What with the Comics Retcon and The Center and all, we all have an appreciation of just what a superpower is, don't we? And unless some of you out there aren't telling us something, in RL superpowers aren't going to be available anytime soon.
However, some of us are blessed with certain obscure talents, and I wondered if maybe you'd like to share them with the rest of us.
For instance, I believe my best superpower to be Packing. I can get more things into any box, drawer, room, shopping bag, and, when I was a courier, van, than anyone I have ever met.
...and usually quicker at packing than anyone else, too.
Related to this is a skill at laying out printed circuits. In a previous lifetime I did this for a while, and was deemed quicker and more efficient than the computer programs available at the time.
I also have Maps, which some seem to think is a purely male skill. Nope, my sister has it, and so does my eldest son, so that one must be genetic. My son is better than me, so much so that he is a professional map-maker now.
Related to that is Location. I almost always know exactly where I am and which direction I'm facing. The one or two spots where this fails seem to relate to large masses of iron ore nearby. I did wonder if a recent MRI scan would kill it, but it seems not.
I can Feel Electric Currents merely by gently wrapping my hand around a cable. (Has to be more than a couple amps, though.)
I also used to have Finding, but I think I lost that one ;)
Lastly, I have Granamas, oops, Anagrams. I can generally get any anagram just by looking at it briefly. If it doesn't come straight away, if I walk away it will generally pop up of it's own accord a few minutes later.
So, that's me, mostly. (I won't mention the third eye or the frequent falling over.) What about you lot? Anything strange you'd like to reveal to us? This is not intended as a "Mine's bigger than yours" contest, just a little light fun.
Penny
I Have...
Sixth Sense, or Danger Sense, or "Spider Sense" to steal from a comic book superhero ;P
I just KNOW when there's an immediate danger to my personal well-being and can react a little bit faster when it goes off, just enough to save my life a few times.
Tech-Head, or Computer Brained.
I am able to feel and sense everything about a computer while I'm using it. Really helpful for debugging my own code, or keeping a computer extremely stable and secure. It's almost like when I sit down at a computer, the computer and I merge, and become a single entity, until I move away from it.
Super-Kinesthetic.
If I can make an action out of something, I'll remember it forever. One of the side-effect abilities of this ability is what I call being a Pattern Typist. I don't have to lock my hands into any kind of standard typing positions, and just float the keyboard using a large library of patterns I've built up over years of using a computer. Another side-effect ability is Cannot Get Lost. If I take a wrong way, I just go exactly the way I came until I get to where I made the mistake.
Abigail Drew.
Smell, Taste and Bullshit
I can frequently identify people by smell and I notice smells other people don't. This may be because of my allergies, I can't tolerate lots of strong smells near me so I tend not to use them and thus have a greater awareness. Perhaps.
I can taste things others don't, like many kinds of plastic have a taste to me. This causes problems in the dentists office when they put the vinyl encased x-ray negative in my mouth, I gag from the taste. So I guess that counts as a weakness, too. :)
I have an excellent bullshit detector. I'm almost never fooled by someone lying or concealing some motive. Of course, if someone lies frequently, it always sounds like they are lying even if they are telling the truth. I think this has to do with my problem with distinguishing voices from other sounds, I have to keep my eye on mouths to be sure I am hearing what people are saying and there are all kinds of giveaway micro-expressions that flash across the mouth area, more so than the eyes.
I used to be able to hear really high frequency sound. Early color-tvs were not pleasant to be in the room with because of the constant high pitched super-mosquito noise they made. My hearing is still very acute for someone in their 60s which is weird with my problem of telling voices from random noise. It's a form of ADD, the ear doctor says.
Another power I have mostly lost is mathematical intuition. I used to be able to solve math problems without thinking about them, even complex ones that I did not know the actual math techniques for solving them. I can still spot repeating patterns in apparently random movement which is probably related.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I've been told...
I've been told my power of sarcasm is overly highly developed, at the expense of many other factors... Can't imagine why...
But more to the topic... One night clowning around with some friends in IRC chat. We were joking about psionic abilities... (Yeah, that ESP stuff.) Not sure, exactly, how it came up, but joking around I ended up describing one of the other folks in chat (who I'd never met or seen a photo of)... fairly accurately. We were all tossing it off as a lucky guess and/or a result of subconsciously remembered remarks from the past - we had been chatting for several years. RPGing, etc. That would have been the end of it, but one person said - "okay master psion - describe me"... Figuring it couldn't hurt - and mucking it up would prove the flukeness of the first guesses. I said (don't recall exact things now - but it was like this) "Okay, George, you're taller than I am, but not a giant - so about 5'10" to 6'. You've got light brown hair, over your ears. Eyes are brown. Oh, and your hair's very curly. And..." This all just me spouting off the top of my head. And, about now he said "stop, I don't need the others to know me that well." And we were all, huh... (And, I was a bit "No Way!") But, after that success (Yeah, he said I it all right, except the height, he was 6'1".) They insisted I guess someone else in the group. And, I got that right... Whereupon I was getting really freaked out... Until I guessed they were all having me on and I called them on it. In any event they got me to describe another three people - some that none of us knew... And in two cases after the description found a photo on the internet that showed them. All were very accurate, except the height... That was off a few inches.
