What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?

The most basic skill most people don’t actually have is reading instructions.

Not skimming. Not guessing. Not assuming they already know. I mean the humble act of reading the words in the order they appear.

Give someone a simple set of steps, and they’ll treat it like folklore: half‑remembered, loosely interpreted, and retold with creative liberties.

And when they’re finished, they’re always left holding three screws and a washer… staring at them like sacred artefacts from a parallel universe.

Meanwhile the screws and washer are holding a quiet meeting about your life choices, and you’re Googling “why does my shelf lean like that.

”Those leftover screws aren’t spare…. they’re evidence.