# "Typing aphasia"? -- Is that what this is called? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437 "2020-06-11T08:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/1 "2020-06-11T08:58:31Z")
In addition to clumsy fat-fingering and ordinary misspellings, sometimes I type a homonym of the word intended. It doesn’t even have to be a close homonym: it was typing “vowels” when “values” was intended that first made me say _Wow! Do I suffer from brain damage?_ The following list of mistakes all occurred posting at SDMB and were caught by me during Preview. (A few instances, e.g. “gun control” when I meant “gun culture”, weren’t caught until after I clicked Submit.) Note that intended word and the word actually typed are often very similar — control and culture both have seven letters, and have mostly the same consonants. (Although there are plenty of exceptions, you’ll see mostly equal-length word pairs in the list below.) In the list, the first word is what I actually typed; the second is what I intended. Spelling auto-complete, or auto-correction have nothing to do with it: I NEVER use those tools. As --\> Has Blue color --\> Blue collar Himself --\> Instead Still --\> Steer Which --\> Would agree --\> extra announces --\> annoyances anywhere --\> unaware beak --\> book by --\> be coasts --\> costs compute --\> compete disrupted --\> disruptive doubled --\> dabbled emphasize --\> empathize error --\> era et al --\> at all example --\> exactly general --\> journey gun control --\> gun culture has --\> as innovated --\> inundated input --\> impute instance --\> interest institution --\> instituting late --\> let like --\> lack like --\> look lucking --\> looking money --\> memory movie --\> music out --\> it personal --\> personnel plan --\> blame power --\> problem probably --\> poorly program --\> problem prominent --\> permanent reason --\> recent same --\> some show --\> shy signal --\> sigma slow --\> so so --\> saw statistics --\> specifics supported --\> separated switch --\> speech their --\> they’re thing --\> think those --\> thus thought --\> though time --\> term timely --\> tiny to --\> too unless --\> unlike unlikable --\> unlikely vowels --\> values what --\> with won’t --\> want I do not make these errors if I stare at the keyboard while I’m typing, letting another part of my brain monitor what the defective part of my brain is doing! I should get in the habit of doing this: I’ve no idea why I usually stare at the screen when I’m typing: it does no good! I don’t think the problem applies when I’m writing by hand. (I very seldom write by hand these days … and have much trouble reading my own handwriting when I do.) I’m pretty sure I’ve seen word deviations similar to mine in others’ posts at SDMB. I’ve even asked the posters about it, but none has explicitly said “Yes, I suffer from the same typing aphasia as you.” This disease does make me resent people who think substitutions like ‘their’ for ‘there’ show ignorance. The misspeller may be like me, knowing perfectly well what the words are but letting their fingers fly on auto-pilot. (Another typing problem I have, presumably unrelated to this one, is _always_ messing up certain words. ‘Because’ almost always ends up as ‘becuase’ and I have to go back and correct it Every.Single.Time I type it. I’ll guess that this is because B, E, C, A are all typed with the left hand, and my right hand, feeling left out, is over-eager to participate.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/2 "2020-06-11T13:18:28Z")
Same thing happens to me fairly regularly when typing more-or-less at stream of conscience pace. It’s usually not quite as extreme as your examples where one word comes out as a completely different word (although that does happen), but it’s more like muscle memory kicks in and “probable cause” comes out as “probably cause,” or the “thought/though” you mentioned and things of that nature. But I certainly have re-read sentences of mine and seen homophones or somewhat similar words appear in their place. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/3 "2020-06-11T14:35:37Z")
I’ve had a similar thing happen to me, although I haven’t kept track of which words or how often. It’s like part of my brain is thinking of something else while I’m typing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/4 "2020-06-11T14:41:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Same thing happens to me fairly regularly when typing more-or-less at stream of conscience pace. And there we go. I just realized that was supposed to be “stream-of-conscious(ness)” but my brain and fingers automatically went to “conscience.” ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/5 "2020-06-11T14:52:13Z")
I get this as an after-effect of a particularly intense migraine. My verbal communication can be scrambled as well. After so many years of dealing with migraines, I know I have to take extra care when writing anything post-migraine. The verbal gibberish is laughed off. I’m usually the one laughing the loudest. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/6 "2020-06-11T15:05:10Z")
OP, can you read out loud without doing this? The reason I ask is that in confirmation class, the pastor will ask students to take turns reading a long chapter. Half the class struggles with reading (or just reading out loud?). A couple of the kids, instead of stopping when they reach a word they’re having trouble with, will substitute a similar word (we often have to suppress giggles) without slowing down. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/7 "2020-06-11T15:39:20Z")
Did this come on suddenly or is it a long-standing thing? I started stuff like this after having a stroke last year. I’ve made 7(8,9,10,11,12,13,14) edits so far while typing this post … and I was always a very good speller and a fast typist. In my case, yes, it it brain damage. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/8 "2020-06-11T17:07:24Z")
I mentioned my problem as early as February 2011 :— > [@Have you experienced these reading/writing difficulties?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-experienced-these-reading-writing-difficulties/570506/20): > > … My big problem these days is writing homophones. Not just the obvious “their” for “there” but mismatches as bizarre as “values” for “vowels”. (I caught that one previewing an SDMB post.) The first time I used the word “aphasia” was November 2017: > [@The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/13448): > > … \* - I’m not trying to be [del]emphasis[/del] offensive. I don’t know the best shorthand for the various ilks of … > (I’ve mentioned my very mild aphasia before: a tendency to type homonyms, or near-homonyms. Open another thread to debate whether ‘emphasis’ and ‘offensive’ are near-homonyms.) This Nov. '17 post was obviously before I started logging the instances to a file: emphasis -\> offensive would have been a “stellar” entry! :smack: [del]I think it started about five years ago and got gradually worse[/del]. After typing the preceding sentence a search for ‘vowels’ tells me it’s over 9 years old, and was weird way back then! I bump my head hard once every two years or so, but have never been diagnosed with, nor had symptoms of, concussion (except mild headaches for a short while after the bumps). Any other mental deterioration is gradual, mild, and probably normal for my age (I’m 70 years old). ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/9 "2020-06-11T19:27:38Z")
