: Re: Are "non-readers" useful beta readers? In my opinion, the best beta readers are fellow writers, partly because they may have insight others don't, but partly also because you can agree to trade

@Berryessa137

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In Software Engineering, a common practice for fixing difficult bugs is called "Hallway debugging". The programmer will go out in the hall and grab the first person he sees and get them to help solve the problem. Since they are not likely to be familiar with the program the programmer is trying to write, he'll have to explain, line-by-line, what his code does. The less knowledgeable the hallway person is, the better, because this means the programmer's explanation has to be more thorough. Any part the programmer has difficulty explaining adequately is likely where the bug is. This is analogous to having non-readers review your book. The goal is to get fresh, unbiased eyes reading what you wrote, and who could be less biased than someone who doesn't read?

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