# Abilities you seem tto have suddenly lost. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064 "2016-07-16T18:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/21 "2016-07-18T02:35:02Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I, too, find myself losing words that I know perfectly well. Me three. The only thing worse than getting old is the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/22 "2016-07-18T03:46:17Z")
Memory: shot. I can’t remember one damned thing I ever learned in school. As a practicing physician, this has me slightly concerned. I think I may be coming down with…ah…something or other. Ok, here’s a \*real \*one: As a youngster, I had beautiful penmanship and an ability to write romantic prose (Yes, young people, in my day people used to take pen to paper and write love letters to their paramours, longhand). These days, even I can’t understand what I write…minutes after I write it. This is just as well, because even a shopping list would sound more romantic than what I could write today. Oh, and I lost the ability to vibrate my pupils and to put both feet behind my head. So, those are two more things I can no longer do to attract women. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/23 "2016-07-18T05:56:28Z")
I’ve lost my serve! Oh, it still goes into the service court. It’s just that now, people hit it back. That’s not right. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/24 "2016-07-18T06:27:46Z")
My ability to remember a spoken word sentence. Back in the day, if I was watching a Simpsons episode for a second time, my recollection of the killer one liners was so good that I could repeat them aloud with the characters (complete with appropriate pauses and tone inflections). When I now watch something through for a second time, I often find that the dialogue plays out in a completely different manner to how I recall it, in terms of both the words being uttered and sometimes even which characters are uttering them. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/25 "2016-07-18T11:59:57Z")
I used to be able to tolerate listening to someone go on and on about whatever. This weekend I was at a wedding reception and twice found myself cornered by a bore. Both times after 30 or 45 seconds I pointed into the distance, said, “I’d better go see to that”, and walked away. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/26 "2016-07-18T14:25:25Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Oh yeah, this too. I can’t swing on a swingset anymore without getting nauseated, either. Oh yeah that too - what on earth is that, some sort of middle ear thing? I used to swing all _day_, then a few months ago I went to the local park with my husband and our toddler and I was gonna swiiiii… oh stop pls make stop ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/27 "2016-07-18T16:28:09Z")
I learned one just last night: I used to be able to sit on the hard seats of the [_Blossom Music Center_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blossom_Music_Center) without such excruciating back pain that I had to leave the concert early. So much for the rest of the season. Damn. And I used to be able to walk to and from the parking lot without having to take that silly little “Old People’s” train. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/28 "2016-07-18T16:51:26Z")
In 2013 I suddenly became unable to track a fly ball when playing the outfield. That used to be something I was damned good at, but then, boom, I just could not do it. For those who don’t play baseball, to give you some idea of the dramatic loss of ability, it would be precisely equivalent to one day being able to whistle, and the next day you simply cannot and can’t even figure out why not. I had my eyesight checked, and it wasn’t that. I could still catch a popup if I was playing infield, or track a ball thrown to me. Long fly balls though? Forget it. I stopped playing outfield entirely. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/29 "2016-07-18T17:11:15Z")
This one happened quite a while ago: I lost my fearlessness of heights. As a kid, I climbed anything and everything I could. I’d be 40 feet up a Doug fir where the top could barely hold my weight without bending over and loving it. Sometime in my late 20s or early 30s I lost it. Then I’d only edge up to sharp drop-offs and take a quick peek before backing off. Don’t like going up very high on an extension ladder, etc. I think it was a fairly quick transition because I really noticed it when it changed. ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/30 "2016-07-18T17:15:22Z")
I have lost the ability to read a novel. And this wasn’t a gradual thing. In 2010, the last time I went out on a Navy cruise, I brought 6 Star Trek novels to read. I made it through 3 1/2 of them, and haven’t touched them since, even though I still remember what was going on, and would still be interested to see where it goes. My friend introduced me to Game of Thrones in Late 2011. I had missed season 1, so I bought the book to read. I could not get through 50 pages. I went to the library and checked out Clarke/Pohl’s “The Last Theorem”, I have read almost the entire library of both authors, and I could not get past 50 pages. I know that you might say that the quality of these books isn’t the best, but it used to not matter. I could read an entire novel of pure dreck. I have finished both The Silmarillion and Battlefield Earth, both of which were stretched out entirely too long. Now I doubt that I could re-read LOTR, which I have read at least 3 times in my life, the last time being just before each of the corresponding movies came out. It just seems to me that somewhere between 2010 and 2011, at age 40 or 41, I lost the ability to read a novel, and it kills me. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/31 "2016-07-18T17:22:54Z")
