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Guido
09-24-2007, 02:25 PM
Most INTJs apparently tend to specialize in certain things, and I've got my list of some interesting ones:

- Rubik's cube - I taught myself this while in the back of my high school classes because they were pretty boring.
- Foosball - I taught myself this during cegep (between high school and university) while skipping class because a lot of them were pretty boring.
- Piano - I'm not the biggest music fan, but I taught myself how to play some pretty complex stuff. I know a couple neat ragtime and classical pieces. People don't really understand how I don't listen to music yet I've learned to play so well. I find that this will actually really bother certain people, because they refuse to believe that their precious music can be generated by a 'robot'. I get the impression that I somehow ruin the music for them when they know I don't emotionally connect with it. I'm interested in it solely for the technical aspects. I like reproducing what I hear, and it takes a lot of skill to do it properly.
- Psychology - Not sure what else to call this, but I don't mean it in the researching sense. I've spent a lot of time figuring out the way people work and more importantly predicting them.

I'm sure there are a couple more, but I can't think of them and I'm about to leave work.

I'm wondering what other people have spent their time doing.

qwerty
09-24-2007, 04:50 PM
Like you very interested in the psychology of people, I spent 4 years as a bouncer perfecting the skill and became extremely proficient in disarming aggressive people with my silver tongue :).


Apart from that I'm pure a computer scientist, specializing in the topics that entertain me completely: Artificial Intelligence and Abstraction of knowledge. My friends who are into normal things are afraid when I come up with a new idea as I will convert everything into it and try to explain it to them (though they won't ever understand) and this unfortunately gets me into trouble with my supervising professor and he tries to suppress the ideas, his words once "Lets not focus on this idea of yours as nobody will understand it without a huge investment of time to grasp the concept. People will say who is this guy and what has he done before this? Why should we listen to his outlandish ideas. You can work on this in the future (non specified future but my guess is never) but first establish some credibility in your name". Then he swamps me with his own research work to focus on, crushing all of the time I have for my own stuff.

The Rose
09-24-2007, 04:58 PM
My specialties are
research
genealogy
Creation-Science
Meyers-Briggs types
Bible knowledge
sign making
understanding my kids
laundry stain removal

Firelie
09-25-2007, 10:51 AM
lol...weirdest specialties, eh?

Here's one for you:

I have this fascination with less-than-usual names. If I see one in text form, I can generally remember that name, when I saw it, what I did with it, and what the situation was. Great for locating files (which is what I do at work)...not so great for anything else.

The Rose
09-25-2007, 12:51 PM
My specialties are
research
genealogy
Creation-Science
Meyers-Briggs types
Bible knowledge
sign making
understanding my kids
laundry stain removal


I also have a great memory for phone numbers and can remember some from 35 years ago!

Guido
09-25-2007, 01:09 PM
I've always made some pretty ridiculous patterns with phones numbers. I explain them to my friends and they think I'm nuts :D

polenka
09-25-2007, 07:16 PM
Psychology--very much in the research sense, and especially in the forensic sense, where prediction of people's behavior is of much importance (imagine a formula that could predict which criminals will engage in crime after being released and which will not)

Statistics--especially latent variables, to test theories applicable to the above

Figure skating--my attempt to analyze art and put it into practice

Sewing--associated with the above, I taught myself when I became tired of waiting for my mom to sew my competition dresses...has emerged as a very useful source of income...I tend to figure out how to put everything together in my mind and used a system of proportions to create standardized patterns (which I subsequently chop up on the fly to make each dress unique).

Giving my car a tune up--my car specific, don't ask me to tune up your car...

Figuring out how a tv show/movie ends before it actually does


Many of these crazy specialties emerged through necessity/impatience with having others do them.

The Rose
09-26-2007, 01:24 PM
I'm a great whistler.
I can whistle just like Andy Griffith and Otis Redding.
I whistle a lot.
In the past 30 years I have only seen two other whistlers.

lollercancer
09-26-2007, 07:11 PM
I like video games, but only well balanced ones. I usually play them at a level of skill that would be found in professional leagues. My moves in Super Smash Brothers and Team Fortress 2, especially, are dizzying.

I also write and direct movies! I love movies.

I spend most of my time thinking about pyschology and philosophy. Dizzying amounts of time :-X

The Rose
09-27-2007, 04:08 AM
Right now I happen to be an "expert" on the subject of Pride & Prejudice, the book by Jane Austen.
I read it twice last winter and studied 3 film versions of it.
As I keep forgetting more and more of the finer details,
I will lose my "expert" standing.

The Rose
09-27-2007, 04:10 AM
...
- Rubik's cube - I taught myself this while in the back of my high school classes because they were pretty boring.I was good at Rubik's cube for a while.
I had gotten to where I was fast,
but I have forgotten how to do it now.

