# What do you feel you are TRULY skilled at? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225 "2003-05-09T23:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/1 "2003-05-09T23:28:09Z")
Say that the Earth was going to be destroyed somehow, and humans have built a massive spaceship that can support a million people. These million will represent the best that humankind has to offer, and will be the only part of the entire population to survive the Earth’s destruction, with hopes of flourishing elsewhere, having the best genes to work with. If everyone alive is given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities/properties/worth before some great council for the purpose of deciding who gets to join the million survivors, what ONE GENUINE SKILL would you demonstrate? When deciding this, consider the following: 1.) In a world with a human pop. running 6+ billion, there’s alot of undiscovered talent. With this in mind, your skill would either have to be exceptional or one-of-a-kind to be considered worthy. Think about how it might benefit humans, genetic or technical. 2.) Keep the best interest in mind. Oddities, like having the loudest knucke-cracking, shouldn’t be considered. 3.) Serious replies, please. Alot of people would surely feel overwhelmed by the competition, convinced that their skill can’t possibly be the best example of its kind. But, this is your future, after all…so pick something. For myself, I don’t think I would make it. But if I were in this position, I’d illustrate a human face with graphite. I’ve been told I have exceptional skill at this, and modesty aside, I feel the same. Give me an ultra-crisp photo (B&W, preferrably) with good lighting and, though I’m slow to produce, my rendering will be photo-realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/2 "2003-05-09T23:34:44Z")
I’m not skilled at much, but occasionally I feel I can spot a GQ post that belongs in IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![criminalcatalog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@criminalcatalog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminalcatalog)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/3 "2003-05-09T23:36:10Z")
A question is not a humble opinion ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/4 "2003-05-09T23:40:27Z")
IMHO—this is also the place for polling. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/5 "2003-05-09T23:40:29Z")
> [@](#): > > In My Humble Opinion > “What’s your favorite …?” For frank exchanges of views on less-than-cosmic topics. **This is also the place for polling**. I’d call this a poll. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/6 "2003-05-10T00:10:41Z")
> [@](#): > > A question is not a humble opinion You’re right. When the question is “In your opinion what are you good at” then it’s not a _humble_ opinion. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/7 "2003-05-10T01:50:12Z")
Off to IMHO. bibliophage moderator GQ ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/8 "2003-05-10T02:00:38Z")
Now that you’re here… Taking care of children. Sorry to say, not everyone can. Or should. It truly takes talent, as well as TONS of patience. Which is in quite short supply. And when all those others are off making the planet liveable, I will happily care for their children along with my own. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/9 "2003-05-10T02:11:21Z")
General medicine without a _lot_ of high tech equipment. Might be useful. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/10 "2003-05-10T02:17:07Z")
I don’t think that I’d make it. While I have a variety of talents, I can no longer breed (having a tubal ligation and then a hysterectomy will DO that to you), and even if I COULD breed, I have some bad genes and I’m really too old. One of my talents is making a tasty meal out of unlikely ingredients. While this might not be as life-saving as **Qadgop’s** talent, it sure would improve the quality of life. I can also do all sorts of workarounds if I need to make something crafty. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/11 "2003-05-10T02:32:37Z")
Hm…Well, it’s not very practical, but I consider myself more than adequate at writing. Mostly of the creative variety, but I can do a mean bit of journalism too, if needed. I also bake really, really good chocolate chip cookies. ACtually, I’m not bad of a cook. I can’t follow recipies, but when it comes to “Mix these things and toss in spices to taste,” I’ve actually gotten some surprisingly good reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/12 "2003-05-10T02:45:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NinjaChick \* > I also bake really, really good chocolate chip cookies. If you can whip up the odd batch of oatmeal raisin cookies as well, I say you get a seat. ---
**Author:** ![lurker\_anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@lurker\_anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurker_anonymous)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/13 "2003-05-10T03:05:02Z")
i am good at finding common ground among dissenting factions…i can teach martial arts with humility… i make excellent artificial flower arrangements and trees. ---
**Author:** ![rumraisin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@rumraisin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rumraisin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/14 "2003-05-10T03:48:45Z")
using Autocad. Not very glamorous, I know. Analysing situations and reducing them to simplest terms, eg other people’s relationship problems. Not my own though. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/15 "2003-05-10T04:10:11Z")
The main focus of my current job is functionally testing new airplanes, and I am very good at the electrical side. They say a good electrician is hard to find, I can hide with the best of them. ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/16 "2003-05-10T04:14:44Z")
Drawing/Painting… Ability to figure out how mechanical things work, and repair them. Helps in keeping my old cars up and running, that much is certain. ---
**Author:** ![MajorTom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@MajorTom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MajorTom)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/17 "2003-05-10T04:23:15Z")
I can troubleshoot problems. Electrical, mechanical, etc. I can figger out how to do some things which seem impossible. I take advantage of “mechanical advantage” in almost everything I do. I am a “stationary engineer,” Jack of all trades and very good at it. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/18 "2003-05-10T04:31:41Z")
I am extremely good at eating. IANTSP but “figger?” FYI - ‘figure’ ---
**Author:** ![Forbin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@Forbin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Forbin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/19 "2003-05-10T15:10:45Z")
I am a exceptional woodworker. I have very good mechanical abilities. I am exceedingly, nay, **surpassingly** humble. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225/20 "2003-05-10T15:32:39Z")
I have a highly developed abstract conceptualisation skill. I can also stay calm under pressure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-feel-you-are-truly-skilled-at/174225.md?page=2)