# What basic or simple processes/functions are actually difficult for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767 "2014-02-20T02:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/61 "2014-02-21T14:55:05Z")
I can’t wink. So I am relegated to that despicable group of people who nudge you in the ribs with their elbow and insinuate, “Eh, eh?” ---
**Author:** ![Pandora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eada6e/32.png) [@Pandora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandora)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/62 "2014-02-21T19:52:51Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Exactly. Plus that left and right change around all the time as you turn. It’s unstable. When someone else says left or right you have to work out if they are facing the same direction you are. Saying “walk down Road Street and turn left” is meaningless unless you know the direction. That’s why it confuses me: it’s unstable. Left and right seem to swim around me, making me dizzy. > > In the car we have resolved this by using port & starboard. It’s so much easier! Everyone is in the car, and the direction is relative to the car and not the person. You could go further and only refer to compass points, but you’d have to be sure to know them at all times. This is exactly the problem i have. Left and right are subject to an ever changing frame of reference - and i find that endlessly confusing. I can generally figure it out if i think about it long enough, but it’s a struggle every damn time. (and I’m dyslexic, so the whole left hand makes an L thing is hopeless… looking at your palms, or looking at the backs of your hands? and which way does the L actually face again… UG!) While driving, all directions are given referencing either driver’s side or passenger’s side. those move with the car 🙂 When walking, my boyfriend and other close friends have universal permission to simply take the lead and pull,push or point me the right way. If I’m walking with coworkers, or people i don’t know well… I try to stay a step back and try be hyper aware of the body clues that show what way my companions are going to go. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/63 "2014-02-21T20:20:44Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I don’t recognize faces well. If I see my co-workers on a daily basis, I may recognize them if I run into them outside of work, but don’t bet on it. > > If an actor in a favorite show has an unusual face, I may be able to pick him out when he appears in a different television show or movie, but I usually must resort to IMDB to help me get a clue. > > Mr. brown doesn’t understand how this can be. He can see a generic-faced neighbor or actor once for a few seconds and instantly recognize him again five years later. There used to be an online face-recognition test that was impossible for me but normal people didn’t have a problem with. When we were moving into our house, I mistook a neighbor who was introducing herself for my wife. She had on a similar shirt, had close-enough hair, and was walking up to the porch about the time I was expecting my wife to. That was more awkward than it should have been. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/64 "2014-02-21T21:07:17Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > When there is a radio and a television going at the same time (or two different stations of either, or either and a kid’s electric noise toy), I can’t filter out one or both. My mind goes into a feedback loop and I have to leave the area. Conversations (even one-sided cell phone conversations) are sometimes hard to tune out, but it’s possible for me to do so. > > Since nobody else seems remotely bothered by this, ever, I have to assume it’s some sort of defect in my brain. I don’t even know what to call it or why that would be the case. It’s really common for mid–level restaurants and bars to have both TV and radio. I can’t separate them, either. I had a roommate once who could not comprehend that her watching something on her computer in the living room while I was watching something on TV drove me insane. I resorted to marching over and very pointedly handing her a pair of head phones every. single. time. she did this. On the other hand, I can read while following a TV show, or sing while typing. Having the two stimuli in different modes doesn’t bother me at all. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/65 "2014-02-22T03:06:23Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > I can’t whistle. The best I can manage (and only occasionally at that) is maybe a second or two of the falling-bomb sound. Check > [@Colophon](#): > > I cannot produce any tuneful note whatsoever Check, and painfully and aggravatingly so > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My husband’s entry in this list would be that he cannot, no way no how, float. check, so far… Need to get to one of them dense salt lakes for the final test. > [@PastTense](#): > > While whistling is the first thing I thought of, I would also add swimming (and similar aquatic activities). check, in the sense of that the prior item makes it all the worse. OTOH, swimming per se being a learned nontrivial physical skill, it should not be so unusual for people to have a hard time with it. > [@teela\_brown](#): > > I don’t recognize faces well. If I see my co-workers on a daily basis, I may recognize them if I run into them outside of work, but don’t bet on it. check. Excruciating, as conversely there seems to be a whole horde of people who recognize me immediately 30+ years after the last time we ever laid eyes on each other. Similarly I’m forever wondering, that person I just made eye contact with… do I know them? And I seem to work with a bunch of people who have a thousands-strong faces/names database permanently open in the background as they walk along. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/66 "2014-02-22T03:39:31Z")
No sense of direction. At all. None. Have gotten lost in very large houses. I got a D in high school geometry, only by a miracle. I simply cannot think that way. SO watches woodworking shows about cutting angles and such. Totally incomprehensible to me. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/67 "2014-02-22T04:51:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s on the side opposite of the other fingers of the hand. On one hand, when the thumb is extended with your palm facing down, with the fingers pointing away from you, the thumb makes an “L” shape with the pointer finger. On the other hand, it makes an “⅃” shape. That’s a much more detailed explanation than originally given, the way it was originally described I get a J from my left hand. Add me to the club of “my problem is not with the sides, it’s with moving from graphic-thought to word-speak”. I don’t think those of you who have a problem understand ours: it’s a language problem, not a sides problem. The “problem with sides people” don’t just have problems with left and right, they have issues with finding symmetry in a sphere. If an American cop asked me to recite the alphabet backwards I’d have to plead the fifth… I’d have trouble doing it in Spanish! ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/68 "2014-02-22T05:18:56Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > I can’t wink. > > So I am relegated to that despicable group of people who nudge you in the ribs with their elbow and insinuate, “Eh, eh?” A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat… ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/69 "2014-02-22T08:13:17Z")
