It is so ridiculously easy to gain a reputation for being competent by just reading signs.
This is not metaphorical. I mean actual, literal pieces of paper/plastic/metal/whatever explicitly erected to inform the public.
“How did you know this was the right trail?” I read the sign.
“Wow, how did you know what that flower is?” There’s a SIGN.
“How did you know we needed to use the side door?” THERE IS A SIGN POSTED ON THE FRONT DOOR.
Just…why are we having such different experiences of the world? People can read. I KNOW they can read. There’s nothing wrong with their vision.
Just. READ. THE. GOD. DAMN. SIGN.
This also applies to:
- Syllabi
- Instructions
and it can be soooo frustrating when you are trying to show someone a thing they have to read, and they keep not reading it
specifically thinking of coworkers when you’re trying to show them an issue in a computer system, and part of the issue is, like, some warning that pops up when you start to do something.
and you’ve read the warning, and you have a strong feeling that what it says is important to what the problem is
but you aren’t quite sure how
and so you ask the (supposedly) more knowledgeable coworker for advice
and yet, when they go through the same process and the warning pops up… they just instantly, like a reflex, close it without reading.
and you ask “so… what do you think that message was, about the [words you remember from reading it]”
and– a fair amount of the time– they will jump, and go all wide-eyed like they’ve seen a revelation, and exclaim “WHAT? WHERE DID YOU SEE THAT? OMG” like they recognize those words so intimately that they are suddenly certain it explains everything
and you have to explain that those are the words the computer just helpfully showed them, right before they ignored it and clicked the X
…I’ve even had it happen when I took a screenshot of the words, printed it on paper, and showed it to my boss, asking if this was a problem. To which he said “no” without reading it, and put it in the trash.
….And then when I said “Even though {words}?” he frantically fished it out of the trash, and read it, and then frantically undid the whole task he’d been doing.
In front of his boss. Who was not pleased. (I secretly was though.)