(Replying to PARENT post)
I also make the spacebar and key to the right of the spacebar (usually Alt) to a switch layers when held down with a thumb. This turns the left side of the board into a number [3] and symbol [4] like pad.
Advantage I find is it's much less motion and finger stress and is easily replicated on any keyboard that supports QMK while not QWERTY specific.
1. https://qmk.github.io/qmk_mkdocs/master/en/feature_combo/
2. https://github.com/ecliptik/qmk_firmware/blob/d79931185c2315...
3. https://github.com/ecliptik/qmk_firmware/blob/d79931185c2315...
4. https://github.com/ecliptik/qmk_firmware/blob/d79931185c2315...
(Replying to PARENT post)
This! I use a variant of the classic typematrix layout [0], where there are two huge backspace keys right in the middle of the keyboard, one for each index finger. Below them, huge enter and tab keys (that one, mapped to ESC inside vim).
[0] https://www.google.com/search?q=typematrix+2020&tbm=isch
(Replying to PARENT post)
For example, everyone makes typos and corrects them with a backspace or mod+backspace for the whole word, but this is never accounted for, so a very frequent Backspace key is very far away. Using a post-typo text corpus ignores this reality
Or allowing home row mods in a layout, what would be the algorithmic maximum across all the typing metrics?
Or allowing numbers to be in play as well, maybe hiding then behind a modifier, but in the home row or aligned in a numpad-like way on under your right hand
Or would it be better to type capitalized letters with a one-tap Shift or with a home row mod Shift? Or maybe a quick double tap on the same letter is more efficient?
Given the complexity of switching to a new layout, there is no great reason to keep all the non-alpha mistakes of the old qwerty design, the algorithms should run free from those limitations to get us to the future perfection