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Comment by glitchc | Hacker News Reader

Why?

Because if you want a nice functional keyboard you can just buy one.

Making this deliberately useless keyboard prevents it from ever being a primarily functional item. This allows you to treat the project entirely as a creative endeavor, and not end up falling down rabbit holes that might otherwise prevent you from completing or enjoying it.

> This allows you to treat the project entirely as a creative endeavor, and not end up falling down rabbit holes that might otherwise prevent you from completing or enjoying it.

Watch me!

As a keyboard enthusiast, when I’m not huffing solder or lubricating plastics or waiting for my IMSTO caps, I spend the rest of my time on typing test websites like 10fastfingers or TypeRacer. The Pain27 is optimized for that experience.

Don't those usually contain periods and commas at least?

Not 10 fast fingers, typeracer does however

Indeed.

Given that they ended up using a rectangular footprint, why not at least include some modifier keys.

>"The pain27 is an open source keyboard project to make an easily usable, yet completely and utterly unusable qwerty keyboard with all the letters of the english alphabet, a spacebar, and nothing else"

Yeah, but I mean.... to quote...something or other

"Just because you can doesn't mean you should".

However... something something contrapositive, "Just because you shouldn't doesn't mean you can't"

Why play board games, take your car to track days, or go for long walks in the sun?

What you're arguing is that people should spend their free time doing things they enjoy.

I mean, sure, whatever, but this feels more like going to a track day and then putting a donut spare on one corner.

Some people do like to drive old bangers.

You're being highly judgemental about something that doesn't affect you in the slightest. Plus I'm sure you have plenty of interests that many of us would be like "what's the point?"

I think this follows the axiom, 'If you have to ask...'

Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they never stopped to think if they should.

A hacker never needs to ask "why?"

Asking yourself questions is part of being curious. If you can't figure it out, expressing your lack of knowledge takes courage.

I agree, if it's genuine curiosity and not someone just being dismissive, as it often is on the internet.

We can assume the most positive meaning of the expressed text.

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