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 :]

    • scorpious@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 year 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…

  • who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.worldEnglish
    41·
    1 year 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
      20·
      1 year 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·
      1 year ago

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

  • Chariotwheel@kbin.social
    26·
    1 year 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.

    • Urbanfox@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 year 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.

    • loffiz@feddit.nl
      2·
      1 year ago

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

  • Justagamer@lemmy.world
    21·
    1 year 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 😉

  • ssboomman@lemm.ee
    19·
    1 year 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.

    • spicy pancake@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      10·
      1 year ago

      With math, is it arithmetic that gives you trouble or the actual symbolic manipulation of mathematics?

      I am hot garbage at keeping track of numbers but turn those fuckers into letters and (at least for me) it’s off to the races. Then I just convert everything back to numbers in the last step before jamming it all into a calculator. This method saved my ass in 400-level biochemistry courses. (Annoyed the shit out of the grad students grading my exams, I’m sure…)

      You may be better at “math” than you think :]

        • spicy pancake@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          Good on you for just casually getting a computational physics degree without inherent math talent… like holy shit that’s impressive!

          I have also cried over coursework on linear algebra as well as electricity and magnetism :') Brutal stuff.

      • Legolution@feddit.uk
        3·
        1 year ago

        Please could you explain a bit more about the process you describe, above? Maybe with some simple examples? I’m woeful at maths but really good with mechanical and physical problems. If there’s a way I can improve upon the former, I’d love to try.

        Thanks in advance!

    • Sickos [they/them, it/its]@hexbear.netEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      Mechanical adept here too. I am very good at holding and manipulating 3d objects in my brain, so I can kinda always just tell how something goes together to work.

      • sunbeam60@lemmy.one
        3·
        1 year ago

        I lived in Canada for 6 months surviving on nothing but being a medical Guinea pig (I had no working permit and due to anonymity, very little was asked of people participating in medical trials, plus they paid a decent amount especially if pain or discomfort was involved); as part of this I went through a raft of IQ tests (there was always some gambling addiction trial going at UofT for some reason) and found out that, like you, I have exceptional visual intelligence - rotating objects in my head, and figuring out if something would fit together was super skills of mine. In every other way I’m decidedly average.

  • WoofWoof91 [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    18·
    1 year ago

    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

    • MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.ml
      2·
      1 year ago

      Same here on the lucid dreams, I didn’t even know it had a name, and I was surprised when people said that they don’t control their dreams.

      But the hiccups… Mate, you’re a wizard.

  • ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ 帝@feddit.ukEnglish
    17·
    1 year 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.

  • Cakein@lemmy.world
    16·
    1 year 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·
      1 year 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.

        • Micromot@lemmycook.de
          3·
          1 year ago

          The second thing we have a big drawer with random sizes of tupperware containers and i just take the one looks like it fits and it is very close every time

          • Mom Nom Mom@nom.mom
            2·
            1 year ago

            just take the one looks like it fits and it is very close every time

            “Very close” is easy - it’s the “very close without going over” that’s tricky ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

            But it’s not something I can do unless it’s accidental…

    • hedgehog@ttrpg.networkEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      I can do this as I’m drinking something - one gulp is roughly one ounce. Was especially handy with water fountains when tracking my hydration, but that hasn’t been relevant since 2019.

  • Lorindól@sopuli.xyz
    15·
    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.worksEnglish
    14·
    1 year 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.