[lmilcin]

Okay, first of all, this is great achievement.

But comparing speeds isn't really necessary or even relevant. For a person that literally has no other way to communicate nobody will be complaining the can type 20% slower than a person with a smartphone. The fact they can type at all is important.

Now, for the speeds, I type 80wpm/400cpm but what is more important I can also freely think while I do so. I don't even know consciously where the keys are on the keyboard, I need to focus on a character and then see where the finger goes as if I was bystander, a passenger of a mech body that observes it do something.

I can only assume that writing with brain-computer interface requires incredible focus and most likely engagement of visual cortex which would preclude from using it for anything else (so no ability to imagine any imagery while typing).

[EMM_386]

> But comparing speeds isn't really necessary or even relevant.

This isn't a comparison between this and typing on a keyboard.

It's a comparison to the prior state of the art in this technology.

[amelius]

Most people use their visual cortex to see what they are typing, though.

EDIT: I mean, on the screen (and perhaps some on their keyboards).

[lmilcin]

Only while they are learning. Have you noticed when you type on the phone your fingers are flying more or less without you having to actually search for the letter?

I have wondered about this and I think what is happening you actually learn the qwerty layout on your phone and the fingers already know more or less where to go and what you do visually is to just aim where your finger needs to go (ie find the center of the button) and the rest (like reading the letter) is most likely redundant.

I don't know how to or have time to test this, though.

[grogenaut]

I look away from the screen while typing especially in bars, when I've got a long chain to get in. This has the side effect of having a few particular old dudes tell me to fuck off every once and a while, stop showings off... As I slam out 90wpm and look blankly past them.

[aaron-santos]

Why make a cynical assumption at all? Francis R. Willett, Donald T. Avansino, Leigh R. Hochberg, Jaimie M. Henderson, and Krishna V. Shenoy are real people. You could, you know, just ask them.

[lmilcin]

What cynical assumption? It is well known visual cortex can't do too many things at the same time. The famous gorilla experiment shows this. And if you need to imagine anything graphical it most likely involves visual cortex.