In 1976, I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Alan Lloyd, at that time the world's foremost authority on typing. Virtually anybody who learned to type in the 1950s and 1960s learned from one of his books. I asked him, "How fast is average typing anyway?" His answer was less than definitive, but pointed me in the right direction. He said, "Less than half the population of the world has the manual dexterity to wiggle their fingers at the speed of 50 words per minute or better."