Hidden talents and defects
Over the years I've discovered things about myself that are both worrisome and potentially positive and useful. It is frustrating however, to be hindered by my built in limitations and not to be able to fully exploit the positive aspects or side effects of how my brain is put together.
Negative:
Spatial and mechanical relationships look easy on paper but when tested I always score zero on accuracy. Basically that means when I'm given a true or false question about which way a gear in a machine is turning I always choose the opposite of what is correct.
This is really frustrating so I have to compensate by doing the opposite of what my brain is telling me, even when it comes to untwisting a bread tie, I have to force myself to turn it the other way.
Positive: My brain's internal clock is uncannily accurate. Whenever I have something on a timer, I get up to check on it and the alarm goes off just as I get there. I also wake up about one minute before my alarm goes off even though it's never set for the same time.
Negative: I'm terrible with names and certain types of faces. I can never remember whos blog belongs to who and I have to constantly check and double check even if I've visited it a hundred times. I have to also be very careful not to put my foot in my mouth when commenting. I may have forgotten about a disability, orientation or past history of someone I'm reading and end up writing something potentially hurtful.
Positive: I can spot people for what they are immediately, within seconds and with total accuracy. I can tell if they've been abused, are addicted to drugs or alcohol, are homosexual, hyper sexual or are a pervert and which type. I've never been wrong.
I don't tell others what I have discovered unless I'm sure the person is a rapist, abuser or a pedophile and I'm concerned about their safety. Some girls haven't believed me and have ended up raped for their trouble.
.
I still try to warn others, even total strangers when I can. There have been times where I've spottted a predator stalking someone and have followed them all the way until person got home safely. The victim usually has no clue what transpired.
This skill makes it easy for me to know what to expect and how to behave with the people around me. It is also very disconcerting when I know I'm speaking with a killer or an abuser of women.
Positive: I've had food poisoning so many times I am hypersensitive to it and can smell it before it's consumed. This also goes for chemical contaminants. Everyone around me will be eating or drinking something rotten and I will try to warn them. Usually to no avail. Then they'll call me the next day complaining of explosive diarrhea, cramps and vomiting. Plagued by short memories they still don't listen even after multiple poisonings.
Negative: After throwing away several hundred dollars and envelope with vacation tickets I am very afraid to throw away any paper or envelope. I have drawers filled with stacks and stacks of junk mail, boxes stuffed with bank statements and receipts from 1987 onward. I even have nightmares about going through box after box and not being able to find the one piece of paper that I need to stop my life from being ruined. I have to admit, this predilection has saved my ass on occasion but I'm not sure if it's worth the aggravation.
posted by Bill Rowland @ January 05, 2008
50 Comments
50 Comments:
Wow Hammer, very interesting! You aren't by chance left handed are you? I know that I have similar issues with gears, twist-ties, etc. that I have always attributed to my left-handedness.
MAN!!! That is awesome that you would follow someone home to ensure their safety.
Interesting, you have some useful skills there!
having worked in the criminal justice system for many years, i can also spot a criminal and when meeting face to face with one can also tell you what they were in for.
my husband senses his cell phone is going to ring seconds before it does - that's scary.
Wow, you really do have a bunch of good traits there... I think that some of the negatives can actually be positives if you don't obsess as much about them (or at least realize why you are obsessing) I myself have a form of OCD and find that realizing why I am obsessing over something has helped me greatly.
-Shane (doc)
I have the same internal clock.
Accentuate the positive!
I'm a quick, but good, judge of character too. Unfortunately, I usually give people the benefit of the doubt, against my better judgement. That usually comes back and bites me. :(
I don't think that remembering names and intimate details is a "guy thing". My husband is terrible at that too.
I am wondering if you aint a 'man witch' lol.... cripes I dont know if this is a spookie post or a bloody marvelous post LOL
x
Food contaminants? Maybe you have too much iron...er...in your diet I mean.
- The Mountain Cat
I suck at names too. I remember their face, but not their name. When I see a kid that I coached, I can't remember his name but I can recall he's positions and stats, sometimes their number. Even kids that I coached 16 years ago.
I wish I had the ability to read people, I simply can't. I do fairly well with my players but that's about it.
Hmmmm, what an interesting guy you are! I find that I too, have that uncanny way of reading people. I think most people have it initially, it's just that they get used to ignoring that sixth sense and it eventually fades...too bad, eh? I never ignore it. If I get the heebiejeebies about someone, I sleep with one eye open...if you get my drift!
Dana: I'm right handed but that would make sense.
sohos: if not I would always have nightmares about it.
casdok: I wish I could put them to better use.
