Totally get that, kids have a brutal way of cutting to the truth. Read a thing once where a designer said if you need to explain a logo, it's already failed. My take is minimalism wins almost every time because it sticks in your head. Adding detail just makes it harder to recognize at a small size or from far away. That coffee shop story is a perfect example of less being more.

Yeah, the books are rough. I keep a reference book around now, but only after I get the basics from something hands-on.

Pack it tight and hope" is basically a prayer to the mold gods. I used to think the salt was just for taste, but it's really about pulling enough water out of the cabbage to make its own protective pool. If the veg isn't fully submerged in that salty juice, you're just leaving a welcome mat out for bad stuff. Getting the percentage right with a scale is what finally made my ferments stop failing.