Artificial intelligence
One of two responses greets the proofreader on divulging his or her profession to a new acquaintance. First, there is: "Oh, I'm quite eagle-eyed myself. I think that's something I'd be good at – I'm always spotting errors in my colleagues' work." This position is fair enough, as there is no reason to doubt their word. Being a full-time proofreader and spotting someone else's errors are, of course, two different things. One is a career choice, the other is a noticeable skill. If they devoted forty hours a week to their eagle-eyed art, they would be a proofreader. I once met a woman who told me she was a hairdresser. Did I say: "Oh, I'm good at cutting things and drying things; if ever you need a hand, here's my number. I've got my own scissors, you know"? No, I didn't! Anyway, you'll have to get used to it. And I digress.
Spell checkers
The second response goes something like this: "A proofreader? Wow,
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