It is really being hit home today that while my editing/proofing skills are not good, I am really strong in pattern recognition.

I don’t actually read, I glance at words and suck the meaning out. When I get bored with the words, my eyes glaze and I no longer get any meaning. This means I am not very good at proofing written work. I have always known this. I hate editing, especially my own stuff.

The question came up today at work and I delight in the surprised look the woman had when I said I wasn’t very good at it. She was so happy to get a straight and honest answer so she wouldn’t be wasting time going down the wrong path. It makes me wonder how many others she has had to deal with that said they were good at something they weren’t. I like the fact about me that I own up to what my strengths and weakness are right up front.

While my proofing skills are not good and I don’t like it, I am formatting a document and found the phrase “as a whole” used 4 times in a 5 sentence paragraph and “productivity”/”productive” used 7 times in 6 sentence paragraph. It was the pattern that stood out for me and I couldn’t help but see it. I am guessing it is the same sort of feeling that people that can edit get.