Doppelbock
09-27-2007, 05:34 AM
Rubik's cube? My best time was 29 seconds (about 20 years ago). It's the perfect INTJ passtime.

Other weird specialties:

I can make strange noises and do imitations pretty well. After Jim Neighbors croaks, they can hire me to sing "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the Indy 500 and nobody will be able to tell the difference. Um, except I don't look like him.

Anthropology/archeology. I'm especially interested in pre-Columbus Native American cultures. I've done a huge amount of reading on the Adena (800 B.C. - 100 A.D.) and Hopewell (100 B.C. - 400 A.D.) cultures that were centered in the Ohio valley. Would a (pre-)historical fiction novel set in their culture and time be kewl or what? Hmmm...

I like to write song parodies.

All my other specialties are pretty mainstream so I won't bother listing them here.

DB

The Rose
09-27-2007, 06:15 AM
I play expert level backgammon online.
I win more than half the time.
I probably win more than that but it gets confusing because so many times
people will just quit on me because I'm winning.
So it's probably more like 75-80%.

Rei
09-27-2007, 09:09 PM
wierd ones...

All I can remember at the moment is that I can whistle and I'm ambidexterous.

And... I see wierd patterns/relationships in numbers too! My mother was like that too. It's the wierdest thing...
I wonder where it comes from... It's like the brain being over logical, and trying to make sense of random numbers :o

wedekit
09-27-2007, 09:30 PM
I work out basic arithmetic strangely in my head. An example would be something like 12+19+27; I subtract one from 19, add one to 12, and then add 13+27+18=58 together. I just try to make numbers add up to multiples of 10 when I can. It's more impressive when I do larger and more complex numbers, of course, lol.

I can avoid all cracks on sidewalks without looking at the ground. (Don't want people to notice that's what I'm doing.)

I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

Rei
09-27-2007, 10:55 PM
I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

those two seem to be a commonality around here...

Again, the playing with numbers...
I'm tempted to poll people and see how many of us have wierd thoughts/ideas about numbers...

Doppelbock
09-28-2007, 05:34 AM
I work out basic arithmetic strangely in my head. An example would be something like 12+19+27; I subtract one from 19, add one to 12, and then add 13+27+18=58 together. I just try to make numbers add up to multiples of 10 when I can. It's more impressive when I do larger and more complex numbers, of course, lol.

I can avoid all cracks on sidewalks without looking at the ground. (Don't want people to notice that's what I'm doing.)

I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

I think it's probably very rare for an INTJ to be able to read people like a book. Does everybody else think so? Usually INTJ's are not "social" enough to be able to apply their strong intuitions towards people.

DB

The Rose
09-28-2007, 05:45 AM
I work out basic arithmetic strangely in my head. An example would be something like 12+19+27; I subtract one from 19, add one to 12, and then add 13+27+18=58 together. I just try to make numbers add up to multiples of 10 when I can. It's more impressive when I do larger and more complex numbers, of course, lol.

I can avoid all cracks on sidewalks without looking at the ground. (Don't want people to notice that's what I'm doing.)

I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

I think it's probably very rare for an INTJ to be able to read people like a book. Does everybody else think so? Usually INTJ's are not "social" enough to be able to apply their strong intuitions towards people.

DBI understand what you're saying.
I don't think I "read people" like my INFP sister
(who by the way I believe is frequently wrong - but how can you prove it?)
but I can read people's motives, even if they can't see them themselves.

The Rose
09-28-2007, 05:50 AM
I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

those two seem to be a commonality around here...

Again, the playing with numbers...
I'm tempted to poll people and see how many of us have weird thoughts/ideas about numbers...I have a knack for memorizing phone numbers,
and just recently, I discovered it's easier for me to memorize odd numbers than even ones!

My mother (ISTJ) has a knack for numbers, too.
She used to run a bar where every member was given a key with a number on it.
There was something like 400-500 members.
I met my husband-to-be there, and when I asked my mom what his name was,
she said, "I don't know his name, but I know his key number."

(She looked up his number and gave me his name.)

rwyatt365
09-28-2007, 05:50 AM
OK...weird...

I can tell what size a metric bolt is by looking at it (did you say weird, or useless?)

The Rose
09-28-2007, 05:52 AM
OK...weird...

I can tell what size a metric bolt is by looking at it (did you say weird, or useless?)
That can be a time-saver!

rwyatt365
09-28-2007, 06:17 AM
OK...weird...

I can tell what size a metric bolt is by looking at it (did you say weird, or useless?)
That can be a time-saver!

yeah...

Oh, and I used to do differential equations for fun (college days)!

wedekit
09-28-2007, 06:29 AM
I'm probably a little more social than the average INTJ, but it usually just turns into they talk and I listen and nod.

