Thanks for your insights, Tony. I think these will be particularly useful to an intermediate Vim user, although diving in to these resources as a beginner certainly won't hurt.
I think what I'm looking for is something like vimtutor, but just slanted a little more toward developing muscle-memory. I want a solid base of knowing that "w" goes to the next word, and that "h" means left and "l" means right, for example. I know this sort of thing is probably ridiculously easy for you, but that's where I'm at. Thanks, Duane On Apr 7, 11:41 pm, Tony Mechelynck <antoine.mechely...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 08/04/10 04:44, Duane Johnson wrote: > > > > > Hi All, > > > When I learned to touch type in high school, we used an application > > similar to "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" that drilled character > > sequences into my muscle memory. I think there was a real advantage > > to this approach over simply stumbling through the process of learning > > to type. The application chose intentionally difficult sequences and > > required that I practice those ones over and over again. The result > > was that I could touch type the unusual sequences at nearly the same > > rate as regular sequences, and my overall achievement in touch typing > > was quite remarkable. (I have since lost my edge, as I now only type > > at about 85 WPM). > > > This approach to learning seems very similar to what modern psychology > > has identified as the way in which people become experts: Deliberate > > Practice [1]. The idea is that expertise is not accidental and comes > > through a designed learning process [2]. Some of the important > > elements include: > > > 1. Identifying specific elements that need to be improved and then > > working intently on them. > > 2. A great deal of repetition. > > 3. Feedback. > > > I am fairly new to Vim and am interested in taking a disciplined > > approach to learning how to navigate and modify code using its > > powerful stateful approach to text editing. In particular, I want to > > eventually learn how to refactor code without thinking too much about > > what keys I'm pressing. > > > Are there any "Mavis Beacon Teaches Vim" type programs or plugins out > > there that would help me accomplish this? > > > Thank you, > > Duane Johnson > > > [1] > > (PDF)http://projects.ict.usc.edu/itw/gel/EricssonDeliberatePracticePR93.pdf > > [2]http://www.openeducation.net/2008/11/02/deliberate-practice-%E2%80%93... > > Well, my take on this question is that the one and only skill that needs > to be mastered letter-perfect by every person who wants to become really > efficient _by means of_ Vim is to learn how to use the help, including > helptag completion, the various ways to call it (Ctrl-D for "list all > matches" and I recommend also 'wildmenu'), and the :helpgrep command. > > See: > :help > :help :help > :help {subject} > :help :helpgrep > (and, for :helpgrep, the following come handy: > :map <F2> :cnext<CR> > :map <S-F2> :cprev<CR> > :map <F3> :cnfile<CR> > :map <S-F3> :cpfile<CR> > :map <F4> :clast<CR> > :map <S-F4> :cfirst<CR> > -- look them up.) > :help index > :help doc-file-list > :help 'wildmode' > :help 'wildmenu' > :help 'wildoptions' > :help cmdline-completion > > An accessory task, which I wouldn't call a skill, is to read every post > on one or more of the Vim lists: vim_use in all cases, vim_multibyte if > you're interested in Unicode and/or non-Latin scripts, vim_mac if you're > on a Mac computer, vim_dev if you're interested in compiling your own > Vim, and/or in tracking and/or fixing bugs in Vim, and/or in developing > new features. You don't need vim_announce if you get one (or more) of > the others. It's by reading these lists that I learnt most of what I > know about Vim; but using the help comes first. > > Everything else you can learn when and if needed, and you can't know in > advance how often (if at all) you'll need it. What you need most often > you'll learn by doing anyway, no need to deliberate-practice it. > > If you want to become an expert _about_ Vim, i.e. know all its ins and > outs perfectly on the tips of your fingers, then you came too late: for > that skill, you would have had to be borne Bram Moolenaar. ;-) > > Best regards, > Tony. > -- > Ask Not for whom the Bell Tolls, and You will Pay only the > Station-to-Station rate. -- You received this message from the "vim_use" maillist. Do not top-post! Type your reply below the text you are replying to. For more information, visit http://www.vim.org/maillist.php To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
