Code isn't like reading a book — execution order matters more than readability, and you're usually reading diffs not complete programs. The best approach is multiple passes through different code paths rather than front-to-back reading, and you still need to do this yourself even with AI-generated code.

• Code has three structural differences from English: execution order is determined by the computer not the reader, you read diffs (incremental changes) not finished products, and dependencies span entire codebases while grammatical dependencies stay within paragraphs.
• The "dyadic scanning" technique works better than sequential reading: make multiple passes tracing specific code paths (like the happy path), then fan out to understand how functions are used across call-sites, before doing a final careful end-to-end read.
• AI-generated code still requires careful human review because LLMs make alignment errors (solving problems that don't exist, over-engineering solutions) that don't show up as bugs but violate your engineering values.