Using vim instead of an IDE has helped me increase my typing speed but I also think that I understand more this way.

Without auto complete (although you could get this via plugins) you have to type every single character which helps you understand the things you type

I've stuck with text editors for years because of this.

I think also it keeps variable names sane if there is a penalty for long names (time and potential for error).

@kunashe personally I prefer a longer name more descriptive name but thats probably from working in a team where not everyone shortens things the same way.

You should not have to look at the assignment to understand a variable or on the implementation to know what a method/function does.

I love my IDE. Would never use a plain text editor. Don't really see the reason to make it harder on myself.