No political posturing.
Being open to learning new things which may contradict previously held beliefs. I enjoy becoming more informed and having my ignorance diminished, but I find for the bulk of humanity most people do not want to know things - they want to be continually assured the things they hold true are true, regardless of the validity.
Empathy. Some people just have a brain for math and understand numbers in ways other people just never will. Others, like myself, have brains that are really good at understanding others, and we perceive and understand others with a facility some other people just can’t. It sounds pompous to say, because all human beings are at least somewhat skilled in this area, due to our species being highly social, but it’s still a cognitive speciality and some of us are innately better at it than others.
It can be frustrating too, because when other people don’t understand what you see in someone else, they question your decisions about them, and it can be hard to see why other people don’t see what you find obvious sometimes. It’s a bit of an extreme example, but I know people who can’t see that Donald Trump is a highly transparent narcissist. Even ones who didn’t vote for him and hate him for all the obvious reasons can’t see the personality disorder in him, and I find it so glaringly obvious that I sometimes just can’t fathom how anyone could miss it. But, if I really think about it, and I imagine what it might be like for a person who doesn’t have a natural talent for empathy, I can see how they just might not connect the dots and just see a bombastic, arrogant asshole, rather than the much more complex pattern of malignant narcissism that underlies that comparatively superficial persona.
Spatial awareness.
I was in gymnastics as a kid, so built up a strong sense of balance and where my arms and legs are in relation to the stuff around me.
I partner dance and I joke that I’m graceful as long as I have on dance shoes. Off the dance floor I’m always bumping into things, knocking stuff over, just generally klutzy seeming. On the dance floor I’m able to navigate the crowd and prevent collisions.
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I was in my 40s until I admitted to my self that spatial awareness simply doesn’t work in my brain. My young friend across the street is excellent and I often have to call him over to assemble something I’ve taken apart. In fact, I’m going to hit him up to help me reassemble a shed. Used, it came with no directions and no way in hell do I figure out how it goes together. And I took it apart!
In elementary school standard tests I’d excel at every subject except spatial reasoning. I’d try! But no, I have no idea how those shapes rotate to make the shape wanted.
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Are you also good at catching stuff that falls without ever looking?
Due to waaaay to much hackysack in my youth, I’m very adept at catching things with my foot. Phones, empty mugs, that sort of things.
No. Most of the time I just bat it into the air, higher than it originally fell from, thus exacerbating the situation…
I do occasionally “pin” something to the wall/table/storage apparatus with my hand. That’s about as good as it gets though :/
“I bet you’re also good at x”
“Oh nah not that, especially not that”
That candidness was charming lol. Fellow gymnast. What the other person was talking about is another spatial reasoning skill that often coexists with yours. As it pertains to external objects and their trajectories, you see it more in athletes who played sports involving a ball. Humans are neat.
Yeah, I forgot what the sense was called, awareness of your limbs in relation to your body and balance, the sense that gets all wobbly with alcohol; hence, the close-your-eyes-and-touch-your-nose test. I’m 40 and still walk on curbs like they are balance beams. Favorite was the rings, the closest thing I can get to flying without also becoming motion sick :/
You throw me a ball, I’ll prevent it from hitting me, but forget intercepting the things with any grace or plan. Me trying out for tennis in middle school was basically mini dodge ball.
Hey rings were my favorite too! Followed by pommel horse and anything with a foam pit at the end. Almost made floor work worth it lol.
Totally, I think most people can train motor, reflex, and spatial reasoning skills and learn all kinds of sports, well past 40 since the brain and peripheral nervous system remains remarkably plastic into old age, but it’s pretty cool to have something your body has known since childhood that sticks around and helps you out day-to-day :)
Im a bit of a dillatant and don’t think im really very good at doing anything. Im great with planning and thinking about things and such. I feel I seem to handle change easier than most and im good at loading things into a confined space. I joke its due to all the tetris when I was younger.
Navigating UIs on PCs, Smartphones, Ticket Machines etc.
Reading UIs is definitely a skill, I can navigate most menus regardless of language. But it makes it harder to design stuff for the average user.
Not judging other people. Partly, I’m just quite easy going, partly I’ve had enough personal history of making mistakes to understand that people often have others reasons for their actions. But mostly I just don’t see the point in wasting headspace caring about someone’s appearance, opinion or behaviour.
But I feel like I’m constantly hearing people bitching, moaning and picking at other people. There are situations where you need to take a decision about something (particularly if you’re in a position of responsibility or authority) but most of the time there seems very little point in being judgemental about someone.
I don’t believe in free will so I always think to myself that if I was in their shoes I’d be acting the same way. It doesn’t mean I have endless tolerance for bad behavior or that it doesn’t affect whether I want to be around said person or not but I don’t act as if they’re personally responsible for who they are or that they’re actively choosing to be that way.
