Developed a thumb twiddling habit

[Hurkyl]

Bah, I just make sure I step on an equal number of cracks with my left and right feet!

 

[Smurf]

I remember when I was going out with a really short girl. I always tried to pace myself so that I only had to step once for every two steps she took. Sometimes she didn't even notice my unusually long steps.

 

[BobG]

i usually avoid cracks in the sidewalk, but its not noticable. sometimes, to make sure I'm not OCD though, i delibrately step on all the cracks i see. kinda a weird habit i guess...

Bah, I just make sure I step on an equal number of cracks with my left and right feet!

I've caught myself doing both those things if I'm thinking about something pretty hard while walking. Generally, any forced internal rhythym helps me concentrate. If I'm playing pool, I tend to start clicking my tongue inside my mouth while lining up my shots.

 

[zoobyshoe]

sometimes, to make sure I'm not OCD though, i delibrately step on all the cracks i see.

I've done this too. Whenever I feel like some quirky, weird little personal taboo is getting too pronounced I just start doing the opposite for a while.

 

[honestrosewater]

I've done this too. Whenever I feel like some quirky, weird little personal taboo is getting too pronounced I just start doing the opposite for a while.

... which is itself rather quirky...

 

[Evo]

Ok, I'll confess to having two unusual daughters.

My oldest is a synesthete, she sees letters as colors.

My youngest has a couple of "gifts". When she sees something that is written, she will automatically group all of the letters by odd and even. I first realized this one day as we were driving. She was saying "odd' "even" to herself. I asked her what she was doing. She pointed to a street sign that said "Lake Elmhurst St Exit", she said "odd". Then she pointed at the next sign "Heron Boulevard Exit", she said "even". I asked her what she was talking about. She can glance at a word or even a long sentence and instantly tell you if the number of letters (including spaces) totals an odd or even number. She can also do this as a person is speaking. She can also regroup all of the letters instantly into an even number for the total by adding or subtracting letters from words. Hearing her do this is bizarre as she goes through all of the letters, rapidly regrouping them and looping the sentences. This is hard to explain. She can also look at any object and instantly tell you how many distinct geometric shapes are in it. It takes her only a fraction of a second to do this. She can do this with entire walls with bookshelves and pictures, etc... She's also one of those people that can make multiple folds in their tongue.

 

[zoobyshoe]

She can also look at any object and instantly tell you how many distinct geometric shapes are in it. It takes her only a fraction of a second to do this. She can do this with entire walls with bookshelves and pictures...

This is weird, because not half an hour ago I was reading about people who have something wrong with their occipital lobes and can only pick out one shape, from anything like that, and no more, no matter how long they stare. Each time they look at the same array on separate occasions, they can only pick out the same shape.

Is your daughter able to explain what goes through her mind when she does this?

 

[Mk]

I would assume she just does it, not much of a complex conscious thought process is there?

 

[Evo]

Is your daughter able to explain what goes through her mind when she does this?

She's just able to see things differently. She can see more than most people, or at least assimilate more information instantaneously than others. Other people would eventually be able to see what she sees, it would just take them much longer to grasp it.

 

[Evo]

I would assume she just does it, not much of a complex conscious thought process is there?

Exactly, she just does it. A quirky gift.

 

[zoobyshoe]

She's just able to see things differently. She can see more than most people, or at least assimilate more information instantaneously than others. Other people would eventually be able to see what she sees, it would just take them much longer to grasp it.

I could see training yourself to be tuned in specifically to shapes so that this would be the first thing to jump out at you. It's funny to me that she arrived at this without probably consciously training herself to pay attention to that, or the odd or evenness of the number of letters in words. Or maybe she did go through a period of consciously paying attention to that.

 

[Evo]

Or maybe she did go through a period of consciously paying attention to that.

No, it's just something that happened. I guess it could stop just as suddenly. I'm also a bit odd with my photographic memory, although chronic lack of sleep has really affected it. I've found that I need at least 10 hours of sleep a night to have perfect recall. My memory is like video clips, I see all of my memories played back like a video.

 

[EnumaElish]

My memory is like video clips, I see all of my memories played back like a video.

