*Aerick shills his steno theory for 6 minutes straight* No but really, this is just a short little video of what I've been up to Plover-wise over the last two years.
Sweet. I like to think my lack of practice makes unlearning less-good theories / learning the latest, coolest theories easier, so I guess I can just jump right in...
Haha, same here. A couple keys on my board stopped working correctly and I haven't fixed them for a few months now, but if I ever do, I think I'll switch to Lapwing.
I think one of the strengths of Plover is also probably the thing that bothers people most about it. The overabundance of briefs for every word means the likelihood of guessing which brief might produce a desired word is higher. I quite enjoy the messiness of it, personally, but that's probably because I'm a messy person
Awesome video! For the record, I've very recently started trying Lapwing and it's awesome. Solves all the pain points that the video talks about and more. Consistent syllables= game changer. For the record, I think there should be consistent, solid, free public dictionaries for Steno if it wants to become more popular. Just like Qwerty, Colemak and Dvorak for character based writing. I just want to come in and know many people have collectively come in and done the heavy lifting for me as a new starter. I only want to deviate from that corpus when I start building experience. For the hobbyist, the idea of writing my dictionary from scratch will be a non-starter for most. Great work! Keep it up! This is brilliant!
This isn't specific to plover, but: @1:05 it's a best Steno practice to "define mistakes". Even if one of the monotonous writings shown is "correct," there's no conflicts otherwise, so it's best to define it. You might misstroke it or different speakers might emphasize different syllables and you could write it as it was said phonetically so it translates properly. The alternative, omitting "wrong" Steno from your dictionary, is Steno that won't translate, which is generally a worse outcome
I agree if you're approaching professional speeds, but for someone learning steno for the first time, having misstrokes in the dictionary is potentially misleading. I've seen people on the Plover Discord specifically learning the misstrokes instead of the canonical/'correct' outlines, e.g. HA instead of THA for 'that', or P instead of PW for 'about', which is potentially problematic once you start writing more. Also, the contents of main.json are derived from someone's personal dictionary, including their mistakes, which I think wouldn't work as well for everyone. Learners could just as well add their own entries, knowing the specific ways they misstroke.
I would tend to agree, but hobbyists learning steno use the lookup tool quite often. Misstrokes entries can get in the way of identifying the "correct" outline. Plover's lookup tool is also pretty flawed and only shows at max 10 entries. It doesn't even show which dictionary they're from so moving misstrokes to a separate dictionary won't mitigate this. With Plover's main dictionary, it's not uncommon for learners to struggle with identifying the "correct" outline when there are dozens of misstrokes mixed in. Because of this, I consciously decided not to include misstrokes with Lapwing (I briefly mention this later in the video). I can certainly see how it's a disadvantage from a professional point of view, but for hobbyists, having a word not translate is just not that big of a problem.
Hi! I'm a court reporting student learning Magnum Steno theory. Just found your channel and like your content. I'd like to get a custom steno mechanical keyboard in the future, but know diddly squat about building keyboards. You touched on DIY machines in your "Which steno keyboard should you buy?" video, if you ever look more into building your own machine that'd be an interesting video to watch. Thanks for the steno content, subbed
After a while of Plover I decided for the student version of the Magnum Theory. Rather affordable and it's quite intuitive and well thought-through. It's huge - over 340.000 entries (though not all of those make sense and were probably generated with help of a program).
I think the major reason most beginners don't add to their dictionaries (at least for me) is that you can't be confident that you truly understand the theory; so you could be adding poor corrections that don't match. Early on I added a couple that I thought were missing, only to realize that I had the theory wrong, and to change the theory would require adding many many additions (for no real gain). It also depends on how early you define a beginner, as this was coming after going through art of cording, and was only just trying to put it into practice. Still, this seems interesting. Might have to give it a look ^^
Can I ask why the Y is changed? (Waiting for a Uni, deciding which theory to learn, total noob. I really like all I'm reading about Lapwing so far - logical! - but if I want to switch to default Plover after a while, relearning the Y seems like it would be a hassle? Edit - and the Z too? Maybe I'll just learn lapwing and stick with it - I like that there are no typo-will-output-intended-word in the dictionary too.
The Z change (S* to STKPW) resolves a few conflicts you find in Plover (sink and zinc, for example). It also makes it consistent with the fingerspelling chord (which is already STKPW). The Y change was made to accommodate the KWR chord's new purpose as a silent linker/glide. It was easier to change the Y chord as it's a pretty uncommon consonant. Originally the Y chord in Lapwing was KWR* and that came with a bunch of difficulties, so I switched it to KWH. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I personally relearned the KWR* -> KWH in a few days.
