd be willing to wager on the results beforehand.
> b) see if it makes a difference in productivity. (Most of what makes me slow at work is trying to understand technical problems, not trying to find parts of text in my editor.)
There's no doubt that things like understanding technical problems, avoiding procrastination, and many non-technical factors are the high-order bits of productivity.
That said, the context of this conversation is text-editor optimization. Also, I think the true benefit of an optimized text editor isn't in raw time savings but in increased flow and just the joy of having a tool that feels like the extension of your mind, rather than something your mind works around.