Our brains start firing to take action before we are conscious of that action. We can see this on a scan.
Not a comfortable thought, but our brains are driving and only after taking action do they send an executive summary to the little homonculous behind our eyeballs and we say, “I did that!”
I’ve never felt existential dread while contemplating life or death or the scale of the universe so being comfortable with mortality I guess.
I get hit and screamed at a lot…just as a part of my job, and it doesn’t seem to phase me other than the mild inconveniences of injury. I’m sure my brain is a bit wonky. I do take summers off, and I get so bored.
WTH do you do for a living?
Bouncer, nurse, special education, or law enforcement are the ones that come to mind for me. The summers off part especially makes me think education.
100% first thought that came to mind was CNA (Certified Nursing Aid) for an alzheimer/dementia unit before seeing rhey got summers off.
I’m not a picky eater. Too many Indians are averse to food from other places.
Seriously? Huh, that surprises me. Indian food is so rich with flavors and aromas that i would’ve thought other cuisines would be very easy to consume
For many Indians, other cuisines feel bland in comparison.
Well, that’s one of the reasons. Everything is too mild to my parents’ taste.
There’s nothing that a little mango pickle can’t fix
Do you know Rohan, by any chance?
Probably not. I used to work with an Indian guy (Mumbai, IIRC), and he always ate sandwiches or cereal for dinner, because whatever was served on the ship we worked was so far removed from his usual cuisine.
He didn’t eat fish or chicken? I’m guessing he is vegetarian for religious reasons.
And any food can be made spicier with a combination of onions, garlic, ginger, or chilli.
Budgeting and staying afloat.
I’m immune to FOMO, I’ve been conditioned and hard-wired to resist a majority of what commercialism tries shoving in my face. I’ll get what works for me and has proven to work for me and I’ll consider alternative options if whatever that is, is proven to me that it is something better.
I may be living as an individual and alone, but I don’t feel the need to spend $200+ on groceries just for me. Some people whose budgets are broken down when they go over their expenses just for them, I see so many flaws. Why do you need weed? Why do you need this or that? Why did you pick a place to live that costs you $2,000 a month? Are you insane?
Not trying to judge but you came here complaining to us (whenever I see it on social media) about why you’re broke or struggling, until I see what you’re spending on. Stop subscribing to bundled utilities where you’ll use only ONE of them (Net), stop subscribing to things you know you’ll use only once then forget about. It’s not that freaking hard, but the only reason people do these dumb things is to feel inclusive or feel like they’re saving on things but don’t read the fine print. It is all on you for why you fail budgeting.
I’m not trying to make excuses for capitalism but it’s survivable if you ask me.
Fact checking, data analysis, troubleshooting.
Driving without touching my phone.
So close to an upvote until I saw it said phone.
WHAT DID YOU THINK IT WAS???
I genuinely do not know
Penis
What about something that everyone else thinks is easy but it’s difficult for me?
Whistling. I’m fucking 35.
Reminded me of a time when my gf’s dad blamed video games for why gf and I can’t whistle.
Once I took this giant thc gummy and learned how to whistle quite loud. Went to sleep, woke up and can’t do it anymore 😭
It’s funny you say that. When I was a child, I could whistle for one day. It just… Worked all of the sudden. But, like you, I slept and then could never do it again.
My younger brother, who taught himself how to play guitar, was amazed that I can whistle in tune.
it’s genetic. some people just don’t have the right mouth shape to whistle easily. just like you might not be build for distance running or power lifting. we all have different dispositions. i’m super flexible and i’m in my 40s. often way more flexible than kids. i’ve always been that way.
Computers just work around me. Steady the software and programs. I’m not in the tech or it field. I’m in retail management.
The amount of times people call me over only to say “well now it’s working but before it took me to some other screen”
“Glad I could help”
My husband is this way. I take advantage of it regularly. I used to consider myself tech savvy but I went into the arts and the tech world left me behind. I used to try and muddle through it, but eventually I just stopped trying because I’d be doing everything “right” without success and then my husband would look over my shoulder and suddenly it would work. So now I swallow my pride and ask him sooner.
Climbing, I see a path and just take it. Pretty crazy how many people are afraid of heights. I’ve been climbing towers for over 20 years and have seen a lot of people not make it through the day.
I work at hight and one of my secrets is that I am afraid of heights, I am just really good at turning off the part of my brain that says what I’m doing is a terrible idea.
Been scared shitless of heights since I was a child. If I’m secured in any way, no problem. I can zip line, it’s the tower climb that makes me nervous.
Used to be a cable and satellite installer. Still never got over it.
