# Things that may appear simple to others are amazing to me
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 10, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233 "2006-06-10T20:31:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/41 "2006-06-12T21:19:50Z")
Magic eye? Easy. Math in my head? No prob. Selling? Don’t like it, but understand how it works from pros. Yes, I’m impressed by song writers, but even more so by people who write for a living. Whether they are book authors or just news writers, those people have my respect for grinding out words day after day. I do my share of writing, but it’s pure agony at times putting words on paper. And these people do it … all … the … time. Easy for them, hard for me.
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### Author:  [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/42 "2006-06-12T21:29:11Z")
> [@tiny ham](#):
>
> What are some things that utterly amaze you that your fellow dopers may find easy?
Art. The fact that someone can sit down with a #2 pencil and a piece of blank paper and, within a few minutes, produce a picture of me or someone else just astounds the hell out of me.
I have trouble drawing a straight line, even if I use a ruler.
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### Author:  [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/43 "2006-06-12T21:51:18Z")
People with willpower. Like dieters, people who work out regularly, things like that. It’s like, even though I want to lose 30 pounds…I just don’t have the willpower to stick to what I know I need to do. People that can just amaze me.
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### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/44 "2006-06-12T22:10:05Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#):
>
> All you people who are amazed at anyone knowing languages and music should share my amazement at people who take a song in one language and can translate it into another. How can you make it fit the rhyme scheme, music, plot and intonation? Boggles my mind.
Oh yes. I remember watching the 1974 movie version of _Jesus Christ Superstar_ with Swedish subtitles and thinking the translation sucked, until I realized that the subtitles actually fit the music. You could sing the songs with the Swedish words. I didn’t complain about the translation after that.
> [@Antinor01](#):
>
> People with willpower. Like dieters, people who work out regularly, things like that. It’s like, even though I want to lose 30 pounds…I just don’t have the willpower to stick to what I know I need to do. People that can just amaze me.
The opposite sort of amazes me. I lost some weight through careful dieting and workouts, and everyone and his brother started praising my willpower. There’s really nothing to it. You decide to do something, and then you do it. If you “fail”, it’s because you decided not to do it.
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### Author:  [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/45 "2006-06-13T13:35:40Z")
> [@Mayo Speaks!](#):
>
> I’m only a sophomore engineering student, but I can’t understand how people extrapolate from a mulitview drawing to a 3D shape. (In [this picture](http://www.goldengrovehs.sa.edu.au/home/tech/yr8drawassignments/id3.jpg), the multiview is the three pics at the bottom.) I know that all of the information is in the multiview, but it just doesn’t register in my head.
Practice with scissors and a bit of notecard. Lay out a box shape, cut it out, fold it up. Fiddle around for an evening with paper & scissors, just messing around, and it’ll come much more naturally.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/46 "2006-06-13T13:52:53Z")
Firearms - I can’t grasp the concept that these things can fire a small projectile hundreds of yards with enough force to blow the crap out of whatever they hit and yet doesn’t explode into a million pieces when fired.
> [@brightpenny](#):
>
> …office politics. I lack the ability to play the game. Instead I smile, act friendly, and do a really good job. Which, as we know, is not what matters.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. Listen to other people’s bitching and complaining but avoid becoming a part of it.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/47 "2006-06-14T05:07:28Z")
I cannot understand how to plan and create a meal, and have everything arrive at the correct temperature at the same time.
I cannot understand how people can travel with small children.
I cannot understand how women can wear makeup all day without getting it all smeared.
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### Author:  [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/48 "2006-06-14T05:33:49Z")
> [@XaMcQ](#):
>
> Selling anything to anyone, especially if it’s garbage. Or collecting for charity. I’ve tried a couple of times to do this kind of work and yea, verily, I suck mightily at it.
When I was in University during my third year, I had a brutal second semester with four really tough courses so I thought I’d take a bird course, Sales Management. One of our projects was to sell something to one of our classmates. The whole exchange would be videotaped and the teacher would mark it. I’m at an immediate disadvantage because I have social anxiety disorder but I thought, shit, I can follow a script I write in advance and at least get a solid 75, right?