@@AerickSteno Thanks! This is day one for me, so I'm sure at some point the above explanation will make sense. I've decided to just go with Lapwing and not default Plover because the Lapwing explanation makes more sense to me and takes the way words are spelled into account and not just the way they sound? (Which as a non-native speaker helps). Currently typing 10 wpm on stenojig all rows and vowels, lets see if I can stick with it, but I'm enjoying it so far!
Interesting video, thanks! I've been thinking of getting into steno and looking at the Starboard specifically. They say they've moved the # key to a second * key (on the left hand, with real * only on the right). But you say you've moved the # key to a left hamd pinkie button. Who defines which key does what - the board maker or the theory author? Where will my # key end up if I use Lapwing with Starboard? (Bonus question: Can I change it myself if I prefer a different layout?)
I looked at the key map for the Starboard, and it's configured fine for Lapwing. If you install the Lapwing plugin, the number key will be in the top left as normal. However, there is also an additional number key near the asterisk cluster as you mentioned. If you use your left hand exclusively for the asterisk key, this won't be a problem. I think you can pretty easily configure the layout using the Javelin firmware builder (even if you don't use the embedded steno engine).
I think it could be as good as steno, but the marketing claims of 300 WPM in a month just seems untrue to me. Also, last I checked (this was well over a year ago, though) the learning resources were pretty bad and you basically had to make your own dictionary.
Hello, I've gotten myself a picosteno a while ago but I couldn't make myself learn it. Now I have the perfect time to do so, but I start to wonder If the smaller amount of keys will affect typing with some theories. Could someone help me answer this question? Thanks.
Pretty much all mainstream steno theories use the same layout and the Picosteno has all the necessary keys. The extra keys on other steno keyboards aren't used for steno or are workarounds for the lack of a number bar (which the Picosteno has). Lapwing is a little different because it utilizes an extra key that is available on all hobbyist machines, but not on all professional machines.
*Aerick shills his steno theory for 6 minutes straight*
No but really, this is just a short little video of what I've been up to Plover-wise over the last two years.
So much love for the right-hand number pad approach! 🙌
Sweet. I like to think my lack of practice makes unlearning less-good theories / learning the latest, coolest theories easier, so I guess I can just jump right in...
Haha, same here. A couple keys on my board stopped working correctly and I haven't fixed them for a few months now, but if I ever do, I think I'll switch to Lapwing.
I think one of the strengths of Plover is also probably the thing that bothers people most about it. The overabundance of briefs for every word means the likelihood of guessing which brief might produce a desired word is higher. I quite enjoy the messiness of it, personally, but that's probably because I'm a messy person
0:32 Aerick from UA-cam!?
Wow, this sounds way more thought out than what I was attempting. will read if I remember this.
Awesome video! For the record, I've very recently started trying Lapwing and it's awesome. Solves all the pain points that the video talks about and more. Consistent syllables= game changer. For the record, I think there should be consistent, solid, free public dictionaries for Steno if it wants to become more popular. Just like Qwerty, Colemak and Dvorak for character based writing. I just want to come in and know many people have collectively come in and done the heavy lifting for me as a new starter. I only want to deviate from that corpus when I start building experience. For the hobbyist, the idea of writing my dictionary from scratch will be a non-starter for most. Great work! Keep it up! This is brilliant!
I have decided to learn Lapwing theory as my first steno theory. Excited to get started.
Two month update: I am absolutely certain I made the right choice. Lapwing is great, the book is great, Plover is great.
This isn't specific to plover, but:
@1:05 it's a best Steno practice to "define mistakes". Even if one of the monotonous writings shown is "correct," there's no conflicts otherwise, so it's best to define it. You might misstroke it or different speakers might emphasize different syllables and you could write it as it was said phonetically so it translates properly. The alternative, omitting "wrong" Steno from your dictionary, is Steno that won't translate, which is generally a worse outcome
I agree if you're approaching professional speeds, but for someone learning steno for the first time, having misstrokes in the dictionary is potentially misleading. I've seen people on the Plover Discord specifically learning the misstrokes instead of the canonical/'correct' outlines, e.g. HA instead of THA for 'that', or P instead of PW for 'about', which is potentially problematic once you start writing more.
Also, the contents of main.json are derived from someone's personal dictionary, including their mistakes, which I think wouldn't work as well for everyone. Learners could just as well add their own entries, knowing the specific ways they misstroke.
I would tend to agree, but hobbyists learning steno use the lookup tool quite often. Misstrokes entries can get in the way of identifying the "correct" outline. Plover's lookup tool is also pretty flawed and only shows at max 10 entries. It doesn't even show which dictionary they're from so moving misstrokes to a separate dictionary won't mitigate this. With Plover's main dictionary, it's not uncommon for learners to struggle with identifying the "correct" outline when there are dozens of misstrokes mixed in. Because of this, I consciously decided not to include misstrokes with Lapwing (I briefly mention this later in the video). I can certainly see how it's a disadvantage from a professional point of view, but for hobbyists, having a word not translate is just not that big of a problem.