Nanc: I wanted to be a cop at one point but I went the corporate route instead. . That is cool about the cell phone.
docmtcat: I do obsess, but you're right realizing is half the battle.
reggie: It's cool to have but I wonder how it works.
yoga gal: I have a hard time with that but I'll try :)
tshsmom: you are so right I don't listen to my own advice and get screwed over.
marmite toasty: It's funny you mention that because I'm decended from witches. I'm just not evil like they were.
docmtcat: I have discovered, bleach being dispensed from a soda fountain, detergent in my pizza and rust in peach ice cream. Why me?
Names are the hardest even when people tell me their name I'm trying so hard to process their face all I hear is blah blah then I have to find a way to learn their name without embarassing myself.
kuckie: I bet you're right. Some people never listen even when their gut is screaming to get away.
You have a fascinating mix of traits! Lucky for the would-be victims that you cared enough to take the time to follow them home. They should make a TV Show about you :)
I have a strong sense of intuition about people's character to like several of your commenter's mentioned about themselves, but not as accurate or detailed as yours.
Barbara: Yeah I could be a profiler or something ;)
I can relate to some of the same things. Here lately I can dream about something and a week or two later it happens just like in my dream. I have to say it bugs me at times.
I would love to have your gift of spotting what people are immediately. I'd probably turn into a hermit though from all the fear and paranoia.
Crappo~~ So I guess you have deciphered that I am a hyper sexual perv eh? :o)
I like this post.. a wee peek at the dark side.
I used to have an internal clock like yours, but sometime after having kids I seemed to lose it.
I find it really fascinating that you can read people so well. I'd love to have that ability. I tend to think the best about everyone and then once in a while end up getting hurt when I find out they're not everything I thought they were.
H2o: that used to happen to me all the time but then it stopped all of the sudden. It made me paranoid as hell. I'm glad it's gone now.
Scarlet: I'm about as close to a hermit as I can get these days for that very reson.
cheesy: I didn't say there was anything wrong with that lol.
terri: It's really not a big deal with normal people. Unless the person is really dark I can let it go.
Wow! I bet psychologists would love to get their hands on you. And I bet you could make money by having women hire you to check out their boyfriends. They could bring him to meet you at a restaurant without telling the guy, and you could tell the ladies whether or not their guy is OK.
Betcha can't figure me out. ;)
Janet: I'd probably make more checking out husbands ;) Boyfriends are supposed to be bad right? :D
emergencyem: Oh I already know all about you ;D
I suffer the spatially challenged thing as well. My internal clock is dead on too. I never wear a watch and do not need no stinkin' alarm clock. Cheers!!
i know never to eat chinese at the food court in the mall EVER, EVER again!
a good way to remember names is to repeat the person's name several times within the first few minutes of meeting them:
"it's good to meet you, hammer."
"so, hammer, tell me what you do in your spare time."
"are you enjoying the party, hammer."
this has always worked well for me. hey, it's that or post-it-notes!
Hammer,
Sorry- I put my note on todays post in yesterdays comments. What a putz. Sorry, but hey- you shoulda known that LOL!
Thanks for the spelling of Jalapeno- used it in my post today!
;-) Have a great week Bro!!!
J
"I can spot people for what they are immediately" this is really great, I wish I have the same ability. Don't worry about not remembering names, it happens to a lot of people and you have so many other positive qualities that you should let alone the bothering ones.
At least you can think of some positives; I have trouble with those, but my negatives could fill a volume the size of a phone book.
I do the same thing with my alarm clock. I'll wake up having to pee and it never fails, the alarm clock goes off while I'm in the bathroom.
Something else very strange that I've noticed...since I got pregnant I have this uncanny knack for looking at a clock when all the numbers are the same. ie 3:33.
It's kind of creepy. It happens several times a day.
matt-man I have to wear a watch or I'll end up staring at my hairy arm all day :)
nanc: that is a good trick I'm going to start immediately.
john: Glad I could help! No problem I figured it out :)
kitem: I take the good with the bad just to keep a level head :)
bobg: as the years go by I notice things about myself that I didn't see before that need changing.
tysgirl: that is eerie. I did have a day full of 2s once :)
The bladder keeps perfect time :)
With your ability to read people, you should hire yourself out as a PI or an aid to fathers meeting the new boyfriend. Your OCD sounds reasonable to a point but I would easily be able to give the junk mail a heave ho. I think I've inadvertently thrown out important stuff thinking it was junk mail so maybe you aren't so off.
My husband can pick up on things that have gone bad when no one else can as well. I can't say I've had much food poisoning anyway as I'm highly suspicious of certain foods regardless. However, I must have gotten some bad crab somewhere down the line as I can't eat it without gagging yet I know I liked it when I was younger.
