Ask Lemmy

I'm a voracious reader. Took me decades to realize that otherwise intelligent people sometimes can't follow a novel. Also, I can see it in my head, like watching a movie.

Good friend was over yesterday trying to read a username on my screen (which is a huge TV). The name was $SomethingDuo. He couldn't pronounce duo. The man is illiterate and I never had a clue! Maybe he's dyslexic? I would think the Marine Corp would have caught that. Maybe he ate too many crayons?

Never did well in chemistry, but give me a spelling I've never seen and I can nail it after a moment's thought. Reading the Belter's mish-mash of languages in The Expanse made sense, even in languages I don't know. I'm also great at learning languages, spoken or written.

One more thing, I have a strong sense for the weather and seasons. My wife and kids are clueless, can't even dress themselves appropriately. That's probably learned behavior though. I'm a wuss for being uncomfortable outside and I'm outside far more than most people.

One more. I'm not afraid of wild animals, even the big ones like black bears, alligators and panthers. They're not going to mess with you and you'll be lucky to catch a glimpse. Thought that was normal, but even Florida natives are often afraid of gators.

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.

Getting places on time

I've never felt existential dread while contemplating life or death or the scale of the universe so being comfortable with mortality I guess.

STEM back in school. That's how I make a living now.

Living below my means. Moving somewhere where pay to living cost is better helped.

Writing with my left hand.

Designated Southpaw.

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.

I'm very aware of my own body and how it's positioned, so I have good balance, makes me a great dancer, and ambidextrous to some degree.

Organization. By nature I'm extremely organized. People are always commenting on how well organized my home is, but this is just what's normal for me. I get kind of neurotic when things are in disarray.