Do you have any skills or expertise that would amaze others?

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Discussion Overview

The thread explores various personal skills or expertise that participants believe might amaze others. The discussion includes a range of talents from juggling and musical abilities to unique memory skills and humorous claims. It encompasses both serious and light-hearted contributions, reflecting on what constitutes an impressive skill.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Humorous

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express modesty about their skills, such as being bilingual or performing mental calculations quickly.
  • Several individuals claim the ability to juggle three balls, with some noting that it is not particularly difficult.
  • One participant mentions balancing sticks on various body parts, suggesting it is a common skill that many lack.
  • Musical talents are highlighted, with participants discussing abilities in guitar, piano, and traditional Turkish music, with varying levels of recognition from peers.
  • Some participants share humorous or trivial skills, such as tasting beer brands or multitasking in mundane activities.
  • There are repeated inquiries about balancing and juggling simultaneously, indicating a playful challenge among participants.
  • One participant mentions their expertise in recognizing aquarium fish and knowledge of historical events, while another discusses their ability to improvise on the guitar.
  • Claims of hidden talents include crochet, knitting, and serving in tennis, with some expressing surprise at their own skills being recognized by others.
  • Several posts reflect a humorous tone, with participants joking about their abilities to perform trivial tasks or making light of their skills.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a variety of skills and talents, but there is no consensus on what constitutes an "amazing" skill. Many express modesty or humor regarding their abilities, leading to a mix of serious and light-hearted contributions without a clear agreement on the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some claims are made with humor or self-deprecation, and the discussion includes a mix of serious skills and trivial abilities, reflecting the subjective nature of what might amaze others.

Alex_Sanders
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I do not. I'm bilingual, but one of them is Americanese so it doesn't stand out much, I can perform 4 digit calculation in my head within 30 seconds but my niece is catching up fast and she's only 3rd grade. I have good long term memory, but have to prove that in at least ten years.
 
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Yup.
 
Danger said:
Yup.

What, brevity?
 
I can juggle 3 balls. I've been able to do that since I was 7 years old. I'm now 28 and can still only juggle 3 balls. Never made it to 4. But people are still impressed by that. Seems to me everyone should at least have the dexterity to juggle 3 balls. It's not hard.

I can also balance things really well. Like sticks. I can balance them on my chin and my foot. That's not hard either. I'm usually surprised at how bad people are at that.
 
leroyjenkens said:
I can juggle 3 balls. I've been able to do that since I was 7 years old. I'm now 28 and can still only juggle 3 balls. Never made it to 4. But people are still impressed by that. Seems to me everyone should at least have the dexterity to juggle 3 balls. It's not hard.

I can also balance things really well. Like sticks. I can balance them on my chin and my foot. That's not hard either. I'm usually surprised at how bad people are at that.

Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?
 
lisab said:
Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?

I can manage a stick and 2 balls at once. Most men can. :-p
 
I can multitask, like walking, chewing gum and listening to music at the same time. Does that count? But it served me well for my career as fighter pilot.

Also, at age 12, some century ago, I would challenge anybody for quizzes about recognising aquarium fish (latin names). Currently that would be about facts pertaining the last glacial transition between 25K and 10K years ago
 
I don't know if "amaze" is an apt word, but I can play guitar and sing well enough to make a living at it, though that was cut short by my inability to tolerate perfumes, colognes, and fragrances in fabric products. Too bad, because I could pull in over $30/hr for hosting open mic jams at taverns. Some less-experienced guitarists were "amazed" at my ability to play a song in any key that they specified. That was simple: just learn barre chords and learn to build leads out of runs associated with those chords. Guitar is a wonderfully transposable instrument, if you have the skills. When someone wanted to sing and had problems with the chosen key, out would come the capos. I never used one.
 
lisab said:
Can you balance a stick and juggle at the same time?

Nope. And I can't juggle sticks. The flipping of them throws me off. I can balance balls, but it's hard. I can spin a basketball on my finger too.
So yeah, I can do a bunch of useless stuff.
I'm also apparently really knowledgeable about 90's movies. My friends bought a movie trivia game and there are about 100 or so questions for each decade and I got nearly every single 90's question right. For some reason movies and actors are something I remember well.
 