Maybe I should also mention that my mom is a monster when it comes to reading people! It might just be something I picked up from her.

aude
09-28-2007, 03:11 PM
I can read people like a book.

Reading physiology and medical journals for fun.

I was good at that simon says game. My highest was around 130 or so.

I tinker with electronics and computers and figure out how they work.

Researching information for friends.

Guido
09-29-2007, 10:24 AM
I think it's probably very rare for an INTJ to be able to read people like a book. *Does everybody else think so? *Usually INTJ's are not "social" enough to be able to apply their strong intuitions towards people.

After I picked up socializing and observing people as a hobby, this now comes very easy for me. I usually have a good feel for the way someone else is thinking, but my true strengths are understanding social structures and how people interact with that structure. I still have no idea why it works the way it does, but the important thing is I have a good sense on how it works. My mom's family is all a bunch of drama queen social engineers (apart from my uncle who's probably an INTJ) so maybe that's why I found it came to me naturally.

If you haven't done so already, you should read this thread: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Rei
09-29-2007, 10:30 AM
The _N_J in INTJ's should make it easy for us to read people.

I've always been pretty good at it, and also fairly good a judge in character. Sometimes I can see a person's intentions clearer than they see it themselves, which is why - I suspect - people like to come to me(and other INTJs) for advice.

Jbmontag
09-30-2007, 02:16 AM
I read people really well
I have a habit of avoiding stepping on any kind of crack or line (glad to know it's not just me)
I see patterns in telephone numbers and use those to dial
I can figure out the ends of movies really quickly
I'm superb at analogies to help explain things

bikerscars
09-30-2007, 09:51 AM
my specialty currently is sportbikes(types/differences/modifications/limits/price/etc)

been motorcycles for years now...prior to that it was fishkeeping

and overriding theme with me is a minimalist/frugal outlook

i am very good at seeing through/reading people

Opti
10-01-2007, 02:01 AM
I work out basic arithmetic strangely in my head. An example would be something like 12+19+27; I subtract one from 19, add one to 12, and then add 13+27+18=58 together. I just try to make numbers add up to multiples of 10 when I can. It's more impressive when I do larger and more complex numbers, of course, lol.

I can avoid all cracks on sidewalks without looking at the ground. (Don't want people to notice that's what I'm doing.)

I can read people like a book.

I find parallels/consistencies between two unrelated things often.

I think it's probably very rare for an INTJ to be able to read people like a book. *Does everybody else think so? *Usually INTJ's are not "social" enough to be able to apply their strong intuitions towards people.

DB

In the work environment I am able to read people and determine their strengths & weaknesses very quickly. It is just a shame I cannot read myself as well lol

Zceiv
10-01-2007, 05:28 PM
Hi I’m new here

Lots of Bible knowledge
Lots of knowledge on lucid dreaming
Some on Psychology (I want to learn more about it if anyone wants to recommend a good site or book)

I like reading on cults and medicine (some on medicine not hardcore) probably the weirdest of mine
I love reading survival handbooks
Like history (not the king-queen type, history on wars)

I’m 16 so I don't have a lot (or to the degree of knowledge id like to have). Also I also want to learn how to solve the Rubix Cube and some piano.

Firebert
10-01-2007, 06:22 PM
On the subject of reading people, I find I'm pretty damn good. I have a habit of judging people in depth (social scene, personality, love life...etc.) the first time that I meet them. It's wrong to judge people off the bat, but I'll stop as soon as I start being wrong about it.

Weird habits...I love wordplay. I just play off of alternate meanings and let them roll. I also find that I rearrange words in a sentence subconsciously to see if I can make anything out of it. Along the same line, I think of words backwards all the time. For example if someone told me that their name was Naomi, I'd immediately think "I moan" and crack up.

Rei
10-01-2007, 07:35 PM
I think we have it set that pretty much all INTJs have a good grasp on reading people.

We also seem to enjoy taking things (like numbers and words) and rearranging them and giving them a meaning that people don't generally associate with.

This last thing sometimes made me feel like I'm slightly dyslexic. I used to make mistakes on simple math problems all the time becase I skip the first digit in the number, or I switch the two digits around like 42, I'd write down 24. According to my tutor, it was because I was reading too far ahead, and my hand was a beat slower than my thoughts :-[ I got better at it though; now I still miss the first digit sometimes, but I usually go back to write it down right away.

