Being proficient with the editing tool(s) of choice is of significant importance to productivity and keeps the natural flow and rhythm of the thought process while working. Hunt-and-peck is absolute crap, however, likewise anything over say 50wpm in concert with solid knowledge of the shortcuts and meta commands available is going to be sufficient to achieve a good working rhythm.

The premise the author made that I completely agree with is that touch-typing (i.e., not searching for the keys) is not an optional requirement for a productive programmer. I am mildly shocked that there are people on HN (not yourself obviously, but I've read through some of the comments here, and in other posts) who get worked up about this and actually get up-voted for defending it.