this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023
155 points (99.4% liked)

Asklemmy

43970 readers
1153 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy πŸ”

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Something you're just good at with minimal effort and/or you learned much more quickly than average.

For me, it's paper snowflakes. My brain just seems to effortlessly figure out what cuts to make to the paper wedge to make it turn out exactly how I want it. Largely useless, but good fun and was a much-needed ego boost when I was a kid :]

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 75 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can cook minute rice is 56 seconds.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] johannes@lemmy.jhjacobs.nl 51 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I can hear you, listen to you, and forget about what you say all at the same time!

[–] dandroid@dandroid.app 17 points 1 year ago

The ADHD superpower.

[–] Micromot@lemmycook.de 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You forgot the asking for what they said the instant it pops back in your head

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 42 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I have an excellent sense of time and space, i can accurately tell how much time and distance I’ve gone without tools. Im great to bring along for a hike.

[–] fartsparkles@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Out of interest, do you have a vague ability to tell orientation (magnetic north) with your eyes closed? Research is showing some people have magnetoreception and that it may have been more common in our human ancestors but lost to many over time.

It could explain why you’re so good at telling distance and time.

[–] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Maybe, but i live in the mountains so its always easy to tell directions.

[–] fartsparkles@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

If you’re ever bored one night, close your eyes and get a friend to rotate you around (gently and slowly) then get you to turn yourself to point where you feel north is. Do this 10 times, logging how far of you were from north and see how accurate you are from random.

You might have a hidden sense that’s incredibly rare in humans!

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Underpay@feddit.nl 42 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Being alive. In my whole life I haven't died even once.

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

That makes you more talented than Einstein, Newton and Leonardo da Vinci

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Chariotwheel@kbin.social 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I am a really quick reader compared to most people. Doesn't sound that amazing and it's certainly not unique, but it comes really handy. Always helped me with exams, as I got some precious minutes more to actually work instead of reading. I can go through books and articles really fast. Retention is not amazing, I'd say it's about the same as when most people read in their normal speed.

I really envy the people that can read quickly and retain everything. But I am also content with being relatively quick.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] Kerred@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure you think paper snowflakes are useless but wait for an elementary school play to need set design and they will crawl in their hands and knees to rescue them πŸ˜‰

[–] janus2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just got a new job at a place where my coworkers are really into seasonal decorations, so I'm low key excited for winter

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] WoofWoof91@hexbear.net 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

my two special snowflake things:

i can stop my own hiccups at will 100% of the time

i have always lucid dreamed since as far back as i can remember, i genuinely believed that everyone experienced sleep like that until i was in my mid-twenties

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] ssboomman@lemm.ee 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Chess. I’ve been playing since I was a kid, and sometimes I’ll create new accounts on chess websites to see how quickly I’ll get them rated to 2000+. I’m living proof that chess players aren’t that smart though because I’m a dumbass when it comes to literally anything else.

[–] loffiz@feddit.nl 9 points 1 year ago

Realising you're dumb makes you smarter than 80% of humanity 😎

[–] Emperor 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I have unusual muscle control - I can make my eyebrows and knees dance, plus I am a regurgitator. Not as good as Stevie Starr but enough to have a disgusting party piece. I am disappointed that I never mastered the art of the flatulist.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can make my balls dance.

[–] Emperor 9 points 1 year ago

Oh yeah, that too. I'll sometimes do it when standing wait for something, like a lift. Hopefully it isn't obvious from outside my trousers.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I'm fantastic at volumetric estimation, like when choosing the smallest Tupperware that will fit all the leftovers.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] Cakein@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm good at puzzles, particularly like jigsaw puzzles, but also games like flow where you match the pipes. I can sometimes do it so quickly I don't understand how I know what I'm doing, it's more like instinct.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] XEAL@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago

IT and self-hatred

[–] Ram_The_Manparts@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I can move my eyes independently and it looks freaky as hell lmao

[–] Sickos@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We love our lizardfolk comrades!

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Lorindol@sopuli.xyz 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Very fast reflexes and I can see in the dark far better than most people.

I had never realized that my eyes were different until my compulsory miltary service. I could reasily read maps when others couldn't see shit and I never stumbled during night training in the forest.

Fast reflexes are generally pretty cool to havel, but it's not fun when a knife falls off the kitchen table and it is impossible to stop your own hand trying to catch it.

My "learned talent" is fixing mechanical devices. When I was 6 or 7 I took apart and fixed the family VCR so I could finish watching the Smurfs. My mom found me studying the jammed mechanism, with all the parts lying on the living room carpet. She had a fit and wanted to collect the parts away, I started crying and told her that I'll never get it back together if she messes up their places. She watched as I released the stuck tape wheel and reassembled the device. And it worked.

I've fixed countless devices with just visual analysis and pure intuition after that.

[–] LetKCater2U@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m really good at getting cats to vocally respond to me. I don’t know if I’m just on their wavelength or what, but almost every time I start a convo with a kitty I get a response. Oddly specific, but also pretty fun. Kids love it lol.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I am literally unable to remember people's faces. If you talk to me, go for a walk, and come back ten minutes later, I won't recognize you.

Once, the guy who sat next to me at university for two years, and with whom I spent countless time together, took the same bus as me. I hopped on the bus, saw him, and my brain told me "Uh, that's kind of a familiar face, I guess". I smiled to him (because he looked familiar), then I passed him and and went to sit some rows behind.