Wrong. I got the lowest mark in the class by ten whole percent - and I thought it was a damn good script, it took me a lot of time. When it came time to sell I got flustered at the very thought of a no. I was pretty much incoherant throughout the entire sales pitch. I got beat by somebody who didn’t even show up that day. I still dont’ know how the hell that happened but they got a 50 and I got a 40 - I checked the teachers marking sheet. I got an A in the class but that’s mainly because I aced the written tests and essays.
So yeah, I’m with you on this one.
My addition is **spices**. I’m a reasonable cook and can make things from a recipe pretty well but when it comes to spices, I’m bloody lost. There’s so many of them and they are all different. My mom has the worlds largest spice rack with spices I’ve never even heard of and she knows what to do with all of them. I know you can put cinnamon on toast with brown sugar but that’s about it.
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### Author:  [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/49 "2006-06-14T06:01:04Z")
I can do Magic eye (I learned the “unfocusing” method from the first very simple, black and white images in Omni magazine, the image would be a number 4 or someting as simple), I can speak Spanish fairly well (although my vocab is lacking), I can play music, I can sell, I can almost haggle decently, I have a great sense of direction, but…
If you told me to draw anything simple, you’d laugh. I can draw a halfway decent map, but nothing else. I wrapped a Christmas present for my sister and told her that there were retarded kids wrapping for donations at the mall, she didn’t blink.
Simple math I can do in my head, really simple math. If there’s a decimal, fraction, percentage or remainder in the solution, I might be quite a bit off.
How long ago did something happen? I might miss by half an hour or more, same with estimating time in the future. How long is that? I might miss by 15% or so, I’m terrible at judging lengths. How do you spell that? If there are no double sets of letters, I can do pretty well, if there are, I will get at least one set wrong.
I can name a ton of male actors, and a smaller amount of female actresses. If I see a movie I can usually say “that’s the guy/girl from…” then I can’t name more than 1 or 2 other movies they’ve been in. For instance, I’ll be watching “Airplane” and someone will ask “who plays the pilot”? I’ll say Peter Graves. They’ll ask what else he’s been in, and I’ll come up blank.
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### Author:  [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/50 "2006-06-14T07:32:49Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#):
>
> I suffer from severe directional impairment. I cannot follow any directions that include things like “Turn west on….” West? What’s wrong with right or left? Even better is to say, “turn left by the Walgreens”. There are other people I know have some sort of instinctive internal compass inside of them that enable them to know what direction they’re facing at any given time. That’s almost akin to magic to me.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with right and left: they change, depending on the way you’re facing. West is west, regardless of what compass bearing I’m on. And there’s nothing I hate more than being told “turn left at Walgreen’s.” Let’s not ever give each other directions anywhere. 😛
I too am amazed by musicians. I played piano passably when I was younger, but I never got beyond that. I started learning to play the guitar a few months ago, and I had no idea how complex the instrument could be. Learning more about it just made me appreciate really good players even more.
Patient people astound me too.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-may-appear-simple-to-others-are-amazing-to-me/360233/51 "2006-06-14T11:12:05Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Originally Posted by **Cluricaun**
> I suffer from severe directional impairment. I cannot follow any directions that include things like “Turn west on….” West? What’s wrong with right or left? Even better is to say, “turn left by the Walgreens”. There are other people I know have some sort of instinctive internal compass inside of them that enable them to know what direction they’re facing at any given time.
> [@Enginerd](#):
>
> I’ll tell you what’s wrong with right and left: they change, depending on the way you’re facing. West is west, regardless of what compass bearing I’m on. And there’s nothing I hate more than being told “turn left at Walgreen’s.”
Nah, I’m with **Clurican**. Walgreen’s isn’t going to move, so what’s wrong with saying, “Turn left at Walgreen’s” ? If you’ve been heading the correct direction in the first place, turning left will keep you going the correct way. If you pass Walgreen’s, just turn around and then turn right at Walgreen’s.
I don’t have severe directional impairment like some people, and I can always find where I need to go, but I need landmarks.
Turn right at the post office, turn left at the Shell station, turn right at the high school… and so on.
East and west - not so much. Landmarks, people, landmarks!
(The compass in my head was removed to make room for Doppler Radar equipment. I can tell you with remarkable accuracy if it’s going to rain or snow in the next 48 hours. Really.)
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