# What subjects do you know a lot about, but don't help you earn a living, at all? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439 "2008-05-07T15:46:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/1 "2008-05-07T15:46:19Z")
As I write this, I am at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with my wife who’s just had surgery. As I walk through the part of the hospital where we are, I notice the art on the walls. Walking along, I notice: That’s an Ellsworth Kelly. That’s a Ron Davis. Another Ron Davis. (Understand, I’m recognizing this from my knowledge of 1960s era abstract painting. I’m not looking at the labels.) There’s a Diebenkorn. There’s a Frieda Kahlo. No wait, it’s not _by_ Kahlo, it’s a portrait of her by someone else. Is that a Jaspar Johns over there by the elevators? Yes, it turns out to be just that. By profession I’m in software, currently out of work but spending a lot of time upgrading my skills. But sometimes I feel that I know art better than I know my profession. What’s your non-financially-rewarding avocation that you know more about than your profession? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/2 "2008-05-07T15:48:17Z")
Herpetology. I can identify and work with most species of reptiles better than most people actually IN the field. Without a degree in it, or zoology though, it’s pretty much useless. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/3 "2008-05-07T15:50:21Z")
Make-up. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/4 "2008-05-07T15:52:31Z")
Land mines, their use, design and removal. Hand grenades too. Not much call for that. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/5 "2008-05-07T15:54:36Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Land mines, their use, design and removal. Hand grenades too. Not much call for that. [/QUOTE] Yes, but weren’t you in the military at some point? At least it was your profession then. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/6 "2008-05-07T15:54:38Z")
Tudor England and knitting, and I know more _about_ knitting than how to knit. I don’t expect to ever earn a dime over my knowledge of Tudor England, but I may be buying a yarn store. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/7 "2008-05-07T15:56:18Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Make-up. [/QUOTE] BTW Dutch history is another one of mine. My surname is Dutch, and we’ve traced it back to about 1610 in the Utrecht area, and tentatively back to 1330. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/8 "2008-05-07T15:56:53Z")
Magic the Gathering artwork. Show me the picture from a card and I probably have something like a 75% chance of identifying the card by name. Sometimes I wonder what normal people keep in the brainpart that I tie up with stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/9 "2008-05-07T16:06:59Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] Magic the Gathering artwork. Show me the picture from a card and I probably have something like a 75% chance of identifying the card by name. Sometimes I wonder what normal people keep in the brainpart that I tie up with stuff like that. [/QUOTE] Back when I was playing M:tG regularly, I could do that, too. 🙂 These days: Meteorology (wanted to be a meteorologist as a kid, I wound up in market research) Dungeons and Dragons rules Star Wars trivia ---
**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 7, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/10 "2008-05-07T16:10:33Z")
I’m good at walking, but I earn a living by sitting. [sub](sitting in a chair. Not sitting for babies)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/11 "2008-05-07T16:14:01Z")
History and computer games - if I applied myself I could probably get the relevant qualifications and/or experience to teach history or be a games journalist but so far it has yet to happen. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/12 "2008-05-07T16:18:23Z")
Martial arts. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/13 "2008-05-07T16:21:36Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] But sometimes I feel that I know art better than I know my profession. What’s your non-financially-rewarding avocation that you know more about than your profession? [/QUOTE] Didn’t see this part. I wouldn’t say I know more about the martial arts than I do the law, but I know a good bit. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/14 "2008-05-07T16:31:59Z")
Sewing/fabric stuff. It’s more a money sink than a money generator. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/15 "2008-05-07T16:33:22Z")
Guns. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/16 "2008-05-07T16:43:41Z")
Quilting. I do it all by hand so I could never earn enough to make a living at it. ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/17 "2008-05-07T17:05:03Z")
Knitting and pregnancy/childbirth. Neither one comes in handy in chemical research. The knitting because it’s my hobby of choice. The pregnancy/childbirth, well, I became quite the birth junkie when pregnant with my two kids and read up on it so much that I find I can spout off all sorts of information that is only of use/interest to pregnant women and makes most other people uncomfortable. So I try not to. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/18 "2008-05-07T17:06:42Z")
Beer. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/19 "2008-05-07T17:12:45Z")
If anybody ever needs to hire a trivia expert you know where to find me. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439/20 "2008-05-07T17:19:39Z")
Kitty scritchin… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-subjects-do-you-know-a-lot-about-but-dont-help-you-earn-a-living-at-all/448439.md?page=2)