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 :]

  • who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.worldEnglish
    35·
    2 years ago

    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
      16·
      2 years ago

      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.

    • Crackhappy@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 years ago

      I have the same thing. I’m pretty sure there’s a word for this sense, but it eludes me at the moment.

    • scorpious@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 years ago

      Reminds me of an obvious/interesting factoid I once saw pointed out:

      Every single one of us is at the end of an unbroken line — aaalllll the way back to microorganisms — of folks / critters / etc. that lived long enough to procreate.

      Hearty fuckers, every one of us. In a certain sense…

  • Chariotwheel@kbin.social
    20·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • loffiz@feddit.nl
      2·
      2 years ago

      Not that but I can skim quickly and find the vital takeaways! Mostly useful for studies or reading recepies.

    • Urbanfox@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 years ago

      If you stop trying to vocalise the words in your head you can really break away from the the time limit and just fly through text.

      This is what I do when I’m reading academic papers for writing reports to see if the content is what I need.

      Takes a few seconds to scan it, take the understanding and made a decision on if it’s worthwhile or not.

      There’s also websites where you can drop text and it will train you to read this way.

  • Justagamer@lemmy.world
    19·
    2 years ago

    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 😉

  • Cakein@lemmy.world
    15·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • LetKCater2U@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      I have the same superpower and I love all the Flow Free games. And you’re right, I can’t even explain to myself how I know what to do. 🤷🏽‍♀️

      I’m the same way with word puzzles/games, but I can’t even split a check without a calculator lol.

  • ssboomman@lemm.ee
    13·
    2 years ago

    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
      61·
      2 years ago

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

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝@feddit.ukEnglish
    12·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • Lorindól@sopuli.xyz
    121·
    2 years 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.worksEnglish
    11·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • kraftpudding@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 years ago

    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.

    • TheHalc@sopuli.xyz
      6·
      2 years ago

      This is familiar.

      In particular, my accent gives me a distinct advantage, as I speak with what some might describe as a “BBC” English accent. I work using English outside of the UK in a multinational company, and it’s served me very well.

      In international contexts people just seem to trust that I know what I’m talking about, because they think that I sound like I should be narrating a nature documentary.

      • kraftpudding@lemmy.world
        4·
        2 years ago

        I’m not super sure what it is for me. I’m able to code switch pretty easily, and I don’t speak obvious dialect unless I explicitly mean to (I’m not a native english speaker, but it applies to english as well). It’s generally a great thing to have. I know a few people who struggle with being listened to, and honestly, it looks like it sucks.

        The only downside I’ve ever seen is that you have to be super honest to yourself about what you can and can not handle, or it can spin out of control quickly. Sometimes others assume you’re capable of anything they ask you to, and you don’t correct them because you think you might get away with it. But when you can’t pull it off, they will be disappointed and not very understanding. So it kinda becomes your job to point out your shortcomings to others early and frequently, which takes some mental energy, and I struggled with it when i was younger. I was very insecure on the inside, while seeming very confident to others. But I learned that if you do it in a competent voice, it just makes you more trustworthy because being honest about your mistakes and shortcomings when other people already think you’re capable is seen as a mature and responsible thing. So it works out in the end.

        • AstralWeekends@lemm.ee
          1·
          2 years ago

          Completely agree with your suggestion for handling this issue. This is something I’ve experienced most of my life as well and have only started realizing it at work the past few years. As I started working on more complicated subjects with a lot of room for ambiguity and error, I really have to make sure and qualify what I know for certain and what is more speculation in my work conversations.

          • kraftpudding@lemmy.world
            1·
            2 years ago

            Imo it’s really the only way to handle it and not go either full psycho narcissist or insane pressure burnout. But learning that humility took me a few tries, ngl. Also, it’s not a really googleable problem and even genuinely complaining about it sounds like humblebragging to many people. Because in the end, it is a very good thing and a privilege, but boy I’ve had some stressful times with it.

            • AstralWeekends@lemm.ee
              1·
              2 years ago

              (Well, I must say, you mentioned you’re not a native English speaker, but you could fool anyone because your English is crazy good - what is your native language?)

              I agree, it’s a real strength and something you can learn to control and use when you need it. It has definitely led to burnout situations for me in the past. For me, I think that comes from wanting to meet the expectations I feel I’ve set, but I’ve struggled to differentiate between expectations that I’m setting for myself vs. what others actually expect. My entire life I’ve worked harder than needed, most likely. Does this sound familiar to you? It’s definitely led to some success for me that I don’t feel is really deserved, but I’m learning to be a little more grateful for it these days :)

              • kraftpudding@lemmy.world
                2·
                2 years ago

                Thank you. That’s what years of reddit and hating dubbed media will do for you :) my native language is German, and we do start learning English here pretty early in life. When I was young, we started at 8, but today it’s sometimes even earlier. But sadly since I’m out of school my speaking skills are a little rusty, since I don’t practice them enough.

                Yes, I definitely felt that because of the expectations they had, i had to go the extra mile every time or I’d be worse than someone fulfilling already low expectations. But inevitably, you cannot go the extra mile all the time, so you ket some things slide, and they snowball and then you need to work extra extra hard to keep things from spinning out.

                But then, many people’s success is earned through way shadier means than “working harder than needed”.

  • Aielman15@lemmy.world
    10·
    2 years ago

    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.

  • tfw_no_toiletpaper@feddit.de
    10·
    2 years ago

    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.