Is there a slo mo button? How about fast forward? Can you zoom in or zoom out?

Are they played back from the point of view that you had at the time of recording, or some other "imaginary" point (so you can see yourself from the outside)?

 

[zoobyshoe]

My memory is like video clips, I see all of my memories played back like a video.

You mean external to you? Are they projected into space in front of your eyes?

 

[Kalimaa23]

Ok, I'll confess to having two unusual daughters.

My oldest is a synesthete, she sees letters as colors.

My youngest has a couple of "gifts". When she sees something that is written, she will automatically group all of the letters by odd and even. I first realized this one day as we were driving. She was saying "odd' "even" to herself. I asked her what she was doing. She pointed to a street sign that said "Lake Elmhurst St Exit", she said "odd". Then she pointed at the next sign "Heron Boulevard Exit", she said "even". I asked her what she was talking about. She can glance at a word or even a long sentence and instantly tell you if the number of letters (including spaces) totals an odd or even number. She can also do this as a person is speaking. She can also regroup all of the letters instantly into an even number for the total by adding or subtracting letters from words. Hearing her do this is bizarre as she goes through all of the letters, rapidly regrouping them and looping the sentences. This is hard to explain. She can also look at any object and instantly tell you how many distinct geometric shapes are in it. It takes her only a fraction of a second to do this. She can do this with entire walls with bookshelves and pictures, etc... She's also one of those people that can make multiple folds in their tongue.

Something tells me your youngest would be an excellent mathematician or physicist. It keeps surprising me how our brain are capable of manners of thought that are not considered "normal". Makes me wonder how much potential is going unused by traditional education...

I sort of hover on the brink of having "normal" thoughts. There are moments when I look at equations and I just see them a bunch of letters, so that I have to de active thinking to make sense of them. There are moments though, when I get flash, and it all makes sense. I can "see" the structure behind them, and it looks so logical and simple. Unfortunately, I have found no way of controlling this, so it's not se useful as you might think.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My brain doesn't do anything cool.

 

[Mk]

You've obviously been wasting your life. You could have been staring at a sheet of paper with the Riemann hypothesis on it for 20 years, and save the universe.

 

[Kalimaa23]

My brain doesn't do anything cool.

Being Zooby doesn't count?

 

[zoobyshoe]

You've obviously been wasting your life. You could have been staring at a sheet of paper with the Riemann hypothesis on it for 20 years, and save the universe.

No, I mean I don't have video memories, or instant recognition of all the shapes in a room, or savant calculating abilities, or the ability to tell how many pages are in a book by feeling how thick it is, or the abiity to write with both hands at once, and that kind of stuff.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Being Zooby doesn't count?

The zoobie brain is a slow, steam-powered engine with one forward gear, which makes a lot of noise and spews black clouds of smoke and cinders when in operation.

 

[Kalimaa23]

I think old steam engines are cool

 

[zoobyshoe]

Spaceebah!

 

[Lisa!]

Is this thread still on topic?

 

[Smurf]

page 3 lisa, of course not.

I stay awake at night and talk to myself, often without realising it when I do it (and some time afterwards too). Some people consider that a weird habit.

 

[Mk]

You've obviously been wasting your life. You could have been staring at a sheet of paper with the Riemann hypothesis on it for 20 years, and save the universe.

I meant Dimitri's post. With his sudden flashes of genius.

 

[Lisa!]

page 3 lisa, of course not.

I stay awake at night and talk to myself, often without realising it when I do it (and some time afterwards too). Some people consider that a weird habit.

Sorry to hear that!

 

[Kalimaa23]

You've obviously been wasting your life. You could have been staring at a sheet of paper with the Riemann hypothesis on it for 20 years, and save the universe.

Sounds like a plan. Not a very good one, mind, but still a plan.

 

[EnumaElish]

My brain doesn't do anything cool.

My brain works slowly. I can't solve calculus problems faster than the average engineering student (they're fast). I usually take a long time grasping relations. My brain is like "I can't be bothered right now, so go read a book or play with the cat and maybe something willl pop up in a few weeks, no promises, of course." I am lazy in that sense.

 

[JamesU]

page 3 lisa, of course not.

not for me...so it must still be on topic...