# Do you have any talents not appreciated by Society? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347 "2016-05-22T02:19:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/1 "2016-05-22T02:19:58Z")
Maybe I could be a **writer**. Do you have any talents which are not valued by society? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/2 "2016-05-22T02:22:47Z")
I have told lots about myself in other threads. But does anyone else have talents they have lost, or talents not appreciated? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/3 "2016-05-22T02:27:28Z")
I have some talents I am sure, I have found ways to express them in ways that are appreciated by my select group but not society in general. I have always wondered what my talents would be best suited for if they had been nurtured from a young age. I would imagine only a lucky few of us really find their true niche in life. My most appreciated talent s my ability to squeak the most power out of a piece of wood into a bow and arrow. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/4 "2016-05-22T02:35:59Z")
When I was a child, sweeping the driveway was one of my chores. We had a long driveway, and I was lazy and recalcitrant. I therefore spent hours perfecting the art of balancing the broom on my hand. To this day, I can balance brooms, yardsticks, and random fallen branches on my hands. I can hop the stick from hand to hand and from finger to finger. I can balance it on my foot, kick it in the air, and catch it on my hand. I can balance it on my chin and on my nose. If the stick is crooked, I can make it pirouette on my palm. Sometimes I can balance it, toss it in the air so it flips over, and catch it balancing on the other end. But do they regard me with awe? Did this talent ever get me chicks? Do they shower me with money? NOOOOOOOOO ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/5 "2016-05-22T02:39:54Z")
When I worked with autistic people, I was very good at communicating with low-language people. Sometimes a person would repeat sometimes, and even his parents couldn’t figure out what he was trying to communicate, but it would dawn on me pretty quickly. Got to the point that at gatherings, sometimes autistic people themselves would seek me out if the person with them wasn’t getting whatever they were trying to get through. Never for anything earth-shaking-- they usually wanted a particular food to eat that wasn’t being offered, or they were scared of an animal someone had brought, or they wanted to go to another part of the park where they knew there were swings, stuff like that. But a lot of the time people would dismiss something they couldn’t understand as “stimming,” or “echolalia,” but it would make perfect sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/6 "2016-05-22T02:45:35Z")
I can balance on a rolling log/barrel. It’s not especially useful, although it did shock the hell out of a lumberjack that challenged me to a contest, figuring it would be an easy win :). Not much use other than that. I can also read really, really fast, but that really only impresses my daughter (she likes to watch my eyes whip from side to side) and bugs the heck out of my co-worker. ---
**Author:** ![blueliner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/58f4c7/32.png) [@blueliner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueliner)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/7 "2016-05-22T02:52:32Z")
I can snatch $8 worth of quarters off my elbow. It’s fun to do in bars but society as a whole doesn’t seem to be impressed. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/8 "2016-05-22T02:56:51Z")
I was once very good draftsman, capable of drawing single-stroke Helvetica, in ink, to scale. A useful skill to lay out signs. **Poysyn** , I thought all Canadian girls could do that. Er, the log rolling. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/9 "2016-05-22T03:04:16Z")
I can remember things that are too obscure or “useless” even for jeopardy questions … ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/10 "2016-05-22T03:07:20Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I was once very good draftsman, capable of drawing single-stroke Helvetica, in ink, to scale. A useful skill to lay out signs. > > **Poysyn** , I thought all Canadian girls could do that. Er, the log rolling. I am only going by the look of shock when I knocked the guy off the log into the water, apparently not. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/11 "2016-05-22T03:13:01Z")
To quote Chandler Bing I’m not great at advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment? ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/12 "2016-05-22T03:29:52Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > When I worked with autistic people, I was very good at communicating with low-language people. Sometimes a person would repeat sometimes, and even his parents couldn’t figure out what he was trying to communicate, but it would dawn on me pretty quickly. Thank you. I am not severely autistic, but moderately autistic. I can talk but I can not fit well into society. Most autistic people have talents. I can talk in riddles. Maybe I could have been a great author. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/13 "2016-05-22T03:42:45Z")
I can read almost anybody’s handwriting. Doctors, lawyers. (Well, especially doctors.) Engineers usually have pretty good handwriting, but if they don’t, I can read it anyway. This may or may not be valued by society, but it sure isn’t well recompensed, at least, not monetarily. ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/14 "2016-05-22T03:45:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I can read almost anybody’s handwriting. Doctors, lawyers. (Well, especially doctors.) Engineers usually have pretty good handwriting, but if they don’t, I can read it anyway. > > This may or may not be valued by society, but it sure isn’t well recompensed, at least, not monetarily. That is a talent. Maybe you could be a great detective. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/15 "2016-05-22T03:49:56Z")
How old are you? Maybe you could still be a great author. Some authors haven’t been published until later in life. ---
**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:** [May 22, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/16 "2016-05-22T03:50:46Z")
None of my talents are appreciated by society. By the same token, much of society isn’t appreciated by me. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/17 "2016-05-22T03:53:13Z")
> [@CCitizen](#): > > Thank you. I am not severely autistic, but moderately autistic. I can talk but I can not fit well into society. Fitting into “society” is SO 20th century. You fit in here fine, in meta-society. Accept it, ignore the society you were born into, and enjoy your existence a step beyond meat-life. Still don’t mean I always have to agree with you, though. Us disembodied typists have opinions too. y’know. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CCitizen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@CCitizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CCitizen)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/18 "2016-05-22T04:27:56Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Fitting into “society” is SO 20th century. You fit in here fine, in meta-society. Accept it, ignore the society you were born into, and enjoy your existence a step beyond meat-life. > > Still don’t mean I always have to agree with you, though. Us disembodied typists have opinions too. y’know. 😉 Thank you very much! If 95% of people find my art offensive, but 5% buy my works and are my fans, it is a huge success. If I am not noticed by anyone, or if I have 10 people who agree with me, it is nonscence. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/19 "2016-05-22T05:43:46Z")
I can turn red traffic lights to green by staring at them. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, but it never fails. People don’t seem to appreciate this talent nearly as much as it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347/20 "2016-05-22T06:03:38Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Fitting into “society” is SO 20th century. You fit in here fine, in meta-society. Accept it, ignore the society you were born into, and enjoy your existence a step beyond meat-life. > > Still don’t mean I always have to agree with you, though. Us disembodied typists have opinions too. y’know. 😉 I disagree, you are NOT a disembodied typist, you are a collection of pixels on my screen, sometimes blue, sometimes black sometimes lavender and occasionally part of you is green.😃 > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I can turn red traffic lights to green by staring at them. Sometimes it takes a few minutes, but it never fails. > > People don’t seem to appreciate this talent nearly as much as it deserves. I had to read this twice to, a most excellent talent sir, and a wish for a long and hale and hearty life to you for having said talent. I can piss people off by making them laugh in the middle of an argument and disrupting the flow. only works irl though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-any-talents-not-appreciated-by-society/755347.md?page=2)