Writing code is straightforward, but reading and understanding it is significantly more challenging due to the need to build a comprehensive mental model of the system. This process involves navigating various components of the codebase and contextualizing functionality, which is often time-consuming and complex. The true bottleneck in software development lies in understanding rather than writing, highlighting the limitations of AI in generating code without facilitating comprehension.

The article emphasizes the importance of careful code reading as a means to proactively identify and fix bugs, rather than focusing solely on iterative coding and testing. By building a mental model of the code and examining its structure and flow, developers can uncover subtle issues that may otherwise go unnoticed. The author shares insights and strategies for improving code comprehension to enhance bug detection.