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

    •  absGeekNZ   ( @absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz ) 
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      111 months ago

      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.

      • “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   ( @absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz ) 
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          111 months ago

          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.

  •  radix   ( @radix@lemm.ee ) 
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    3411 months ago

    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.)

  • 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   ( @Liz@midwest.social ) 
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      411 months ago

      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.

      • 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.

    • 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 😄

      • 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

        • 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.

          • 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.

  • I want to join in here too with the exceptionally good driving. I, like everyone else here, am totally a very much better driver than the average person on the road. Exponentially much better, even!

  • Having gone through conscription military, I have leveled up some very important abilities.

    Looking busy: I can find convincing ways to spend time without actually doing anything important.

    Wasting time: When nobody is looking, I can find creative and fun ways to pass the time. (this ability is maxed out)

    Also gained a few special perks.

    Forest fun: Who needs movies, games or the internet when you have an axe and some wood. Even pine cones, rocks and sticks will be enough to keep you preoccupied in creative ways.

    Day dreaming: Who needs the forest, when you can build countless universes in your mind.

    Oh, and I did learn to shoot and keep my rifle in working order. I guess that’s nice too. Didn’t get to level that anywhere near as much, but that’s ok.

  • I am, without trying to sound arrogant, much better at cornering, roundabouts, and general driving than a large part of the population in Australia.

    I can enter a roundabout, in a preselected gear, at appropriate revs and speed. Load up the suspension just right, so I’m released into my chosen exit, kissing the apex with a release of energy that feels so sweet, smooth and safe, that it’s a beautiful part of my life.

    All within safe thresholds, and always when I know it’s safe. And the way others use roundabouts, it’s always safer than the general population.

    • As a fellow Australian I think this is partly down to the equipment as well.

      I can take a roundabout much faster and more confidently in my sports car with a low centre of gravity and performance tyres compared to an SUV with cheapo tyres like a large proportion of the population drives.

      I’m guessing you also drive a car which is more performant than most on the road.

      • No matter what you drive, it’s still not hard to be better than all the people who stall traffic because they don’t realize they can squeeze through a gap about 4 feet wider than their car so we can actually pre fill the turn lane while the light’s red.

        Nor is it hard to actually know to accelerate smoothly through a turn instead of braking through it.

        Or to know how to just stay in your clearly marked turn lane during your turn (literally marked through the entire intersection) instead of cutting off the other two turn lanes (this happened to me yesterday).

        None of these things are actually much harder to do in a large car than a sports car, just obviously your actual speed and acceleration should change based on your car, tires, and everything else. I use the same principles I use when driving a fun car to help drive safely when it’s a minivan.

  • 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

    • . 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.

  • 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.