The common “QWERTY” keyboard is the de facto keyboard across the English-speaking world. The QWERTY keyboard is not, though, the most efficient keyboard. That distinction belongs to the Dvorak keyboard upon which a properly-trained typist can reportedly type 20-30% more words per minute.
This fact has been known for decades but, still, few people use the Dvorak system. (Shamefully, even I’m typing this post on a Qwerty keyboard.)
Why? The short answer is because unless a technology can deliver an over-riding reason for change most people won’t change.
I ask you to keep this little fact in mind when other futurists predict the quick demise of the internal combustion engine. Now, I’m no fan of the combustion engine and I understand how advances in battery technology could lead a transition to all-electric cars. But I’m also aware that advances in synthetic biology may create a cleaner, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly biofuel. To this end, even if battery technology is 20-30% better it may not be accepted by the public for the same reason the Qwerty keyboard is still the most used keyboard: People resist change and if they can still “fill-er up” with fuel they are likely to do so.
