What is the best skill you possess that makes you stand above the average person?

  • mookulator@mander.xyzEnglish
    1021·
    2 年前

    Statistical modeling.

    And yes, I am miffed about the use of the word “exponential” in this post’s title.

  • Anamnesis@lemmy.world
    65·
    2 年前

    I got a PhD in philosophy. I have exponentially more experience applying for jobs and getting rejected than most people.

  • Interesting_Test_814@jlai.lu
    581·
    2 年前

    Math (I’m a graduate student). And “exponentially more experienced than the average” means nothing as exponential is a progression, not a comparison between two values.

    • RampageDon@lemmy.ml
      22·
      2 年前

      What this person is trying to say is they are exponentially better at being technically correct.

    • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nzEnglish
      1·
      2 年前

      My pet peeve with mathy stuff, “something is X times closer/smaller etc than something else”

      If A is 1 away, saying B is ten times closer means what exactly? Is B 10 away? 9, 0.1?
      I think what most examples are trying to say is that A is ten times the distance to B, but the way it is said if just annoying.

      • Interesting_Test_814@jlai.lu
        2·
        2 年前

        “Ten times closer” is pretty unambiguously 0.1. What starts getting more confusing is “300% further” which is technically 4 but many understand as 3 (try replacing by 50%, 50% further is 1.5 not 0.5). Also “50% closer” being the same as twice closer while 50% further is only 1.5x further can get confusing too, and it gets even worse with “50% slower” - is speed now 1/1.5 (= it takes 50% more time) or 0.5/1 (= speed is reduced by 50%) ?

        • absGeekNZ@lemmy.nzEnglish
          1·
          2 年前

          Most of the time it is pretty easy to know what the winter is trying to imply.

          It gets really silly when using big numbers. e.g. a nanometre is 100,000 times smaller than a human hair.

  • killerinstinct101@lemmy.world
    511·
    2 年前

    So you’re asking people what they do for a living?

    Doing something for 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week makes you a lot better at that thing than other people.

    • radix@lemm.ee
      201·
      2 年前

      Actually doing something for 40 hours a week is truly remarkable. People waste so much time, me included.

      • snowe@programming.dev
        6·
        2 年前

        Man I’m so good at sleeping though. I get at least 5 hours a night, so that’s 40 a week! Woohoo!

        /s

        • radix@lemm.ee
          2·
          2 年前

          Where do you get an 8-day week? I want one (assuming it’s an extra break day not work day…).

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      2 年前

      But I don’t spend 40 hours doing the same thing. I do a bunch of different regular bullshit that you can’t really be “good” at, like sending emails and chatting with people on Teams.

  • radix@lemm.ee
    38·
    2 年前

    By feel I can identify 20 lb, 24 lb, 28 lb, 65 lb cover, 110 lb cover, and 12 pt matte paper. I’m increasingly impressed by people’s business cards as a result, as it is often much, much heavier than 12 pt matte.

    Using comparison I can distinguish 80 lb semi-gloss cover, 100 lb semi-gloss cover, 8 pt gloss, 10 pt gloss, and 12 pt gloss. (But then again, most people could, given multiple choices rather than a free-response question.)

    • Nonameuser678@aussie.zone
      121·
      2 年前

      I too consider myself better at this than the average person. I often find myself slow blinking at random cats in the street.

    • radix@lemm.ee
      2·
      2 年前

      I wish I had this skill! I love cats and dogs and wish I could talk to them and pet them every time I see them.

  • SassyGumsquatch@lemm.ee
    25·
    2 年前

    I have a lot of experience reconstructing whale skeletons for museums and such. I do it as a hobby with a friend of mine who is the marine mammals recovery coordinator for the state of North Carolina.

      • SassyGumsquatch@lemm.ee
        2·
        2 年前

        Haha I think I would describe it more like erector sets than lego but yes it is very similar. We put the whales in the ground for ~18 months and then pull them out and out them together piece by piece

  • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
    21·
    2 年前

    Since the Reddit blackout I decided to learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. My best time for solving one so far is 82 seconds. I know it’s no world record but the average person can’t solve a Rubik’s cube so I’m way more experienced.

    • Liz@midwest.socialEnglish
      5·
      2 年前

      Way to go! I used to hustle the lunch room with my Rubik’s cube and get people’s desserts by solving it in less than a minute. I only knew the inefficient layer-by-layer method, so it really was a race.

      • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
        3·
        2 年前

        It was my eldest that got me going actually. He came home from school with the old shit cube he had, did 3 turns on it and said “There, I solved it Dad.”

        I said “Did you fuck. Who sorted that for you?” and he told me a kid at school was just asking everyone if they had a cube and to bring it in to school, so he did and the kid solved it for him.

        I thought “If a 12 year old can do it, so can I” and used it to help with my Reddit withdrawals.

        I’ve finally got a magnetic cube now and just have it in my pocket. I’m trying to improve my F2L speed where you put the corners in and the 2nd layer at the same time. I really like doing the last layer with algorithms, it’s like magic.

          • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
            1·
            2 年前

            See the icebergs?

            Yeah magnetic cubes!

            They have little magnets in the corner pieces so when you push, it stops in the right place.

            There’s also maglev cubes that have magnetic cores. I just have corner magnets ATM because EVRI ARE A DOGSHIT DELIVERY COMPANY but that’s another story for another time

          • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
            2·
            2 年前

            When you look up how to solve them, it’s a white cross (so the white would be the first layer), making sure your middle tile of the cross pieces match the middle of the sides (red green blue orange), then you put the corners of the bottom (white) layer in, matching the colours. The middles don’t move so you then put in the corners of the middle layer, completing 2 layers.

