I do not understand weights. I don’t know a pound from a stone from a kilo from a hundredweight.
In fact, I’m not even sure if a hundredweight has anything to do with weight.
Almost every other measurement I understand pretty well (except fahrenheit) but for some reason, I think because there are just so frickin’ many different scales used - and my parents used Imperial, School used decimal, and America makes stuff up - it all just confuses me to the point where I give up.
Time to come clean I guess.
Several things have allready been mentioned:
[ul]
[li]Can’t remember left from right (learnt the L trick, have to do that all of the time)[/li][li]Can’t pronounce words. I can say them in my head perfectly, but when it comes to talking, my tounge usually craps out on me[/li][li]Don’t know the alphabet. I have to sing that stupid song (I pray I’m never pulled over by the police and asked to recite the alphabet backwards. I would be hooped)[/li][/ul]
Now for some new ones:
[ul]
[li]I don’t know much in the way of grammar. I know what nouns and verbs are, but that’s it. As for sentance structure I go by how it sounds (ie I realize the sentance “me know none grammar” is incorrect)[/li][li]I can’t talk properly either. I always wind up switching words around (almost like verbal dyslexia)[/li][li]I don’t know how to stress words (ie when reading poetry). For instance, when people say that you stress the first part of a word, I have no clue what to do. Not only that but a lot of the time I can’t tell the difference when other people do it.[/li][li]I can’t remember names. You tell me your name, 10 seconds later and you’ll just be a face to me.[/li][/ul]
That’s about all I can think about right now. If I remember more I’ll get back to you.
Lately, I don’t think I know much of anything.
Interesting thread. I’ve always had a problem with east/west - I still have to picture a map of the US and think which direction is east. (I do know California is in the west coast and New York and stuff are on the east coast.) I’m bilingual and I have to do the same thing in Japanese too (higashi-nippon is where Tokyo is). Also, I once had a girlfriend with the same problem. We often got lost.
I used to have trouble when people told me to turn a knob or dial to the right or left. I mean, if I rotate something, half of it moves to the right and half to the left, so how can you turn something just to the right?
Most annoying is that I still haven’t learned to pronounce my name correctly in English. I try to say Ken and it comes out as Khan or Kein. I think I’m getting better though.
Same here!
I also have a small problem with math. When I’m doing the homework assignments, I have no trouble–most of the time just figure out the answer in my head. But when I get to a quiz or a test, I make incredibly stupid mistakes–everything from putting a “+” instead of a “-” to using the wrong formula on a problem.
I have the exact same problem! My best friend is half Iranian, another close friend is Palestian, and another close friend is half Hispanic and I had no idea about their background until they would say something specifically. I guess it never mattered or occured to me.
I also often have verbal dyslexia. Sometimes I say sentences that have nothing but nouns and I have to gesture wildly to get my point across.
I also know a lot of words, but can’t pronounce them for squat. Too much reading-I recognize the words, and know what they mean, but I misspronounce them all the time!
Like,
Facade-fack-kade
chagrin-char-grinn
macabre-maka-brey
I also misspell tons of words…like criticize? Was that right?
I also mess up people’s names, and I have trouble hearing and listening…I tend to blank out.
I had feeling this thread would reveal something interesting.
But I never would have guessed that so many people have a problem with right and left. Go figure.
When it comes to words, I too had problems:
[ul]
[li]I used to pronounce sword- ‘seward’, instead of ‘sord’.[/li]
[li]Real embarissing, when talking computers, I used to, but now catch myself, pronounce dos- ‘Das’, as opposed to ‘dose’.[/li][/ul]
Keep 'em coming. I know there’s some closeted posters out there just dying to add theirs here but are afraid.
C’mon.
At the age of 34, I’ve just learned that I can reduce the headlight glare in my rearview mirror by tilting it up.
I have no idea what “ISO 9000” means or refers to.
No matter how hard I try…I am unable to make myself burp.
DOS is “Das”, unless you mean the abbreviation for Denial of Service, then it’s “Dee Oh Ess”. Who are the fools that told you it’s “Dose”?
I have trouble telling absolute directions, like which way is North. No trouble determining which is East or West once I already know which is North though. During the day I can use the sun to tell which direction is which. But at night, I just don’t know.
