> Instantly taking things literally

When you say "instantly", do you mean instantly? Because that word wasn't in the article. Also, the advice was "take ideas

Perhaps if an article isn't exhaustively comprehensive in wording, presuming the worst interpretation of the words is also not optimal.

>>> Take it literally. Don’t translate it, don’t glamorize it, don’t make the mistake of thinking, as many people do: “Oh, nobody could possibly mean this!” and then proceed to endow it with some whitewashed meaning of your own. Take it straight, for what it does say and mean.

My reading of it was ~"don't be generous and assume that bad sounding ideas aren't actually intended other than they are stated', which based on my observations of the ambiguous manner in which people speak, is sound advice.

> What really matters is the idea someone is trying to convey and sometimes people are not great at that which requires work on the receiving end

Well you've given a fine demonstration here of ensuring that your understanding is perfect before passing judgment.