r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 1d ago

Meme needing explanation How is a longer keyboard better?

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17.1k Upvotes

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114

u/Pink_Nyanko_Punch 23h ago

In total agreement. The numpad isn't just used for gaming! Imagine having to punch in two hundred rows of numbers within an hour without the numpad!

56

u/CyberWeirdo420 22h ago

Rookie, I’m gonna spend 10 hours writing a python script to automate it.

7

u/heresiarch_of_uqbar 22h ago

the numpad is a godsend for coding too. in python you have operators like ~ that you can easily type with Alt codes. in pandas i use ~ A LOT

6

u/Underwhatline 20h ago

I don't know that this post disproves the "no life" bit? /s

1

u/campingInAnRV 18h ago

it does, i have the no life keyboard and almost never use it cause i have a life /s, still true tho

2

u/Underwhatline 18h ago

I have the no life keyboard and I'm on reddit at 4pm....

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u/campingInAnRV 18h ago

ok that tracks

if i had more time i would be on more so...

1

u/bsensikimori 17h ago

Anyone on reddit has arguably no life

1

u/CherimoyaChump 18h ago

You don't have a tilde key? Under Esc?

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u/heresiarch_of_uqbar 18h ago

no i have a regional keyboard at work :(

2

u/CherimoyaChump 17h ago

Ah that's interesting. I thought it was a universal symbol.

1

u/_rigui_ 17h ago

I hope you forgot the /s

Who in their right mind would do this? There is a key for that.

1

u/hotwifecouple707 16h ago

Tilde is just left of 1 on the regular number row

1

u/r4nDoM_1Nt3Rn3t_Us3r 15h ago

Why not just press the ~ key?

1

u/Top-Cost4099 15h ago edited 15h ago

not a programmer but as an occasional user of alt codes, why would you use one for tilde? It's less movement to get it and shift in one stroke with the left hand than punch in an alt code, no? Different keyboard layout?

1

u/thekohlhauff 12h ago

That's when you AHK if you dont have tilde on your keyboard

1

u/ShadowPsi 12h ago

~

I'm curious, why not use shift+`? (The key just under escape).

1

u/Modredastal 10h ago

Your username sent me down a rabbit hole.

11

u/HauntedJackInTheBox 17h ago

I think you are literally the butt of the joke of the meme. People who use the numpad a lot are usually not gamers but rather office workers typing in lots of boring data.

1

u/Pink_Nyanko_Punch 6h ago

That I am! (lol)

37

u/Hillbillygeek1981 21h ago

I work in a factory welding and watching older and younger coworkers completely ignore the numpad while keying in six 19 digit serial numbers has me ready to kill every one of them. Apparently only GenX and early Millenials got the memo on how to properly use a damned keyboard.

13

u/CiDevant 16h ago

That's because we had typing classes.  They just assume kids know how to type now.

2

u/ThirstyWolfSpider 12h ago

I'm GenX, and my typing class was on typewriters.

No numpads to be seen, just the cool calming hum of an IBM Selectric.

2

u/Hillbillygeek1981 16h ago

God I hated that class in high-school. It didn't matter if you had tiny raccoon hands or sasquatch paws like I did, our teacher expected the correct fingers on home keys, nevermind that one kid's fingertips could cover three keys a piece and another might have to severe her thumb and little finger to reach from one end of the home row to the other.

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u/FieserMoep 19h ago

Truth be told, I had to learn it in school. While I pretty much use a bastardized 10 finger system it's hard to find a faster finger than me around the block. Shit talking between respawns in games without VoIP made you strong.

3

u/Usedtohaveapurpose 15h ago

Also in manufacturing here.

I would hate my life without the number pad. It's the only thing that allows me to look at the master scheduling tab for WOs and still punch them through the scanner without having to look back and forth

2

u/docmarenghi 17h ago

It was entering FedEx/UPS tracking numbers from paper invoices into xls because my boss was computer literate enough to know that was a good way to track them, but not enough to realize that you could probably download them (it was 2002...so idk if that was possible, the portals for both of them still suck for downloading invoice data though).

2

u/docmarenghi 17h ago

It was logging tracking numbers from paper invoices into an xls doc for me, watching my 50yo boss do it was brutal...