            The top layer is the yellow one, opposite the white layer.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
      3·
      2 年前

      I feel like this about chess. I’m fairly confident I can beat everyone I know except for like 3 people. But I’m better than 12% of people on Lichess.

      • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
        1·
        2 年前

        Yeah it just goes to show that hobbies are like icebergs.

        I picked up a guitar in Covid and managed to learn basic chords and songs in the first year of playing it every single day. I’m 4 years in now, and I feel less advanced than I felt back then.

        I think it’s because when you’re learning a new technique, you fucking suck at it, but when it’s in counterpoint to other techniques that you can do to a high level, it sounds worse than just one technique being played badly, plus you’ve trained your ears over the time you’ve been playing, so you can hear the bad bits better.

        Guitarists that have been playing for decades have more of these techniques down so they sound better, but that’s just to people who have struggled with those techniques themselves. To the uninitiated guitarists are just guitarists, some play country and some do that wiggly wiggly guitar solo thing.

        Guitar playing is an Iceberg with a big bit sticking up, chess and rubix cubes are smaller icebergs, but you’ve got to mine it all the way down before you can climb to the top.

    • StackedTurtles@programming.dev
      2·
      2 年前

      I picked up cubing half a year ago as a middle aged dad. I set myself a goal of being able to solve it in under 30 seconds. I’m averaging around 40s now so I’m slowly getting there. It’s a fun little hobby and I always carry my cube around with me and practice as often as I can. I just finished learning all 21 PLL algorithms and I’m quite proud of myself 😄

      • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
        1·
        2 年前

        I’m 39 and right there with you, although I can’t seem to get under 80 seconds for a solve yet. I’ve been cubing for a couple of months and have got the 2 look pll and oll down nearly now, just a couple of algorithms I’m struggling to remember. Love doing the last layer though, it’s like magic.

        I’m at a point now where I’m solving faster than I was (it was around the 3 minute mark a couple of weeks ago but I’ve just got a RS3M) and it is starting to feel “easy” now.

        I also have one in my pocket most of the time, it’s another hobby my wife hates lol “Do you HAVE to bring that thing with you?” YES I DO

        • StackedTurtles@programming.dev
          2·
          2 年前

          I’ve just got the Tornado V3 Pioneer, and I’m loving it. Just using that cube cut off some time in itself. Have you started doing F2L and cross directly in bottom yet? I averaged 55ish with 2-look OLL and PLL with F2L and cross in bottom. It takes a long time to get really fast with F2L so that’s a ongoing thing I’m trying to optimize.

          • LifeBandit666@feddit.ukEnglish
            1·
            2 年前

            I’ve been eyeballing the Tornado V3 Flagship myself. I do the cross on the bottom, but advanced f2l means adding the f2l while doing the cross and I’m not that good yet. I feel like this week I’ve just started getting a real feel for pairing up the blocks, and that’s lead to quicker solves. It’ll be a few more weeks of practicing to get it intuitive but I’m definitely on the right path.

  • zeekaran@sopuli.xyz
    18·
    2 年前

    Cocktails. I’m purely an amateur home bartender (I work in software development) but I’m better at making cocktails than most paid bartenders in the city, including a number of the ones working at craft cocktail bars I’ve been to across the country. I make my own syrups, creams, infusions, carved ice, and dehydrated fruit. I’ve recently started using an iSi whipper to make foam toppers; beer foam for old fashioneds, tropical foam for Mai Tais. My avocado orgeat is awesome. Fat washing with coconut oil is easy and makes Campari and cachaça amazing. I’ve hosted many parties in the 15-28 person range, as well numerous smaller cocktail nights, so I have experience creating thematic menus and then prepping and serving the drinks all night.

    I have a ton of knowledge about spirits in general, both breadth and depth. Most bartenders and even mixologists don’t even know what baijiu is (let alone tried each aroma), know the difference between soju and shōchū, or why soju is rarely made with rice. My rum knowledge is where I’ve specialized and I can recommend multiple bottles of each type (Smuggler’s Cove categories or Minimalist Tiki’s) in varying price ranges, what cocktails they are best for, and the subtle differences between each bottle within its own category.

    I’m a perfectly average programmer though.

  • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    17·
    2 年前

    I have decades of experience with improv storytelling. It’s a niche thing, and normally I use it for tabletop games, but in a pinch I can make up campfire stories, ghost stories, or whatever else and use the slightest cues from the audience to suit what they enjoy.

      • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        7·
        2 年前

        Shit. It works better in person because of facial expressions, body language, and other ways that help me come up with material as I go sweat but try me, I suppose.

    • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
      1·
      2 年前

      That’s cool, I love telling stories too. Some people here do it professionally, and they use their audience to give the tales a nice theatrical vibe.

  • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
    203·
    2 年前

    Exponentially denotes a progression, a rate of change. You probably mean greatly or vastly

    For me it would be authoring images-illustration, rendering, etc. I guess most people can answer with their job

      • Hadriscus@lemm.ee
        21·
        2 年前

        Being accurate with words isn’t being pedantic. There was an opportunity to teach, I took it. That’s it. Perhaps you got that impression because text doesn’t convey intent very well. That’s alright

    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
      3·
      2 年前

      . I guess most people can answer with their job

      Yeah I was going to make a pithy joke about my job, but note that having any skill in a field that’s at all niche puts you well above the average.

    • stevep@lemmy.world
      3·
      2 年前

      I am exponentially more experienced at swimming than the average person.

      I’m actually a pretty average swimmer, so in this case the exponent is zero.

    • OpenSourceDeezNuts@sh.itjust.works
      31·
      2 年前

      This is my biggest pet peeve. One data point can’t be exponentially more than one other data point without context.

      If people still want to sound “smart” because they used a fancy math word, you can say “orders of magnitude more experienced.”