[OT] Terminal width

[Tom Buskey]

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 11:39 PM, Benjamin Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 10:37 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen
> <rozzin at geekspace.com> wrote:
> > Maybe it's analogous to the way that newspaper-texts are laid-out
> > in side-by-side columns.
>
>   One difference that may be of significance is: Newspaper is of fixed
> position and layout, while most electronic text tends to move around
> (scroll).  So unless your source file can fit in two 80-character
> columns, maybe that won't work the same.
>

I find it a bit easier to read/scan newspapers and magazine articles in
narrow columns then wide.  There's an optimal width.  Reference books are
wider.  Paperback novels seem optimal for pleasure reading.  I'm sure
there's some kind of typographical explanation.  Serif fonts are supposed to
be easier to read.


>
> >> Why does this matter?  It's commonly claimed that human
> >> understanding significantly increases when the information is fit in
> >> to the field-of-view at one time.
> >
> > The bit about `more information fitting into the field of view at once'
> > is interesting, because `the field of view' isn't necessarily as wide
> > as people think it is ...
>
>  "Field of view" may not be the correct term.  That's my description.
>  It's always been presented to me in terms of things like a printed
> page, a screenful, etc.  I guess it boils down to the idea that
> whenever visual perception is "re-anchored" (my term) -- e.g., the
> (printed) page is turned, or the window is scrolled -- the level of
> comprehension decreases.
>
>  Pure speculation now: If some people are more spatially oriented
> then others, it might follow that the more-spatially-oriented are more
> effected by this.
>

Most text applications assume 80 columns, at least unconsiously.  The only
app I made my screen wider for is sdiff or a gui diff.

I usually want a taller screen.

-- 
If it's fixed, don't break it
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