Sure, don't translate, but the input also has to be comprehensible. So there is always a challenge of not seeing the translation but still understanding. If you never look something up, there are some words you will never know. There is a balance, and that balance is hard to find.
True, a lot of it depends on personal preference, too. I think the idea is to not worry about understanding 100%. Even just 70% could be fine! Or just the gist or emotion of the text could be enough.
This is wildly misleading advice. Using materials with comprehension below 80% is a massive waste of time.
Will you learn something? Yes probably, but will it be time and effort efficient? Not even slightly!
At 80-95% it can be productive if you're putting forth a lot of effort, but comprehensible input assumes comprehension above 95% for passive learning of materials.
To demonstrate what different (reading in this case) comprehension levels will get you take a look at this[1].
Agreed, but this is only a problem is you are biting more than you can chew. You can either learn the unfamiliar words to increase the comprehension rate, or find a material that is more suitable to your comprehension level. Comprehensible input is for reinforcing and contextualizing the previously learned words.