Just thought of another one. I recently lost my ability to easily steer in reverse. I have a narrow driveway with a tricky bend in it, boxed in by a hedge and the side of the house. I used to be able to back out quickly with no problem; didn’t even think about it. Now I have to carefully maneuver it, narrowly missing the hedge and the house, often having to go forward and trying again. I’ve already lost two passenger-side mirrors. And I don’t even have a wide car. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/32 "2016-07-18T17:51:08Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > When I was younger my math ability was legendary; I could do all sorts of math in my head. Now, I need a calculator to do simple arithmetic. > > I’ve pretty much lost the ability to remember people’s names. > > About five years ago I suddenly stopped having erections. I can still have orgasms and all that, just no erections. And Viagra just makes me clammy. > [@panache45](#): > > I learned one just last night: > > I used to be able to sit on the hard seats of the [_Blossom Music Center_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blossom_Music_Center) without such excruciating back pain that I had to leave the concert early. So much for the rest of the season. Damn. > > And I used to be able to walk to and from the parking lot without having to take that silly little “Old People’s” train. > [@panache45](#): > > Just thought of another one. I recently lost my ability to easily steer in reverse. I have a narrow driveway with a tricky bend in it, boxed in by a hedge and the side of the house. I used to be able to back out quickly with no problem; didn’t even think about it. Now I have to carefully maneuver it, narrowly missing the hedge and the house, often having to go forward and trying again. I’ve already lost two passenger-side mirrors. And I don’t even have a wide car. Kids, I think it’s time we sent **Panache45** to go live on that nice farm I told you about. He can romp around in the meadow to his heart’s desire. There will be a lot of elderly pets there he can play with, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/33 "2016-07-18T18:10:29Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I, too, find myself losing words that I know perfectly well. This scares me because frontal-lobe aphasia (yep, it’s medical) is a sign of dementia, specifically one that my father suffered from. Yesterday’s word was “Sumac”, a plant I’ve seen practically every day of my life. At my age (66), this would scare me as well, if hadn’t already been a problem before I graduated high school. ---
**Author:** ![lynne-42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lynne-42/32/3138_2.png) [@lynne-42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynne-42)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/34 "2016-07-19T06:10:48Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Memory: shot. I can’t remember one damned thing I ever learned in school. As a practicing physician, this has me slightly concerned. I think I may be coming down with…ah…something or other. My ability to do mental calculations, as others have mentioned, seemed to disappear suddenly. As a maths teacher from way back, that was a shock. My memory is way better than it has ever been before. I’m now 64. But it a sudden gain, not loss. And there’s a good reason. My natural memory was always appallingly bad - I stuck to maths and physics where I could rely on logic. As a mature age student eight years ago I started my PhD on non-literate cultures and their science and realised that they were memorising entire field guides, maps, laws, genealogies and so much more. How? My thesis and subsequent books ended up more about the memory methods than the actual science. The methods are basically like the ancient Greek Method of Loci (associating pieces of information with a sequence of memory locations) but with lots more bells and whistles. I started implementing the memory systems used by non-literate cultures a few years ago and now I can memorise almost anything. I have structures and hooks. My general knowledge is far better than it has ever been. The more I do it, the easier it becomes. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/35 "2016-07-19T15:14:16Z")
Thanks to technology, I can no longer write in cursive fluidly. Anything beyond my signature takes a couple seconds per letter to recall how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/36 "2016-07-19T15:29:35Z")
Thanks to technology, I can no longer write clearly with large block letters. You think I’m kidding? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/37 "2016-07-19T15:48:46Z")
Thanks to reading from the internet for years, where you can jump back and forth in subjects, and impulsively follow tangents, it seems I can’t just pick up a book and read anymore. My concentration wanders after a couple of pages and I find myself eyeing my laptop. This is sad, because I’ve been a bookworm ever since I could first read. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/38 "2016-07-19T16:00:05Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > I used to draw and paint watercolors as a hobby, from childhood into my 20s, and felt good enough about my ability to write and illustrate a children’s book for the elementary school classes I aided. (Landscapes, human figures, real animals, fantastical animals, portraits, village life – that book had a lot of complex illustrations, and I was pleased with how they turned out.) > > Then I stopped drawing for a bunch of reasons (like grad school taking up all my time), and now 15 years later…ugh, I’m a disgrace. I’ve been playing Telestrations with my friends at work this summer, and now I can’t draw even the most basic, stick-figure-level thing anymore. I feel so ashamed! Me too. I used to be pretty talented doing comic book style drawings. To the point that I thought about it as a career. Good thing I didn’t, I was decent but would never be good enough to be a pro. Now I can’t draw the simplest of drawings. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/39 "2016-07-19T20:48:21Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Thanks to reading from the internet for years, where you can jump back and forth in subjects, and impulsively follow tangents, it seems I can’t just pick up a book and read anymore. My concentration wanders after a couple of pages and I find myself eyeing my laptop. This is sad, because I’ve been a bookworm ever since I could first read. I’ve had the same experience. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064/40 "2016-07-19T22:29:29Z")
My penmanship has gone to crap. Sometimes I can’t read something I wrote 5 minutes earlier. Don’t know if it was a sudden loss, as I haven’t tried it since I was a teen, but I recently discovered I can no longer armpit fart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abilities-you-seem-tto-have-suddenly-lost/760064.md?page=3)