  • #10
Doesn't amaze my musical friends (or my kids), but some people are amazed that I can play several piano concertos pretty well (especially Rachmaninov 2 and Grieg) and also several violin concertos (especially Bruch no.1 and Tchaikovsky).

I can also juggle 3 balls or random objects of the right sort of weight, but not without occasionally dropping one!

Less seriously, I can whistle and hum at the same time in three-part harmony. (The second humming part sounds very similar to the first, but is actually a beat frequency selected by choosing the appropriate interval between the humming and whistling).

Even less seriously, I can whistle and hum two different tunes at the same time if I know them both well enough. (The examples I usually use here are the British National Anthem and Rule Britannia, but I also do requests). You do NOT want to hear that.
 
  • #11
I can clap with one hand, and I can tell the difference between Coca-Cola from a 330 ml can and a 500 ml bottle just by smell. Don't think anyone is amazed by it though. :smile: I can juggle 3 balls too, but for some reason, a lot of people can do that here in Sweden.
 
  • #12
I can multiply 13 digit numbers in my head. 2 trillion times 3 trillion is 6 septillion.
 
  • #13
I have a few hidden talents. Not sure if they really AMAZE others but eh, acquaintances are usually surprised when they find any of these out:

I can juggle 3, 4, 5 balls, that's kinda impressive I guess, I learned that in high school.

I can crochet, knit, macrame, weave, and whittle. (awe usually follows after I tell people I made the birthday/christmas/whatever gift I just gave them)

My last hidden talent is that I still have a 100+ mph serve in tennis even though I have only played 2-3 times a year since the high school state championships.

Although this isn't really "hidden" since I have a masters in classical trumpet performance, most of my science/academic colleagues don't realize my income is from being a professional musician, which usually amazes them ... the reverse is also true, where my musician friends often find it interesting that I'm going back to school for an MD/PhD.
 
  • #14
no. that would be, no.
 
  • #15
I have an amazing social obtuseness. Can be counted on to say "just the wrong thing".

But i used to be able to taste a Busch beer and name which brewery it came from.
 
  • #16
mathwonk said:
no. that would be, no.

I know a must-meet-minimum-character-requirement post when I see one - is that amazing?
 
  • #17
I can pour water into the coffee maker with highest rate of flow possible... are you ready? ... without spilling any.
 
  • #18
I can pick my nose while showering. :approve:
 
  • #19
arildno said:
I can pick my nose while showering. :approve:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.
 
  • #20
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

Can you keep from singing as well?
 
  • #21
arildno said:
Can you keep from singing as well?
If I can still hum.
 
  • #22
turbo said:
If I can still hum.
I'm glad I live far away from you. :smile:
 
  • #23
I can improvise on my guitar (it's like building some mathematical sequences for me really), but I rarely if ever play outside my room.

Sometimes I can even make some hoops from beyond the arc, it always seem to amaze the youngsters playing there (little toddlers), but I am not consistent with my shooting.
Can't dunk though... :-(
 
  • #24
I can make certain things disppear, e.g. a family-size bag of Cheetos.
 
  • #25
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.
 
  • #26
neyzenyelda said:
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.
Shame on you! That actually AMAZES me, in contrast to everything else given in this thread.
:smile:
 
  • #27
neyzenyelda said:
I am from Turkey and an expert of Turkish or Ottoman traditional music.
I can sing Turkish or Ottoman traditional songs at professional level.
I can play most of the Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical instruments at professional level.
I still work hard on music. I am 48 but my plan is to become the best musician of Turkish or Ottoman traditional musical history.
I think I am very close to that target.

That IS impressive. :approve:

I can eat turkey.
 
  • #28
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

Alternately, I can write my name in the snow.
 
  • #29
Ivan Seeking said:
Alternately, I can write my name in the snow.
I'm glad that I don't have a long name...
 
  • #30
turbo said:
Oh, yeah? Well I can shower without peeing in the shower.

I can't. It's automatic at this point. If I have to pee and I know I'm going to take a shower soon, I'll just hold it until I get in the tub and let loose. Why waste a flush?
 

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