Needless to say, I was really freaked out by getting six right. I've categorically REFUSED to even TRY again!!! NO WAY I'm going to. I know I'd get them all wrong, but, the lingering weirdness feeling...
In any event, one aspect of Psionics (at least) DOES have documented proof (enough for the government and some companies to take advantage of). This is called "Remote Viewing". Basically, one or more "targets" are identified. Each is assigned a "number" (coded identifier). Someone (I'll call controller) who does NOT know the target is given the ID(s). The "Viewer" sits in a quiet location with pencil/paper. The controller gives them a target ID, which they'll write on the paper. The viewer will then write down whatever comes to mind for a few minutes. It can be colors, textures, entire scenes, portraits, anything. The viewer just writes/draws it all out. Nobody in the room has any idea what the "target" is. Once the target is "described" by the viewer, their papers are collected, and the "next" target is "viewed". An "analyst" takes all the impressions and uses them to deduce information about the target.
How might this be used? Identify where someone is (cold spot, warm, dark, north of xyz) or what they look like or who knows - I don't do this for a living. LOL But, there are published protocols describing in detail how to do this and report describing success which can be found on the internet. There are groups that study this and other things at places like Princeton University.
Who knows, one day SOME of the things we call "super powers" today may really exist. :-)
But, in vein of the "humorous" powers... Yeah, I've got some of them. Calm Client - Far to many times I've been sent in to clients that are REALLY PISSED because things aren't working (either as advertised by sales, or as they think they should - two different problems) and have to smooth the waters - and make everything "all better" (a tad challenging, at times). Another power is Horrible Singing - It's been suggested, by someone that gets paid $$ to sing, that I use two buckets to carry a tune... Yes, I got the hint - and restrict my singing to the house. LOL I'm sure there are other powers I've neglected to describe here, but they can be MY secret powers.
Anne
Master Psion (giggles)
As a matter of survival in
As a matter of survival in my family, so as to know when to hide, I can read my family members.
I can make people hurt with sarcasm.
As for a weakness, I can miss the incredibly obvious way more than I should.
Mark
P.S. More as it comes to me.
Does cynicism count as a
Does cynicism count as a super power?
Well I have a very hard time to get lost, and if I have a remote Idea were I am, I will be able to navigate by my internal map.
If I want to lie, I won't be caught.
I scare the shit out of people if I want. I wonder if I'm just that good at bluffing or if I give of some psychopath vibes ^^ It doesn't work with family though ;)
I have humor nobody else really gets and I grow hair out of my ass :P
I want to start philosophical arguments with gods in TG-stories.
A yay for Beyogis lame super powers.
What are your Superpowers?
Does Humor count?
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
I don't believe in super powers
if they occur in humans, they're natural.
I can dowse with rods, pendulum or just my hands. I can see the colour of energies and I used to do healing. I used to do psychometry - getting a mental picture from holding an object.
In my genetic or cultural bent - I'm reasonable at cryptic crosswords, and have won the Guardian prize crossword - helped by my then cat, Squinks, who was a demon crossword solver.
I have been known to write a bit and I'm grateful that words usually come easily to me, yet I'm rubbish with any other language than English. I'm not very good at maths and tend to avoid it and I am directionally challenged.
As a red headed Welshwoman, it strikes me as odd that I have a calming influence upon others, when I wouldn't describe myself as calm. I also tend to take on too much because I have difficulty saying no - and like several of my generation, have a strong sense of loyalty and duty.
Finally, I could happily live in a world without alcohol but not one without chocolate, cats, books and bikes.
Angharad
Angharad
I think I have super-empathy
I can put myself in the shoes of anyone, no matter how different they are from me.
Dorothycolleen
A very logical power
You seem to have a very practical superpower. I am able to sense and work with energy.
I have extra good hearing,
I have extra good hearing, tested beyond the normal range. More a pain in the ass than anything good though.
I actually forgot these...
All five of my senses are more... refined, I guess, than usual. Hearing, in particular, is also sharper. By refined, I mean that I can usually pick out not just what I'm smelling or tasting, but where it's reaching me from. Most people I talk to about it call it weird and that all they ever can tell is that they smell or taste something, but can't figure out the source. Oh, and yeah, I can taste things from the air I breath. I can also hear things outside the "normal" human hearing range, in both low and high registers, and can hear things further away than others. Between tasting and hearing storms while they're still miles away, I'm usually not surprised by them unless they're moving fast.
Abigail Drew.