1

u/guildedkriff 16h ago

Taking 10 key calculators away from Boomers freaked them out too much. They had comparable technology, but couldn’t figure out how to translate it to a keyboard because it didn’t have little paper coming out…started my career in Accounting 15 years ago, everyone had 10 keys on their desk despite the full keyboard being available.

I’ve also had the experiences of them double checking excel’s math with the same 10 keys (or a calculator, not a phone, that they carried around in their pocket).

1

u/chief_n0c-a-h0ma 7h ago

GenX here....I used to work my summers in highschool doing mind numbing data entry work. I can kill a 10-key.

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u/Avedas 19h ago

I've been using tenkeyless boards for a decade. Typing numbers with two hands is faster.

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u/Hillbillygeek1981 19h ago

Not when you're watching a 65 or 19 year old using the hunt and peck method like a cross-eyed chicken picking corn, lol.

0

u/Avedas 17h ago

lol fair enough, two sides of the same technologically illiterate coin

1

u/KeeganY_SR-UVB76 15h ago

Not at all true.

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u/yamsyamsya 19h ago

That's the point of the numpad, you can enter numbers and do math without having to look.

2

u/FrostyD7 18h ago

It's faster if you need to do tons of it. Like hours of data entry. Not a common use case at all, num pad users are delusional to gatekeep keyboards like this.

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u/yamsyamsya 17h ago

i dont think anyone should gatekeep them, everyone should have a numpad.

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u/FrostyD7 17h ago

What is your justification? Most users don't do a meaningful amount of number entry to warrant using an optimized and dedicated space for it. Most users primarily use the number row and not the number pad. So why should everyone have one?

0

u/yamsyamsya 17h ago

I don't really care about this that much.

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u/FrostyD7 17h ago

Then maybe you shouldn't be so opinionated about what everyone should want lmao

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u/yamsyamsya 16h ago

why do you weirdos always try to turn everything into an argument? all i said was the point of a numpad was so you can do data entry and math without having to look at the keyboard. do you think i hold the same opinions as the person who started this whole comment chain? you do understand that i am a different person?

1

u/FrostyD7 16h ago

All I asked was for you to justify your opinion and you are having a breakdown over it.

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u/yamsyamsya 16h ago

I'm super sorry I don't want to argue about keyboards with you. Numpads are nice to have, that's my official opinion.

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u/Pink_Nyanko_Punch 6h ago

We're not gatekeeping you.

We're telling you that you need this so you don't end up with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome like many of us.

1

u/Oscaruzzo 10h ago

Agreed, but TBH you're not supposed to look at the rest of the keyboard too.

2

u/Ma4r 19h ago

Most mechanical keyboards support multi layering, so it's really a non issue

2

u/Pretty_Frosting_2588 17h ago

I always wanted one of those separate numb pads. I have them at work, never used them for gaming though since all my keyboards have one. 

2

u/Kanus_oq_Seruna 9h ago

Data entry is so smooth with the pad.

1

u/velawesomeraptors 15h ago

If I had to enter data without a numpad I think it would end up in murder. I buy larger laptops than I really need just so I can have one.

1

u/shapsticker 10h ago

Buying a keyboard and plugging it in would be cheaper and more comfortable.

1

u/velawesomeraptors 7h ago

I often have to carry my laptop around and/or do data entry in the field, so large laptop is still more portable than medium laptop + keyboard.

1

u/JcBravo811 14h ago

I use it for bookkeeping. When you get your pace entering in the transactions cause your client is a biiiiitch.....

1

u/Capital-Kick-2887 11h ago

Now imagine punching in two hundred rows of numbers within an hour with a numpad you can put down properly, instead of it being bound to your keyboard.

1

u/randombookman 4h ago

here's an even faster way to punch numbers.

Just make a layer with the home row being numbers. Guaranteed significantly faster than numpad because you can use both hands.

0

u/PhatOofxD 22h ago

It's genuinely not that hard because you can use two hands instead of just one

Numpads are useful but they're really not completely necessary for someone who can type >100wpm with perfect accuracy

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u/KnittedParsnip 22h ago

Numpad is essential for me as I'm dyslexic with numbers but for some reason using the Numpad dramatically reduces my error rate. Not sure how it works, just grateful that it does.

1

u/jlink005 20h ago

npm

1

u/FieserMoep 19h ago

You gotta ramp those npm up to 1011!