The rectangle layout is only bad if you are a home-row typist.

The problem with home-row typing is that your wrists are bent.

It's possible to learn to type without bending your wrists. I am self-taught and have typed this way for three decades with no wrist issues due to keyboard use. My fingers rest naturally on "QWERF" and "JIOP". I actually cannot type on "ergo" keyboards due to the angles being wrong, and not being able to reach certain keys with both hands.

(I did once have wrist issues due to mouse use, about 15 years ago. This disappeared when switching to a trackball.)

Anyone who prefers "Control" next to "A" (myself included) is likely old enough to have learned to type before computer typing lessons were common, so maybe the author also is not a home-row typist.