deicruxified
10-03-2007, 07:42 PM
weird specialties

1. i always find my way when i am lost (...so far)
2. hit "shot gun" comments at the spur of the moment then someone feels guilty and admits something related to what i've said
3. magically organizes an event in a span of a month (...if i see it feasible if not reject... most of the time when they throw such stuff on me, people can't fix em anymore coz they weren't listening from day 1... often in such tasks, when everything's already a pile of crap my lines have always been, "i knew it"..."i saw this coming"..."you failed to heed my warning")
4. since we do more of listening when someone approaches and talks to us, we already know his/her whole personality in just one sitting -- i share this weird specialty as well so whenever i hit on someone, it's always a psychological attack
5. in line with number 4, i'm a stranger magnet... i just sit in one corner and someone talks to me about his/her love life, problems... etc...
6. a lot of people think i'm a guy over the net and people actually enjoy the "guess the gender" game

:edit:

7. i detect pheromones quickly... in a working area or whereever i am present. i know who has a crush on who... etc...
8. misleading people so as for them not to know what my real motives are (only happens when i want to catch someone... they're usually the gossipy people spreading rumors)
9. i'm an inquisitor... kinda enjoyed this when i signed up as a paralegal volunteer

mostly it's n related... i do think our t's help us a lot in solving a lot of stuff

Tarrick
10-04-2007, 11:09 PM
List of my specialties?

-Video Media
-Graphic Media
-Animal knowledge
-Random pieces of irrelevant knowledge
-Reading people
-Cognitive psychology
-Internet scouring
-Implacability

biased
10-06-2007, 11:54 AM
acquiring the "impossible"/rarity/what people say you won't get because it "doesn't exist"
networking with influential/useful people

ciphersort
10-06-2007, 12:27 PM
Time travel. However, I can only move toward the future one moment at a time.

phoenix
10-06-2007, 06:15 PM
I have never been a good judge of character...and have never been able to read people. My biggest problem is that my default opinion of people is that they are good and trustworthy and truthful. As a result, I trust people right off the bat without making an assessment of them. This trait has led me into several bad relationships....but also into one that is irreplacable.

Ijz
10-07-2007, 02:30 PM
To answer the original question:

- Software development (specialties: architecture/design, general programming, debugging and profiling)
- Self exploration / psychology
- Table tennis
- Gaming (fast paces FPS)
- Watching SCIFI series ;)
- Trying to figure out how to get my development team to work as one harmonious unit, since each of them has a different personality type)

As for table-tennis and gaming, I primarily play these because of the skill involved (I play both at an reasonable level).

Rei
10-07-2007, 03:40 PM
List of my specialties?

-Video Media
-Graphic Media
-Animal knowledge
-Random pieces of irrelevant knowledge
-Reading people
-Cognitive psychology
-Internet scouring
-Implacability

what exactly do you mean by "animal knowledge"

hopscotch
10-07-2007, 08:47 PM
1. Discerning spelling and grammatical errors. I believe this is a product of N's ability to see and interpret patterns. Language is a pattern in my mind, and errors are inconsistencies in said pattern.

2. Maintaining a perfectly impassive countenance.

3. Increasing my impressive storehouse of trivia. No one challenges me to Trivial Pursuit.

4. Scrambled eggs. They're always fluffy, never slimy or rubbery.

5. Without fail, the most expensive item in a store will appeal to my sense of style. My credit card protests vehemently against this special ability.

6. Spending an astonishing amount of time gleaning seemingly useless information from the Internet. So many links, so many tangents...if I could find a way to survive without sleep or an income, I'd always be nerding it up online.

7. Completing tasks at the last minute with minimal effort while still producing better work than my peers. Efficiency is a wonderful thing.

Tarrick
10-08-2007, 07:30 PM
List of my specialties?

-Video Media
-Graphic Media
-Animal knowledge
-Random pieces of irrelevant knowledge
-Reading people
-Cognitive psychology
-Internet scouring
-Implacability

what exactly do you mean by "animal knowledge"

When I was young (8-10ish) I read every single book in the library about animals.

Evalind
10-08-2007, 08:02 PM
I'm not sure what my current weirdest specialty is, but as a child it was making friendship bracelets. In 4th grade we were allowed to make them during post-lunch story time (and everyone did because it was 1988 and friendship bracelets were cool). There was a "contest" between the three or four of us who were the best, and I won.

jeffersonian
10-09-2007, 07:02 AM
I'm also good at reading people, but mostly when I'm not involved with the person in a direct way. So, when it comes to friends or family, I don't get it. Random stranger on the street, I'll have a whole description of their life and times in mind.

I also do weird things with phone numbers and the numbers for addresses. I figure out how I can make them mathematically related. So, if the last four digits are 5427, I see that as a pattern because 5-3=2 and 7-3=4. All the numbers are there in an "every other" order, and I'll remember that. How that's easier to remember than just the numbers, I don't know. It just is.