Can’t wink either eye. Can’t sit crosslegged. Can’t sing or whistle a tune. (Yes I can sing notes but my brain is unable to tell my body what to do to produce the note I want. Brain says “the next note should be higher”. Body says “OK, here’s a new note”. Brain says “that’s the same note, go higher”. Body says “OK, how’s this note?” Brain says “OK that’s higher but not the note I asked for”. etc…) Very poor at recognizing faces. I have an electronic record at work but I still have the staff pull the paper charts so I can look at the name before going in. Otherwise, I end up saying “So, this is your first time here?” and getting the answer “Actually, you’ve been my doctor for the last 3 years”. Don’t even mention running into patients outside of the office. I see somebody in the grocery store and I can’t for the life of me remember who they are or if I should know them. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/70 "2014-02-22T08:34:46Z")
Backwards alphabet. Said why eggs double your fee You, tee is our kewpie Oh enamel cagey I hate G if he deceive BA. Yes, it’s gibberish, but actually much easier gibberish to remember than the plain old backwards alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/71 "2014-02-22T11:52:27Z")
Like several others have said, I’m very poor at knowing my direction (NSEW) intuitively. I am an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and am well aware of my ability to get lost in the simplest patch of woods. I can reason my way out of most predicaments by knowing some basic sun position rules. I’m also very careful to keep maps and a compass with me. Examples: Early in my flying career, I tried to fly to Louisiana from Little Rock (AR) and ended up in Greenville Mississippi. Two years ago, managed to get lost for over 7 hours on my UTV, even with a compass. In my defense, I did find out there’s a magnetic anomaly in that area (it’s on the aviation charts). 😛 Several years ago, I tried to meet up with some other hunters waay out in the Sonoran desert. After 4-wheeling my truck for hours, I ended up on the wrong mountain (near the Whetstones). Thankfully I’d left several cairns on my way in to act as breadcrumbs to follow. Now, with smartphones and gps’s I don’t get lost anymore. It takes some of the fun out of it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/72 "2014-02-22T15:27:31Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Backwards alphabet. > > Said why eggs double your fee > You, tee is our kewpie > Oh enamel cagey > I hate G if he deceive BA. > > Yes, it’s gibberish, but actually much easier gibberish to remember than the plain old backwards alphabet. With a few interpolations, you can also sing the alphabet backwards to the tune of “The Alphabet Song”: Z, Y, X, WV and U, T and S and R and Q. P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, EDCBA. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/73 "2014-02-22T16:43:57Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I am dyscalculic (it’s a real thing) – directions, visualizing physical things being described, the most simple grade-school math, I can’t do any of those things without great effort. Like other sufferers I have a lot of work-arounds, from turning back to look at my path to memorize landmarks so I won’t get disoriented (including places nobody else bothers to do this), counting on my fingers under the table, etc. I cannot remember any number whatsoever unless I write it down – if I measure length and width of an object, for example, I will not be able to remember the length in my head. > > It has caused difficulties in a number of avocations – I can’t learn music theory, for example, although I have excellent pitch-matching skills and musical memory and tone. You and me both, including music. School was hell. Living in Calgary — where all the streets and avenues are numbered and there are four of each because the city is divided into quadrants — was hell. Twenty years of hell. One time I looked for a store address for nearly two hours, nearly running out of gas. (I had written it down correctly.) I found it after the store had closed for the night. It was three blocks east of my apartment, on the same avenue. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/74 "2014-02-23T19:17:47Z")
I can snap my fingers on my left hand but not my right. Don’t know why. I’m righthanded, incidentally. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/75 "2014-02-23T20:45:28Z")
Can’t wink either, I “whistle” by sucking in. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/76 "2014-02-23T23:44:58Z")
Can’t: Swim (I think a phobic reaction to water). Embarrassing now that I own a pool Sing (I switch to a low tone and fake it). Basically tone deaf. Whistle ---
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/77 "2014-02-24T00:37:12Z")
Changing a light bulb. Seriously it slways seems to go in crooked. ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/78 "2014-02-24T00:58:20Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Several years ago, I tried to meet up with some other hunters waay out in the Sonoran desert. After 4-wheeling my truck for hours, I ended up on the wrong mountain (near the Whetstones). Thankfully I’d left several cairns on my way in to act as breadcrumbs to follow. I dunno. I can never get the little buggers to sit, much less stay. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/79 "2014-02-24T01:22:44Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > I have no natural sense of left and right. Or just directions at all. That. I have to think about the hand I use to write to figure out where is the right and where is the left. Also, I can’t whistle. And I can’t blink with the left eye. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767/80 "2014-02-24T01:31:49Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > There is NO natural distinction between left and right - every time someone comes up with some theory to explain it, they always commit a self-referential argument. However, most people immediately know what is left of them and what is right of them. For instance, if you ask them for directions, they won’t say “turn left” while pointing to the right as I often do. They also won’t need to stop to think before making this turn to the left if they’re the one asking for directions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-basic-or-simple-processes-functions-are-actually-difficult-for-you/681767.md?page=5)