Hi! I'm a court reporting student learning Magnum Steno theory. Just found your channel and like your content. I'd like to get a custom steno mechanical keyboard in the future, but know diddly squat about building keyboards. You touched on DIY machines in your "Which steno keyboard should you buy?" video, if you ever look more into building your own machine that'd be an interesting video to watch.
Thanks for the steno content, subbed
After a while of Plover I decided for the student version of the Magnum Theory. Rather affordable and it's quite intuitive and well thought-through. It's huge - over 340.000 entries (though not all of those make sense and were probably generated with help of a program).
do you write .8 strokes per word?
Thanks for another excellent and informative video!
I think the major reason most beginners don't add to their dictionaries (at least for me) is that you can't be confident that you truly understand the theory; so you could be adding poor corrections that don't match. Early on I added a couple that I thought were missing, only to realize that I had the theory wrong, and to change the theory would require adding many many additions (for no real gain). It also depends on how early you define a beginner, as this was coming after going through art of cording, and was only just trying to put it into practice.
Still, this seems interesting. Might have to give it a look ^^
it looks very useful!! thanks
Dude, you are a badass.
Interesting... maybe I should learn this while I'm still only a couple weeks into plover theory
I've just started learning last week so I cannot really judge. You convince me to switch just by the number key alone 😂.
Lapwing ❤
I really need to get back into steno…
Can I ask why the Y is changed? (Waiting for a Uni, deciding which theory to learn, total noob. I really like all I'm reading about Lapwing so far - logical! - but if I want to switch to default Plover after a while, relearning the Y seems like it would be a hassle? Edit - and the Z too? Maybe I'll just learn lapwing and stick with it - I like that there are no typo-will-output-intended-word in the dictionary too.
The Z change (S* to STKPW) resolves a few conflicts you find in Plover (sink and zinc, for example). It also makes it consistent with the fingerspelling chord (which is already STKPW). The Y change was made to accommodate the KWR chord's new purpose as a silent linker/glide. It was easier to change the Y chord as it's a pretty uncommon consonant. Originally the Y chord in Lapwing was KWR* and that came with a bunch of difficulties, so I switched it to KWH. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I personally relearned the KWR* -> KWH in a few days.
@@AerickSteno Thanks! This is day one for me, so I'm sure at some point the above explanation will make sense. I've decided to just go with Lapwing and not default Plover because the Lapwing explanation makes more sense to me and takes the way words are spelled into account and not just the way they sound? (Which as a non-native speaker helps). Currently typing 10 wpm on stenojig all rows and vowels, lets see if I can stick with it, but I'm enjoying it so far!
Interesting video, thanks! I've been thinking of getting into steno and looking at the Starboard specifically. They say they've moved the # key to a second * key (on the left hand, with real * only on the right). But you say you've moved the # key to a left hamd pinkie button. Who defines which key does what - the board maker or the theory author? Where will my # key end up if I use Lapwing with Starboard? (Bonus question: Can I change it myself if I prefer a different layout?)
I looked at the key map for the Starboard, and it's configured fine for Lapwing. If you install the Lapwing plugin, the number key will be in the top left as normal. However, there is also an additional number key near the asterisk cluster as you mentioned. If you use your left hand exclusively for the asterisk key, this won't be a problem. I think you can pretty easily configure the layout using the Javelin firmware builder (even if you don't use the embedded steno engine).
@@AerickSteno That's great, thank you!
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the charachorder.
I think it could be as good as steno, but the marketing claims of 300 WPM in a month just seems untrue to me. Also, last I checked (this was well over a year ago, though) the learning resources were pretty bad and you basically had to make your own dictionary.
Hello, I've gotten myself a picosteno a while ago but I couldn't make myself learn it. Now I have the perfect time to do so, but I start to wonder If the smaller amount of keys will affect typing with some theories. Could someone help me answer this question? Thanks.
Pretty much all mainstream steno theories use the same layout and the Picosteno has all the necessary keys. The extra keys on other steno keyboards aren't used for steno or are workarounds for the lack of a number bar (which the Picosteno has).
Lapwing is a little different because it utilizes an extra key that is available on all hobbyist machines, but not on all professional machines.
4:44 so, u saying i can be even faster by combining steno-ing with vim lol
Depends how much effort you put into it. Josiah has a really cool system for steno with vim: ua-cam.com/video/8-oDPhmpN9g/v-deo.html
Promo'SM
What the hell. Why is it in my recommended?
Gotta love the UA-cam algorithm™. But if you want to learn to type really fast, maybe stick around 😅
ua-cam.com/video/XrEOqVZ8q5E/v-deo.html
what in the nerd is this
You can type so fast that people on TypeRacer will ban you :)
ua-cam.com/video/XrEOqVZ8q5E/v-deo.html