I'm also interested in philosophy, law and government, and chemistry. As a political science major in college, I had just over 24 credits in chemistry as electives, including independent research on the structure of an amino acid. Apparently, I only needed 6 credits. My advisor didn't like working with me, much.

rwyatt365
10-09-2007, 07:26 AM
I also do weird things with phone numbers and the numbers for addresses. I figure out how I can make them mathematically related. So, if the last four digits are 5427, I see that as a pattern because 5-3=2 and 7-3=4. All the numbers are there in an "every other" order, and I'll remember that. How that's easier to remember than just the numbers, I don't know. It just is.

That's a game that my father used to keep us kids quiet on long road trips - find the sequence of numbers in a license plate and then give the next number in the sequence. My older sister and I always battled to be first to come up with the number and give the logic for that choice.

thegnat
10-16-2007, 11:17 AM
I've always wanted a Rubik's cube as nerdy as that sounds and I still haven't gotten one! I just need to break down and get it myself, I guess!

Anywho,
-horse knowledge - I read all the books that I possibly could about horses when I was younger.
-Tennis knowledge I suppose. I can tell you everything technically and strategically and all the stats in a match....
-numeric memory - I chunk up if I'm familiar with the chunks or else I'll do some mathematical relation or pattern
-chemistry - with a little political science interest on the side and a little astronomy/astrophysics interest, too...
-Good at reading people - not really their emotions per se but what they're about to do, their intent. In tennis I'm good at it too, it comes in handy.
-used to be awesome at video gaming. Now I probably stink up the place...haven't played in so long...
-googling stuff I don't know quickly - I've helped people with this.
-maintaining a complete poker face while being sarcastic - people are often impressed at my poker face.
-I might as well say a LOT of random animal knowledge as I was a HUGE national geographic nerd when I was younger and read all I could about other animals as well as horses. Probably not terribly extensive on all the animals, but I know quite a lot.

More Tea
10-16-2007, 03:49 PM
Weird specialties:

-Cooking gourmet meals without any training in it, and having had read very few recipes in my life.

-Playing piano by ear, though I can not read music. I also write songs, most of them of a cynically-humorous bent.

-I used to understand how the Internet works (routing protocols, etc.) until law school drove out most of that knowledge.

-Psychology, of course!

-I get strong instincts about people, but can not necessarily read them well. However, I can read the *silences* in a conversation and figure out what a person is really getting at even if they never articulate what they are after.

Vayate
10-16-2007, 06:26 PM
This last thing sometimes made me feel like I'm slightly dyslexic. I used to make mistakes on simple math problems all the time becase I skip the first digit in the number, or I switch the two digits around like 42, I'd write down 24.
I thought I was the only person who did that sort of thing, although I more often do it with words and letters. It happens both with writing and occasionally in speech, which ha always been a source of embarrassment; I'm still trying to learn to speak more deliberately so it doesn't occur.

As for odd specialties, I know a good bit about military strategy, both on the ground and on the battlefield as a whole, despite not being associated with the military in any way whatsoever.

My ability to read people is also very good.

Ejeff
12-13-2010, 01:30 PM
1. i am very very good at reading people's body language, facial expretions, and reading their tone of voice
2. very fast reactions
3. memorising a large amount of text and being able to recall every single word that has been said or read to me.
4. guitar
5. bouldering (a form of rock climbing)
6. any sports. i get very competative and always excell to a high level very quickly
7. english and maths
8. i dont know whether you would count this as a skill but i am very good at thinking of an answer or a question on my feet. (usually within 1 or 2 seconds)
9. recalling facts (especially useless ones)
10. remembering all the little things that people say even when they are not necessary.

MikeC
12-13-2010, 01:43 PM
I'm a great whistler.
I can whistle just like Andy Griffith and Otis Redding.
I whistle a lot.
In the past 30 years I have only seen two other whistlers.

I think I can outwhistle you in terms of timbre, keeping in key, and sheer volume. :D

Ejeff
12-13-2010, 01:47 PM
I think I can outwhistle you in terms of timbre, keeping in key, and sheer volume. :D

haha :D actually made me chuckle :)

Hiro
12-13-2010, 02:35 PM
My weirdest specialty is Stepmania. Of course I play with the keyboard, and play at a ridiculously fast speed. It's a nice pass time.

Anhedonic Lake
12-13-2010, 02:39 PM
Abnormal psychology,philosophy,history empathy and a very high level of introverted intuition-like others, I can read people very well. Sometimes it's a curse rather than a blessing.

Gixxerguy
12-13-2010, 03:10 PM
Pool/snooker. Find that playing pool on my own is a good way of relaxing and letting off steam and consequently, I've got quite good at it.

intjistp
12-13-2010, 10:15 PM
I also have a great memory for phone numbers and can remember some from 35 years ago!

How about learning new ones!? I cannot do it, in purpose.

---------- Post added 12-14-2010 at 08:21 AM ----------

I used to do history, genealogy, science, computing, reading...
I'd love to do psychology, studying, my own business...
Mostly I make plans and daydream.