What screws me up is trying to touch-type. I can’t. I type pretty quickly when I look at the keyboard at the same time but as my typing has got slightly better over the years I try and type while looking at the screen and that’s when the mistakes and edits crop up. I’m not as good at typing as I think I am, when I knew I was crap I was actually better…if that makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/10 "2020-06-11T19:56:00Z")
I have this problem, too. As far as I know, no head injury nor brain damage; no difficulty reading aloud. But constantly typing the wrong words that have only a slightly phonetic connection to the ones I meant to type. I’ve only noticed it in the last few years (I’m in my late 40s). Doesn’t seem to have much to do with what I’m typing, how fast, or anything else, but it’s hard to observe errors like that with any precision. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/11 "2020-06-11T20:06:11Z")
I have this problem, too. As far as I know, no head injury nor brain damage; no difficulty reading aloud. But constantly typing the wrong words that have only a slightly phonetic connection to the ones I meant to type. I’ve only noticed it in the last few years (I’m in my late 40s). Doesn’t seem to have much to do with what I’m typing, how fast, or anything else, but it’s hard to observe errors like that with any precision. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/12 "2020-06-11T20:50:40Z")
Most of the mistakes in that list are plausible, just confusing words where I can see there is some similarity. But I have to say that “Himself –\> Instead” and “agree –\> extra” are just plain weird. > [@septimus](#): > > This disease does make me resent people who think substitutions like ‘their’ for ‘there’ show ignorance. The misspeller may be like me, knowing perfectly well what the words are but letting their fingers fly on auto-pilot. Since the rise of the Web, I’ve slowly begun making a few of these errors, but I usually catch them before I hit enter. In my case I’m POSITIVE it’s caused by having to read posts all over the place from people who don’t edit their posts very well, sometimes because they just don’t care and impose on us the burden of figuring out what they mean. " 's" for plurals, “you’re” for “your” and other similar errors. And I made both of those errors initially typing this post! DAMMIT! :mad: > [@](#): > > (Another typing problem I have, presumably unrelated to this one, is _always_ messing up certain words. ‘Because’ almost always ends up as ‘becuase’ and I have to go back and correct it Every.Single.Time I type it. I’ll guess that this is because B, E, C, A are all typed with the left hand, and my right hand, feeling left out, is over-eager to participate.) I think that explanation is the general idea. I’ve done that occasionally for a long time. Practice would fix it, if it’s worth that much to you. I just try to remember to slow down for that word. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/13 "2020-06-11T23:24:30Z")
A bit from ancient history: when I went to The Big U (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we had to use actual typewriters to put our projects on actual paper, so it could be turned in for a grade. College is where most of us learned the magic words “erasable bond.” When it’s 2 AM and the paper has to be turned in at 10 AM, people get a little rubbery. “The” looks like it is spelled wrong. Your brain can inform you that you are typing the wrong word AS YOU ARE ACTUALLY TYPING IT. You get your eraser, thank the gods for erasable bond, and you remove the word from existence. Then you type the wrong damn word again! Bonus points for doing this more than once on the same effing word! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/14 "2020-06-12T01:51:10Z")
Personally I call it keyboard dyslexia. Constantly happens. I’m typing words and thinking about what I’m typing, and the letters will just come out in the wrong order even though I’m mentally speaking the letters and looking at the damn keyboard. I don’t touch type, I use what could be called sportswriter, two and three finger, typewriter pecking. Words I have trouble spelling are the easiest because I’,m paying the most attention. And it’s very easy to think of one word and have another completely different word come out. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/15 "2020-06-12T06:32:16Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Most of the mistakes in that list are plausible, just confusing words where I can see there is some similarity. But I have to say that “Himself –\> Instead” and “agree –\> extra” are just plain weird. YES! Simple mistakes are to be expected, but imagine my reaction when ‘Himself’ appears when I thought I was typing ‘Instead.’ It’s spooky! Note that those two words almost rhyme with each other, and each has seven letters. Agree/extra each has five letters. Whatever part of my brain is making these faulty associations seems to “know” how many letters words have. This despite that if you asked me how many letters long ‘Instead’ is, I’d have to count them one by one. (Or rather four [Inst] by three [ead].) I am bemused, rather than worried, by the problem and now that I’ve accumulated and published that list of 60 examples, I think I’ll make a point of staring at the keyboard while I type; that should eliminate most of these errors. BTW, I am NOT a very good touch typist and make other sorts of errors when I’m not staring at keyboard. But substituting ‘Himself’ for ‘Instead’ can NOT be blamed on ordinary mistyping! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/typing-aphasia-is-that-what-this-is-called/855437/16 "2020-06-14T15:06:16Z")
I’ve noticed three other Dopers make similar substitutions just in the past day and a half, e.g. > [@A catastrophic flaw in the Banking system that must be rectified](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-catastrophic-flaw-in-the-banking-system-that-must-be-rectified/855282/84): > > … If I’m understanding your ascertain, and I’m not confident that I am, … Is ‘ascertain’ supposed to be ‘assertion’? Is there any way spelling auto-complete could have done this? (Note that the two words have the same number of letters and similar letters, though they don’t rhyme.) Yesterday a Doper wrote ‘meant’ when ‘mention’ was intended. These substitutions seem to be common — has nobody commented on them before? I wrote ‘called’ when I meant ‘killed’ today, but caught it on Preview.