He's made fun of me ever since.

The worst thing is, I work at the front desk of a hotel. I always struggle to remember who's who. Sometimes I recognize their shirt, their hair, their voice, or I see a family with two kids and remember "oh yeah, they're from room 210". But most of the time, I must ask them to remind me which room they are, even if they checked-in just ten minutes before.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Writing sestinas. A lot of people tell me it's the hardest form of poetry, but for me it's always been the go-to.

[–] AOCapitulator@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Write one right now about this thread as proof

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Nuklia@lemdro.id 13 points 1 year ago

Understanding maths and remembering things in school, just don't ask me what you told me a second ago because it's already out my head.

[–] Saigonauticon@voltage.vn 13 points 1 year ago

I'm a level 15 bureaucrat. I've filled out government applications longer than my thesis, with only a pen and the bitter joy of precision.

[–] Dinodicchellathicc@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Im really good at throwing balled up napkins into the trashcan.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] kraftpudding@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I've got a competent and authoritative voice. People frequently assume I'm the most qualified in a group when I'm really objectively not as soon as i start speaking. Whatever I say or decide rarely gets questioned and people just keep letting me do stuff. When something is my word against another's, people believe me.When I say something is needed, it's done. When I make a proposal, that's usually what's agreed on and done without me really trying to push it.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] ikiru@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I have really good hand-eye coordination, move very quietly, have fast reflexes, and am good at solving riddles.

I think it sets me up to be talented at a profession which pays very well but is very illegal so it shall go nameless.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] SighBapanada@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 year ago

I'm told I'm a talented public speaker and that I look calm on stage. Honestly I think I'm just better at hiding how nervous I am

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 year ago

I tend to always come second in trivia competitions

[–] OceanSoap@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm pretty good at sensing the emotions of people around me. It's not magic like some people think, but an obsessive awareness of small facial and body movements.

Oh, and writing dialogue is super easy for me, not sure why some people have a hard time with it.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] tfw_no_toiletpaper@feddit.de 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I can smell extremely well. Can tell where coworkers / family members were (like on the staircase, in a room etc), recognize which seasoning is used in foods, that sort of stuff. Every once in a while I try to follow scents like a dog but it doesn't work out that well.

On an unrelated note, I hate taking the subway, especially on hot days for uhh reasons.

Also I can hear pretty good, my friends use me as sound radar in Audio-Direktion heavy FPS games like Tarkov or back then PUBG.

My eyesight is pretty bad tho, probably for Balancing.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] davefischer@beehaw.org 10 points 1 year ago

My ex-wife was a medical nightmare, so I got really used to be around ambulances, ERs, etc. As a result of that, I'm calm in (some) emergencies. I'm the guy on the phone calmly explaining the situation to 911 while I watch a pool of blood slowly creep towards my feet.

Also, I can splice bezier curves together seamlessly, while typing in the x,y coordinates by hand.

[–] ComfyMuffin@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I can look at a small open space (trunk, corner of a room, shelves, etc) a and then look at the item I need to fit in that space and say with a decent amount of confidence "yeah that'll fit perfectly" or "that's gonna be slightly too big"

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] HappySquid@feddit.ch 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Running. I'm pretty fit and I work out (retty much only bouldering tho). Despite running on average once a month I can run a 45 min 10k. I think if I actually trained for running I could be pretty good but I just prefer climbing as a sport.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] waterbogan@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Super flexible biological clock - I dont get jetlag - at all. I can fly half way round the world non-stop and get off at the other end and just carry on with my day, go to sleep when its night time at my destination. I also find shift work really easy, as long as I get some sleep at some time before or after I'm good. I can also turn sleeping on/off as required. I should have had a job that required a lot of travel

[–] qyron@lemmy.pt 9 points 1 year ago

I recently discovered I can use an angle grinder with a level of precision and finess most people take some time to develop.

From free hand cutting straight lines into pretty much anything that can be cut, to precise cut of stone, cement or even metal.

I was dead afraid of this particular power tool for all my life and only when forced to use one to do some repairs around the house I discovered I could handle it so easily.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Drawing, painting and sculpture in general. I guess with AI advancing as it is, these skills are becoming more and more useless every minute but that's what I got.

I've sat on a potter's wheel twice in my life and both times the instructors seemed impressed at the results. "It's said people like you were potters in a past life". But I didn't become a potter or ceramist in this life, so...

[–] xuxebiko@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

Oh, no! Your skills are not useless. You can imagine and create, AI just copies and manipulates.

[–] LexaMaridia@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I have a strong visual sense. I can create movies in my head, and skits. Helps with art and writing. Also, I'm emotionally intelligent. Unfortunately I'm also incredibly sensitive/and a cry baby. :/

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] soupspoon@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Having an ear for new languages and their pronunciation- I can memorize vocab and grammar quickly but what makes a big difference is being able to parse a conversation and pick out the pieces I don't know or didn't know until I heard it used. It makes it easier to dive in and learn as I go, which is so much faster, but unfortunately it also means I dabble a lot because I'm always wanting to try a new language.

[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

I can do vocal impressions pretty well. My top hits are Elmo from Sesame Street and an Essex Scouse.

load more comments
view more: next β€Ί