Geminii
12-14-2010, 01:25 AM
She used to run a bar where every member was given a key with a number on it.
There was something like 400-500 members.

I used to work in a company which had about 400 offices nationwide. I could recite the administrative three-letter code, the IT infrastructure 4-letter base code, and the multiple internal server names for every office, including the ones where the codes were completely unrelated to because of previous botched renaming attempts.

At another branch of the office, I could give the userID of every person in the office (about 100 people), often before being able to remember their name.


Sometimes I can see a person's intentions clearer than they see it themselves

When it comes to office politics, I can often have countermoves already in place for actions people don't even realise they're going to take until three months later. When it comes to personal stuff for those same people, though, I often can't spot things that are going on right in front of my face.


I am apparently magic when it comes to creating something in a time frame so short I don't have a single second spare to procrastinate. I was once told at work at 8:58am that a classroom full of new employees was ready for me to start my day-long introduction to the corporate computer systems, applications, and interfaces. Except that it was the first time anyone had every bothered to tell me that we'd even gotten new employees, much less that I was suddenly responsible for corporate computer training. In the two minutes it took me to walk to the classroom, I had the entire day's lessons mapped out. Spent three hours going over the hardware and basic software, used the lunch break to whip up some reference sheets, and then spent another three-plus hours going over more advanced topics and answering questions. By the time they arrived back at work the following day, I was handing out full sets of reference documentation on everything we'd covered and everything they'd asked, plus multiple pages of the kinds of corporate information that no-one ever tells you, like who to call for various things and what the 99 million bits of corporate jargon actually mean.

Got voted "best trainer", "most helpful", and dated one of the trainees for the next 10-plus years. :)


1. Discerning spelling and grammatical errors. I believe this is a product of N's ability to see and interpret patterns. Language is a pattern in my mind, and errors are inconsistencies in said pattern.

7. Completing tasks at the last minute with minimal effort while still producing better work than my peers. Efficiency is a wonderful thing.

Ditto to both of these.

I'd add that I had (and still do, to a degree) a hearing range good enough to not only pick out the whine of a CRT at a hundred paces, but be able to discern its direction in a crowded office. When people were supposed to turn off their screens (for power reasons) before going home, they'd sometimes get a call from the other end of the building along the lines of "Hi, it's Gem in the IT department here, could you please turn off Fred's monitor on the desk next to you; I can hear that it's still on." This may have freaked them out a little. As may have my habit of diagnosing certain computer problems by closing my eyes and simply listening to the machine for a couple of seconds with one hand held over it, palm down.

---------- Post added 12-14-2010 at 06:19 PM ----------

She used to run a bar where every member was given a key with a number on it.
There was something like 400-500 members.

I used to work in a company which had about 400 offices nationwide. I could recite the administrative three-letter code, the IT infrastructure 4-letter base code, and the multiple internal server names for every office, including the ones where the codes were completely unrelated to because of previous botched renaming attempts.

At another branch of the office, I could give the userID of every person in the office (about 100 people), often before being able to remember their name.


Sometimes I can see a person's intentions clearer than they see it themselves

When it comes to office politics, I can often have countermoves already in place for actions people don't even realise they're going to take until three months later. When it comes to personal stuff for those same people, though, I often can't spot things that are going on right in front of my face.


I am apparently magic when it comes to creating something in a time frame so short I don't have a single second spare to procrastinate. I was once told at work at 8:58am that a classroom full of new employees was ready for me to start my day-long introduction to the corporate computer systems, applications, and interfaces. Except that it was the first time anyone had every bothered to tell me that we'd even gotten new employees, much less that I was suddenly responsible for corporate computer training. In the two minutes it took me to walk to the classroom, I had the entire day's lessons mapped out. Spent three hours going over the hardware and basic software, used the lunch break to whip up some reference sheets, and then spent another three-plus hours going over more advanced topics and answering questions. By the time they arrived back at work the following day, I was handing out full sets of reference documentation on everything we'd covered and everything they'd asked, plus multiple pages of the kinds of corporate information that no-one ever tells you, like who to call for various things and what the 99 million bits of corporate jargon actually mean.

Got voted "best trainer", "most helpful", and dated one of the trainees for the next 10-plus years. :)


1. Discerning spelling and grammatical errors. I believe this is a product of N's ability to see and interpret patterns. Language is a pattern in my mind, and errors are inconsistencies in said pattern.

7. Completing tasks at the last minute with minimal effort while still producing better work than my peers. Efficiency is a wonderful thing.

Ditto to both of these.