If you’re giving me directions, say “turn left”, NOT “turn South”.
I used to be able to whistle, but now I can’t.
There are lots of words (but none that I cant think of off the top of my head) which I never knew the meaning of because I was too afraid to ask.
Probably biggest flaw: I can never remember anyone’s name. I’ve known some people for years without learning their name. But I can remember faces. I never forget a face. Unfortunately, when I see a person, instead of thinking of their name, I just think “That girl I saw at the DMV that one time.” It’s pretty horrible, since I’m in school; sometimes we correct each others’ tests by swapping with a random person and then correcting it. And I have no idea who to give the paper to. It doesn’t just apply to people I know, either, it happens with celebrities; I wouldn’t be able to tell Bruce Willis from John Travolta, or Jennifer Love Hewwit from Demi Moore. And I get Leslie Neilson and Steve Martin mixed up all the time.
Even after taking a whole section on it in my history class, I still don’t really know the difference between Democrats and Republicans.
I can’t compute 2095235 factorial in my head.
I only know Pi to the twenty-seventh digit. 
I just realized that I have most of the problems described in this thread.
I add and subtract by counting in my head. For instance, if I want to add 8+7, I break 7 into 3 and 4, and rhythmically think: “eight… nineteneleven… twelvethirteenfourteenfifteen.” I’d never just remember that 8+7 is 15.
When I was a kid, I thought that the capitol of North Carolina was pronounced “Ralph.” Of course, now if I were to pronounce it the way it looks, I’d say “Rail-igh”.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by TheNerd *
**
I say “dose” too! I took several years of Spanish and as far as I’m concerned, “DOS” will always be “dose.”
I am so glad to hear that others have the left/right problem too. I thought I was the only one. So many people have made fun of me because I can’t immediately tell left from right. I have the east/west problem too - I just figured it was an extension of the left/right problem.
I can’t always pronounce words I know, either. And I have to think of the alphabet song to put letters in order.
I’m so glad CnoteChris started this thread! To paraphrase Seinfeld:
“You don’t know left from right? Me neither! Let’s be friends! You sing the alphabet song too? We can be BEST friends!”
TheNerd-just get a compus?
Okay, very basic/stupid…
I’ve been terribly nearsighted all my life. Literally can’t remember just opening my eyes and seeing.
Took forever to figure out the problem when I was a kid. (It was before school eye/ear screenings.) I was tall so always at the back of the room…and labelled “stupid” even though I could read before kindgergarten.
Finally got my eyes checked, and glasses fitted. Felt weird, but walked outside and was totally blown away. I still remember it so clearly. I knew what telephone poles were but had no idea wires were up there. All of sudden trees had leaves, birds sat on wires and the blackboard had writing on it.
Maybe stupid and off the OP, but it was the single biggest click and blaze of comprehension.
Considering laser surgery,
Veb
This is a very interesting thread.
Up until the age of about 13, I couldn’t tell the time. In class when we were asked questions about the time, I would panic and freak out. It was very embarrassing. The way I learnt to tell the time was really weird. It was new years eve and I looked at a clock on the wall and instantly knew what time it was. From that moment onwards, I never had trouble telling the time.
Maths to me, is like another language. I can’t do the basic mathematical problem. This worries me.
Right and left is so hard for me. I have to think about it, but now I know I am not a moron. Thanks, guys!
I can’t burp either. I can’t make myself burp, and rarely do I just impulisvely do it because I have to. I can’t whistle…and only recently did I learn to snap my fingers.
I don’t feel bad anymore though. 
I’m another one who can’t always pronounce words. Many words I learned by only reading them, so I never knew how they were supposed to sound.
macabre = mac-a-bree (High five Guinastasia 
)
As in ‘Dance Mac-a-bree’, the Stephen King book. I am such an idiot.
Oh, and I am 28 years old but just two years ago learned to properly work a wash rag.
Always been a sponge girl, never could figure out how to get a washrag good and foamy. Holding the rag in one hand and rubbing the soap against it with the other never seemed to get me anywhere, so I just went to loofas. My husband finally taught me the ‘fold the rag around the soap and twirl the soap round’ trick. Man, these washcloth things are great!