Wall flower
Big as a gorilla, I can be overlooked and my passing by is hardly noted. Seriously I am hardly surprised from behind (30 years of working where I worked will do that to you), it may also relate to the previous skill. The gift of talking ones self out of the smelly stuff one picks up walking in unsavory places, like shit creek, I generally never needed a paddle.
Love,
Paula
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
The Coda
Chapterhouse: Dune
Paula
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
The Coda
Chapterhouse: Dune
I have a Talent, if you
I have a Talent, if you will, of being able to operate machines. "everyone can do that" you say? well yes, but I have a knack for picking up on operating vehicles and such rapidly. when I was taking the Motorcycle safety foundations basic rider course, the instructor asked me how long I had been riding, "counting today? 1 day." he seemed very surprised... same thing when I was in the Army, things like Tractor trailers, 4 wheel drive forklifts, heavy equipment of all sorts just seemed very easy to me, so much so I was made our units drivers training NCO.
not exactly a super power, but darned handy. beats being able to pass gas at will I suppose.
Anything
I'd be grateful for a power - any sort of enhancement, in fact. I seem to be below average at most things I try.
Perhaps my power is being ordinary?
Maths lesson - someone like me is need to keep the averages average. I get a real LOL at politicians talking about bringing X or Y provision up so that "everyone does better than average". No, it just moves the average.
Xi
How about the weather?
The weather tends to have an affect on my mood. Bright and sunny, so am I (as long as I have my sunglasses). The rain makes me a bit downcast and heavy storms tend to put me on edge, so I guess that I tend to have a stronger connection to the weather than most.
Peace be with you and Blessed be
Peace be with you and Blessed be
Don't do yourself down
Perhaps, if you change with the weather, you might be sensitive to pressure changes? You see, even something like that proves you have a power you never realized.
Of, course, there's probably not a lot you can do with such a power...
Penny
Just call me... Radar Man!
I could redefine the term "weather man" with that kind of power. at least give people a heads up on when to seek shelter. On an off note, it has yet to be wrong, and even sometimes happens before hand.
Peace be with you and Blessed be
Peace be with you and Blessed be
My two cents'
Thank you for a nice, fun topic.
My powers include Maps and Location also. Or did include, until chronic illness got in the way. My Hearing, Vision, and Touch were exceptionally heightened, until they were likewise impaired by chronic illness. Both Hearing and Vision were confirmed by clinical testing, in addition to many anecdotal incidents that confirmed them at least to me. Once upon a time, I had an exceptionally high IQ, in every category of IQ testing. More than enough to qualify for MENSA, though I never sought to join them. I can't think of a name for it, but I used to be able to track, and participate in, many conversations simultaneously. Such as dinner party or cocktail party situations. Lastly, I had Mimic. I could imitate, with very little conscious thought about it, almost any accent, dialect, or voice that I was exposed to. Often within seconds of listening to a new person or group of person talk, I could talk as if I came from the exact same place and background that they did. Indeed, it was hard to not do it. Just like a chameleon automatically blends with its current background, I would automatically blend verbally with my background.
All of these powers are at least temporarily gone while I continue in the grip of chronic illness. Most spectacularly, my Maps and Location powers have turned into handicaps.
I am very grateful to have had each of those abilities for at least a large part of my lifetime. Most people don't get so lucky. Especially so lucky as to have that many powers at once. My only regret is that I didn't make better use of them when I had the chance. Both to help others and to help myself. But that is the past. My greatest powers now are Compassion and maybe some Wisdom. They both come from going through big changes, including the loss of powers that I used to take for granted as part of my very self. I am very glad to trade in all those other powers - even the IQ - to gain the Compassion, if that is how it had to work. To quote, "I call that a bargain, the best I ever had." -Pete Townsend (I think)
Oh just remembered another. Health. I almost never got sick...until the chronic illness and now I tend to catch everything and then not be able to get rid of it. Nothing life threatening, so don't worry. :->
Someday, this Impatience might also leave me, for which I would be most glad.
I am a fan of Doris Kearns Goodwin, who is a historian and presidential scholar. I think George Washington was our greatest president. His most important power was Judge of Character. Or it was Integrity, if you count that as a power?
Annemarie
My superpower
I would have to say, that it's my weird mind.
I have few paradigms.
There's always a way to do everything.
Wholeman
Yes, the weird author with the boob fetish.
Yes, the weird author with the boob fetish.
Mutatis Mutandis
I would say my super power would be:
Chameleon - The ability to alter my personality temporarily in order to fit into a group. I can go to a gathering and succeed in making it seem like I belong, even if I dont. Let me tell you, it was a real lifesaver back in high school.
My wife constantly laments that I'm the only person she knows who can walk into a room full of strangers and blend in within five minutes.
Now if I could only learn that shapeshifting thing.....
"All that we see or seem, Is but a dream within a dream." Edgar Allen Poe