I'd add that I had (and still do, to a degree) a hearing range good enough to not only pick out the whine of a CRT at a hundred paces, but be able to discern its direction in a crowded office. When people were supposed to turn off their screens (for power reasons) before going home, they'd sometimes get a call from the other end of the building along the lines of "Hi, it's Gem in the IT department here, could you please turn off Fred's monitor on the desk next to you; I can hear that it's still on." This may have freaked them out a little. As may have my habit of diagnosing certain computer problems by closing my eyes and simply listening to the machine for a couple of seconds with one hand held over it, palm down.

gecko
12-14-2010, 07:04 AM
I'm pretty good at my Christopher Moltisante impression (You fuckin' whoooa)

metaserve
12-14-2010, 10:24 PM
I do the not-stepping-on-cracks in the ground/floor thing (useful for mountaineering)

If I have an opportunity to choose a number, it will always be a prime number.

Whatever time I need to wake up in the morning, I will wake up at that time without any alarm.

I can only ever get one side of a rubik's cube. What's the best way to learn, rubik-gurus?

sircockburn
12-14-2010, 10:28 PM
Spanish sex.

Anreader
12-14-2010, 10:32 PM
I am excellent at making up recipes or fixing other people's messed up already cooked foods
tricking people into doing what i want
I am a fount of knowledge relating to metaphysics, herbalism, divination, fairy tales, mythologies, and, strangely household chores.
Also, I am a fairly reliable predictor of the future actions of others even without Tarot cards. lol.

chanel
12-15-2010, 01:22 AM
I think I am pretty good at seeing "through" someone :) given im not an intj but still

cyd0nia
12-15-2010, 06:23 AM
My specialiaties:


Seeing through people
Being able to formulate the solution to a problem, a very short while after it is presented.
Very quick at making written notes. I memorise sentences before putting pen to paper. (useful in college/university)

mcnichols
12-15-2010, 10:30 AM
Bassoon: Picked it up for some reason, and I've been playing for 9 years.
Languages: I love learning new languages. I speak German fluently and can speak some spanish,
russian, french and dutch.

Artio
12-15-2010, 10:45 AM
Trivial Pursuit - the board game: At the moment nobody will play it with me. I seem to guess the correct answer even if I don't know the answer. I just draw conclusions and intuit. At least in Finnish edition the questions are structured the way that directs me towards the right answer.

Languages: Finding out the meaning of words is extremely easy for me. I understand much more than I'm capable to produce.

I'm good with dogs. I speak their language fluently.

Autosuggestion.

icepick method
12-15-2010, 12:14 PM
I can shoot a pistol very well with either hand. Write, throw, j/o lefthanded, use scissors righthanded.
I can turn my tongue over both ways.

Geminii
12-15-2010, 12:35 PM
I'm good with dogs. I speak their language fluently.

Cats for me. I've had a couple of people have to break off telling me how their cat is so shy it never appears for anyone, because said cat was already halfway up my front and trying to skullbonk me into paying more attention.

Additionally: I used to be able to verbally reach down a phoneline and make people do whatever I told them. Haven't really kept up the practice, though.

Imagineering
12-15-2010, 12:45 PM
5. bouldering (a form of rock climbing)

V6+?

Sk8ordude
12-15-2010, 10:34 PM
I can blow air out of my eye.
Come up with multiple styles of music in my head.
All sorts of s**t on a skateboard, including 1/4 mile 1 footed manuals (wheelies).
Pool
amazing ability to know what time it is and wake up at a specified time within a minute or 2.
Beat most anyone in a staring contest.
I have this amazing ability to come out of death defying falls relatively unscathed.
I can pop dislocated shoulders back in and use them the next day.
I can drive 85 gallon floor scrubbers on what should be a professional level (they drive like a fork lift).
I can move my left foot up and down, and my right foot back and forth... At the same time and vice-versa. Try it its harder then it sounds.
Be a mastermind of course...

Wow... I'm awesome thanks for giving me an excuse to brag. I also exceptionally modest too.

SarcasticVlad
12-16-2010, 01:55 PM
* talented at visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpting) although I don't find a lot of satisfaction in making something that doesn't have a practical use. I guess I inherited the talent from my mother cause she's an artist. She wanted me to do more with my talent. But it's just not me.
* I'm good with languages. Very good. (it has something to do with being left handed, or so I was told)
* I know Krav Maga
* I can cook (learned that by observing my mother cooking for years)
* I can read people quite well. I do it by observing their body language and the way they talk. It reveals a lot.
* I suspected what the flash sideways in season 6 of LOST were all along.
* I can go to sleep anywhere at any time even if I'm fully awake and not sleepy at all.

RedHead8808
12-17-2010, 08:00 PM
bejeweled and Clue... no one can beat me in either.