This was like reading my own story. My problem is with my perceptions of people. I can give advice to others as far as who is good and who is bad, but taking my own advice for my own situations is a failure...thus my ex wife. I write left handed and suffer the backward gear twist tie disorder, but I am ambidextrous under other conditions. Is it possible you are left handed but don't know it? Maybe a brain struggle causes your confusion.
Good post. Another look into the mind of a gifted writer.
Jeannie: I've been poisoned by olives, lettuce, pizza sauce, spinach dip, mayonaise etc.. I have to be careful to only order 'safe' food when eating out.
JP: I know someone is bad but when I have no proof I feel guilty for discriminating. Luckily I've learned not to trust anyone with money or information.
I'll have to test out that handedness theory to see if I can do mechanical stuff with my right brain.
that's really cool about your ability to read people. I have excellent intuition about people as well, but to nowhere near as detailed as you. I usually get a good feeling or a bad feeling and it's never wrong.
Were you always like this, even as a kid, or did it develop later?
m: It was even stronger as a kid. I think it developed because I had severe learning disabilities and had to compensate somehow.
I know you're not overly fond of cops, but that skill you have would have been invaluable as one...
Annie: I was on my way to becoming a cop until I got a wakeup call on what it does to a person dealing with the dregs of society day after day.
Wow. I am like the polar opposite of you. Except for the can't remember names thing. I can remember faces though. And I am a terrible judge of character.
That is a very positive / negative trait. Good post.
Jerry: It's weird I remember hair better than faces. I've had women I've known for years come up to me with an unfamiliar hair style and I had no clue who they were for several minutes.
WOW!! Now those are very interesting points!!
Can you tell what people are like over the blogspere? Or by pictures? I have a picture of someone for you to look at and tell me!! That's an amazing quality Hammer.
And that bread tie thing....I wonder why that is?
I often wake up just before my alarm goes off too - even if it's set at diff times. But not all the time.
You do amazingly well with comments on blogs considering your memory thing! I think I probably would forget if I had as many as you to read!!
You might come in very handy to stop me eating fatty food - I've been very naughty and have been in some pain because of that! I'm on a mission to be very very good from now on! (Gallstones....just in case you've forgotten!! ;0)
Hmmmmm, those papers.....I say, take the plunge and have a burning....go one.....I can see the sweat on your brow at the very thought!! hahaha! But maybe one day, a clean out?
KB: Over the blogosphere I can tell about someone after a few personal posts (reading between the lines) I've never read a picture. I think it's expressions, mannerisms, eye contact and handshake that tip me off.
I try really hard on the memory thing but I think I've said a few things that were unintentionally upsetting to some,.
I did good today and cleaned out one drawer of junk mail. I had to check and double check each paper before I tossed it.
thats some awesome insight you have! I've got a few folks I'd like you to meet and confirm lol
How fun you must be at parties!!
Great post!
You've always been kind with comments when visiting my blog, however, I'm surprised you never picked up on me really being a 65 year old drag queen living with my boyfriend Hector in Amsterdam. That happy housewife from NJ stuff is just a ruse.
Seriously hammer, this was an interesting read, as always!
It is very hard to be self aware... To see your own faults and potentials, and actually embrace them. I'm always being told by one person or another that I'm better than I think I am; better looking, with a greater potential to do whatever I want with whoever I want. It started with my parents and sister, who had no credibility because they were also doing things to reinforce the notion that I war brain damaged and couldn't take care of myself. Then other very important friends took up the mantra, but I have a hard time seeing it. I guess all those years of self doubt still influences my self image, imposing limits on what I think is possible in my own life. It's slowly going away, but decades of stupidity will take a while to wear off. I know it frustrates folks, but I'm workin' on it.
crystalchick - bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaha! imagine asparagus spears trying to exit my nose!
litlsassy: thanks for stopping by :) I can be fun at parties except people might not like being outed in front of their friends ;)
crystalchick: Your secret is safe with me, and by the way hector is running off with a travelling midget acrobatic troupe :D
FHB: Your story hits close to home I am still crippled with self doubt at times and it's hell to shake off. Family members can unknowingly or knowingly have a tremendous effect on self esteem. I'm glad you're out of your shell. You're top notch in my book.
nanc: you need to chew better ;D
I have the internal alarm clock feature too.
But I wish I had the ability to read folks like you do. It would have saved me some BS. That's for sure. Would have been good to have you around when I first met the sociopath stalker ex.
Of course now, looking back, it was glaring in his eyes. I can identify it now in others too.
Aight, email me what you think of me and I'll tell you if you're right or not...please! I wanna test this!
People always have a hard time figuring me out.
I totally suck with names...but I am pretty good with faces. Not remembering someone's name 5 minutes after they tell me it can get pretty embarrassing at times...and has gotten me into trouble more than once...lmao.
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