# What's Your Greatest Unpracticed, Enviable Talent? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552 "2012-05-01T20:36:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/1 "2012-05-01T20:36:03Z")
I suppose"a gift" would be an apt way to put it. Something that you never set out to learn to do, it’s something that you can just _do_ that others would likely love to be able to do with such ease. Me? I can fall asleep quickly. Tossing and turning for hours? Hell no. To me, “insomnia” means I’m still awake 15 minutes after turning off the light. I don’t think about it, and I don’t do anything special other than get comfortable. According to those I’ve shared a bed with long-term, I’m usually lightly snoring within one to two minutes. What’cha got? ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/2 "2012-05-01T20:45:22Z")
I can pick up how to use computer programs way easier than a lot of people I’ve met. Between trying things and googling I can usually figure out anything I need. Apparently some people are scared to try that or something. ---
**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/3 "2012-05-01T20:45:28Z")
Ah, nothing like post coital drowsiness, eh? Most of us just count the sheep, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/4 "2012-05-01T20:47:19Z")
Many men are like you- it really makes me jealous, because I will often have a hard time falling asleep and I have to go through a ritual and still it can take forever. My talent- I can get all the dishes to the table piping hot at the same time. There’s no cold food when you sit down at my table, no matter how many things I made. I hate cold food that’s supposed to be hot. ---
**Author:** ![Craz3d117](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c4cdca/32.png) [@Craz3d117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Craz3d117)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/5 "2012-05-01T21:06:03Z")
I got nothing, and I really can’t imagine anyone having talent in something they’ve never practiced or set out to do, except of course savants. I guess I could say I’m American, I’m sure a lot of people around the world would love to live in America. It’s not really a talent, but then again I don’t think being able to fall asleep quickly is either. There are of course natural personality traits that make us more prone to certain actions, but again, I wouldn’t consider those talents. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/6 "2012-05-01T21:11:55Z")
> [@Craz3d117](#): > > I got nothing, and I really can’t imagine anyone having talent in something they’ve never practiced or set out to do, except of course savants. I guess I could say I’m American, I’m sure a lot of people around the world would love to live in America. It’s not really a talent, but then again I don’t think being able to fall asleep quickly is either. There are of course natural personality traits that make us more prone to certain actions, but again, I wouldn’t consider those talents. Your talent must be that you’re so fun, and go-with-the-flow-y. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/7 "2012-05-01T21:26:18Z")
I make fluke-ily great hollandaise sauce. From the first time I attempted it I’ve never had separate or curdle or clump. Actually that’s true of all creamy/buttery/eggy sauces for me - I just seem to have a knack for them. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/8 "2012-05-01T21:33:12Z")
According to my husband, I have amazing form on a bicycle. He used to be a pretty good bicycle racer in his youth (got up to Cat 2 before realizing he had to choose between college and bicycle racing and his responsible side won), and he constantly tells me how he would have guessed I’ve raced professionally by looking at my form. I haven’t; I suck at most physical things. And I don’t think he’s blowing smoke, either. He has absolutely no problem telling me what shit form I have when I try to run, so I’m gonna believe him on this one. I also make a mean pie crust, and though I’ve worked at a lot of cooking types of things, I’ve never worked at pie crust. I don’t like the stuff all that much, so it’s never been on my list of things to improve or get good at. I’d never make it except people expect something that holds their pie together (imagine that!). I get a ton of compliments on it, many more so than I do for some things that I’ve worked my butt off to get good at. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/9 "2012-05-01T22:12:54Z")
I have an uncanny ability to piss off mass amounts of people at an alarming rate. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/10 "2012-05-01T22:21:25Z")
I’m quite good of estimating the exact moment when it’s time to take meat or fish off the grill. Perfect results almost every time, based solely on instinct. Oh, and that falling asleep thing. Anytime, anywhere, I’m out within a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/11 "2012-05-01T22:30:29Z")
I seem to have an innate talent for cooking, despite receiving only rudimentary training from my mother. I intrinsically know how much a “pinch” or a “dash” is, and rarely do I over- or under-season (and if I do, I know how to fix it). I can manage cooking multiple dishes at once without burning anything, and I seem to already know a lot of the tips and tricks chefs use without ever having been taught them. Cooking is the only activity in which I seemingly have infinite patience. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/12 "2012-05-01T22:30:42Z")
I can read stuff you’re not supposed to be able to read with the naked eye like security features on cheques, prescriptions etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sampsiceramos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Sampsiceramos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampsiceramos)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/13 "2012-05-01T22:30:55Z")
I have, through my mother, who was a professional and national team handball goalkeeper, a savant-like natural affinity for anything ball or racquet-related. A lot of it is natural reflexes and proprioception: I’ll regularly catch a pencil I’ve just absent-mindedly dropped without even looking at it or thinking about it. From the other side of the family, I’ve inherited extremely efficient use of mnemonics. By ordering them as, say, phone numbers, I can train myself to remember something like 300 digits of pi, or the first 100 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence in about a week, provided I bust my ass at it. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/14 "2012-05-01T22:38:30Z")
Oh, one other thing: I can detect the differences is people and animals’ personal scents and even identify some by smell. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/15 "2012-05-01T22:52:59Z")
What’s that thing that ballet dancers do where they put their heels together and point their toes out at “9 and 3”? Well I can do that, yes even at my advanced age. Never had a ballet lesson in my life. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/16 "2012-05-01T23:16:48Z")
I can pronounce almost everyone’s name right on the first try, but I just credit that to meeting a lot of people and knowing etymology. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/17 "2012-05-01T23:22:53Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > What’s that thing that ballet dancers do where they put their heels together and point their toes out at “9 and 3”? Well I can do that, yes even at my advanced age. Never had a ballet lesson in my life. 1st position? In all seriousness, I can hula hoop for 72 minutes without dropping it. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/18 "2012-05-01T23:33:15Z")
I can sing pretty well. Singing harmony to me is like breathing - I don’t have to think about it. I can also spell damn near any word you throw at me. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/19 "2012-05-02T00:31:01Z")
My music performance major roommate in college swore that I was a minor third off for any note I tried to hum. So, I guess I have a talent for harmony. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552/20 "2012-05-02T00:37:18Z")
While I don’t test the ability often or really PUSH the limits I seem to be pretty immune to hangovers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unpracticed-enviable-talent/620552.md?page=2)