Kricket
12-18-2010, 12:08 AM
I'm alright with equine conformation and color/disease genetics, but only by reading. Haven't had practical experience in years.

westybsa
12-18-2010, 01:24 AM
computers and technical rescue are my thing. I know they seem to form a quasi juxtaposition

Leg
12-18-2010, 01:46 AM
-Ancient hystory
-WW2
-I sing in a couple of choirs as bass
-Flightsimulation (civil aviation)
-INTJ gut feeling
-Compared to my other peers, a good knowledge of English (I'm Italian)
-Some other stuff I can't recall right now

s4nder
12-18-2010, 02:14 AM
I remember numbers by color. I have a color associated with each number in my mind since early childhood and I remember the color sequence.

Major grammar police. In a language with fourteen cases that is confusing even to most native speakers, it's an ungrateful job.

A devoted audiophile, specializing on headphones. My headphone setup costs more than some friends' cars and it's worth every penny to me.

Instantly judging people and being correct every single time.

Big fan of winter, darkness, cold, snow. I actually like the feeling of freezing and don't dress very heavily in the winter.

In contrast to all this nerdiness, I'm a recreational bodybuilder. I do play table tennis and footbag to tip the scale back to geek city though.

missdez
12-18-2010, 02:22 PM
I too can read people like a book which I'm not sure is a blessing or a curse.

I do crossword puzzles with a pen and try to see how fast I can finish it...then I do the cryptoquip the same way.

I'm much more interested in letters, words, languages than numbers, however I have been prone to fixating on numbers that I like. I had for a while a strange phenomenon where I would always look at the clock just when it hit 11:11, 2:11, 4:11, etc. I could not for the life of me figure out the significance of the number 11 in this situation. I decided that I had some subconscious OCD type thing going on and consciously decided to let it go because it was annoying.

I can dance like nobody's business.

I read multiple books at a time....almost purely non-fiction.

I am the current undefeated champion of Wii bowling in my household...the husband and step-son hate this...lol

M1440r
12-18-2010, 02:34 PM
I am good at:

-reading situations, i.e. knowing when to stay and chat, when to leave, when to HURRY and leave

-remembering/associating music with situations: I can remember listening to a song from 12 years ago and I can remember the exact context surrounding that particular listen

-remembering random trivia that is utterly useless except in certain games (Trivial Pursuit, anyone?)

-I memorize my schedule, and never need to write something down because I instinctively remember it mentally

Grimace
12-18-2010, 03:34 PM
Rapping probably. Though to me it's not weird because I've done it for so long, people can't get over the fact that a normally dressed, university educated, 20 something introvert white guy would rap. They usually don't believe me. Of course, from my perspective it's just an area of knowledge that I've been expanding since it piqued my interest.

Troll
12-18-2010, 07:29 PM
Rapping probably. Though to me it's not weird because I've done it for so long, people can't get over the fact that a normally dressed, university educated, 20 something introvert white guy would rap. They usually don't believe me. Of course, from my perspective it's just an area of knowledge that I've been expanding since it piqued my interest.

A. I would like to hear some raps, sir.


B. I can make people hate me instantly. Hard to believe, but it's a true skill of mine.

RedHead8808
12-18-2010, 07:36 PM
I can make people hate me instantly. Hard to believe, but it's a true skill of mine.

I'm pretty sure that's not a skill.

sadf
12-19-2010, 06:18 AM
I'm pretty sure that's not a skill.

I can do that too. Just don't filter your personality and you will become people repellent!

denaria
12-19-2010, 07:22 AM
Sudoku
Speed-reading - especially thrillers but anything will do
Christmas dinner UK style - mine is definitely major league
Crochet
Practical building design (not pretty pretty architecture, making buildings that don't bug me)
Touching the end of my nose with my tongue
Lotus 1-2-3 (so much better* than Excel, so unused nowadays <weeps>)

* except for printing

SarcasticVlad
12-19-2010, 04:23 PM
I can make people hate me instantly.
Not a skill. I can do that if I wanted too. All I have to do is remove the barrier between my thoughts and my tongue.

Uriel
12-19-2010, 04:30 PM
B. I can make people hate me instantly. Hard to believe, but it's a true skill of mine.

Is this a passive skill or an active skill?

RedHead8808
12-19-2010, 04:43 PM
I can make people hate me instantly. Hard to believe, but it's a true skill of mine.

Not a skill. I can do that if I wanted too. All I have to do is remove the barrier between my thoughts and my tongue.

exactly. The real skill is keeping the barrier in place.

Uriel
12-19-2010, 04:52 PM
A better skill would be to turn the barrier into a filter instead.

mCinney
12-19-2010, 06:26 PM
An odd specialty...

well I win in solitaire, chess, stratego, monopoly, clue, and checkers almost every time I play. I read palms, I study Old and New Testament verses and look for parallels, I have taught myself how to determine a person's personality and what they have been doing just by looking at them, and I am really good at making Italian food.

I could go on, but I don't wish to ramble.