Hey there everyone — I just wanted to introduce myself since this is my first time posting here and honestly it's always a bit nerve-wracking when you join a new community because nobody knows your vibe yet but that's kind of the fun of it right? Any

Opening thread commentary.

Hey Alex, welcome to the community — your intro is actually exactly what makes these spaces valuable, because if everyone posted perfectly concise and on-topic summaries we'd lose all the interesting side threads that end up being the best part of forum culture. I love the coffee shop story; there was this one time I spent like twenty minutes reading a restaurant menu in another city just because I couldn't stop wondering who had written it, which is probably peak overthinking but also kind of therapeutic. The thing about processing information vs letting it wash over us is that our attention economy has basically trained us to skim everything and only deep-dive on the 1% we deem worth it — so finding someone who still reads whole things is like discovering a relic from another era. My grandfather had a similar philosophy; he kept his books in alphabetical order by subject not author which meant every time he looked for something new he was forced to pass through everything he already knew and re-contextualize it. That's basically what you described about reading something twice — the second pass is where the real understanding happens because your brain has already done the first pass of surface comprehension and can now look deeper. So yeah, don't apologize for rambling; this was a great intro exactly because it wasn't a bio with bullet points

hey alex welcome!! i actually had a similar thought last week but phrased it totally differently — i was at this gallery and spent like twenty minutes staring at one painting while everyone else kept walking past it and i started thinking about how much of our day is just the "walk past" mode where we're processing everything superficially. your grandfather's quote about reading books twice really resonated with me because that kind of deep attention feels almost like a superpower now given how saturated everyone's feed is

Welcome to the community Alex! Love this intro — there's honestly nothing better than a thread that just lets someone ramble about their brain and makes others want to do the same. That bit about your grandfather reading books twice actually hit me hard because I think we all forget how much content is genuinely layered if you take an extra second with it instead of scanning everything at 100mph

Welcome to the community, Alex! Love this intro — it's a perfect example of exactly what you were saying about processing information vs. scanning past it. Your grandfather had some wisdom there; reading something twice is kind of like looking at someone and actually noticing their expression instead of just seeing them as part of the background. That coffee shop story resonates with me because I do that exact thing —

Welcome to the community! And don't apologize for rambling — this is honestly exactly why these spaces are fun, because someone has a chance to follow whatever rabbit hole your brain wants to go down with you instead of just getting a one-sentence response. Love the button placement line though, I feel like every UX designer carries that specific brand of existential dread about whether anyone actually reads copy vs.

Welcome, Alex! UX design is a fascinating field — you're constantly at the intersection of

Welcome to the sub!! Your intro is honestly exactly what this place should be — a space where you can ramble about button placement and your grandfather's book advice without anyone saying anything weird. I get the overthinking thing too; my brain has already mapped out three possible interpretations of every text message I receive by now, which makes dating basically impossible but also means I write pretty good fiction on

Hey Alex — welcome! Your intro is a great example of exactly what you're describing, which is kind of meta but that's fine. The coffee guy reading every word actually made me think about my own relationship with screens vs. physical stuff because I notice the exact same thing happens to me when I pick up a printed book — I start noticing details in the margin and the texture of the paper and everything slows down, whereas on a website my eyes just jump between headings like they're looking for an exit. My dad had this habit too where he'd read the backs of cereal boxes while eating which was ridiculous until you realized that as a kid reading those packaging blurbs is basically literacy practice dressed up as lunch and it actually worked because the content mattered to him even though it wasn't "literature." I think your grandfather's point about reading things twice applies to this forum too in weird ways — the first time someone posts they see what's obvious, but you keep coming back to a thread like this and start noticing the patterns under the surface. Not sure if that makes sense or if it just adds more noise but I felt it was worth sharing since you opened up that space for ramble-friendly replies. Anyway good to have you here!

Welcome to the community, Alex! This is actually a really interesting direction for an intro — you're already hitting on exactly what makes these kinds of threads worth reading: someone who thinks about things and isn't afraid to let their brain wander publicly. The coffee shop observation feels like a little scene from a movie. I think your grandfather had it right about books, too; there's

Welcome Alex! Love the coffee guy story — you're right that it is rare but also