Fresh eyes: why proofreading is the one thing spellcheck still can't do

I spotted this sign while I was filling up my car today... it says "Get a card in three easy steps" followed by a list of four things. I understand that the last point is more of a motivational flourish than an actual step, but once you've said three, I'm expecting three.

No judgement at all with this, we've all put something out and spotted a stuff-up later. It's genuinely hard to see problems in your own work when you've been staring at it for hours. And it's even harder if you're freelancing, when there's not always a colleague to slide your screen towards and say "does this look right to you?" The dog is little-to-no-help in these situations.

I just thought this was a good reminder that fresh eyes and decent proofreading are the one thing your spellcheck still can't replace. Find someone who had nothing to do with it, hand it over, and ask them to read it cold. Does the headline match the content? Does it say what we mean? And has someone who didn't make it reviewed it?

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and anxiously re-read every piece of work I've sent out this week….