I’m average at most things. I blame it on being a right handed person trapped in a left handed person’s body (you know, I kick with the right, use bats with the right, but write with the left and my right-eye is dominant. Messy)
Good at badminton, but never play it.
I’m average at football, but when they have those things at fates where you have to kick the ball through some holes – I’m good at that.
My scraperboard artworks are good, but never do those either.

I consider myself to be competent at most tasks and even quite good at some. I suppose on a practical level that’s a good thing but I sometimes ponder whether I’d trade in competence at work, sport, cooking, fettling etc for an exceptional talent in something a bit different. Is it better to be awesome at something but completely dysfunctional in other ways?

I think modern life require men in particular to have a broader but shallower skill set compared to say Victorian man working 60-odd hours a week who retires and can’t boil an egg? Hence why we are still crap at multi-tasking (allegedly).

Being happy most of the time.

I used to take it for granted .

Oh ,and axe juggling 🙂

Nothing.

Nothing in particular. I’ve learnt that you can compensate for a lack of talent by sheer bloody mindedness trying/working harder than everyone else.

Wallpapering.

Give me a paintbrush and I’ll slap it on and think ‘that’ll do’.

Wallpapering – I am careful, take my time and won’t settle for anything but perfect.

I think I actually ‘like’ doing it.

crap at multi-tasking (allegedly).

Everyone is crap at multi-tasking.

You can do lots of things badly at once, or one thing really well. The true skill is being able to do that one thing really well without anything else affecting you. That’s craftsmanship.

Multi-tasking is massively overrated.

Samuri, have you actually been eavesdropping on conversation me and the missus have? That is pretty much word for word my response to the standard refrain of the female masses…

Mrs D often tells me I’m great at disparaging

Absolutely nothing going by the amount of ear ache I get from the wife…..

Oh I suppose there is something I’m good at…..

……winding the wife up!!

In seriousness, fixing things and problem solving….which is what I do for a job, so that’s nice…

Riding my bike, not bad at that….I’m **** great at having some big pile ups…I have medical records and scars to prove it!!

Being a Dad….my kids don’t know how lucky they are…. 😉

arson

e-mail in profile

Learning new stuff and being able to explain it to others. I have to do it in my job a lot as we work with new and emerging technology that can be used in lots of different business areas. I have to explain the technology to the business people, and the business areas to the technical people.

Apart from that, I’m very good at being competent at most things.

Shooting. I’m good at putting little bits of copper jacketed lead on targets* at short and long distances.

I can cook as well, but I would not really put myself into the “good” category.

Most things are relative aren’t they? Sounds like Peterfile was well above average at snowboarding, just not international level. Surely that still qualifies as good though?

I have climbed E5, but as a lot of people I know climb much better than that I didn’t consider myself good. I guess by UKC standards I was above average though.

There has never been anything that I gave been the best at out of everybody I know.

Samuri, have you actually been eavesdropping on conversation me and the missus have? That is pretty much word for word my response to the standard refrain of the female masses…

I think as men, we’re brought up hearing ‘men can’t multitask’ constantly. We hear it and it’s embedded that multi-tasking is a good thing so we never question the sense behind it. Of course we can multi-task just like everyone can but inherently men don’t *like* multi-tasking. They’re generally single-objective orientated which does naturally produce better craftsmen who are now-focussed.

I’ve been banned from saying any of this near my mum who got really, really angry when I suggested that multi-tasking isn’t a particularly good thing. 😉

Spotting late-exploding bombs.

I excel at underachievement.

Taking pictures of things to make them look nice and having people pay me for doing that.
Polishing shoes
Reading maps
Finding good restaurants

I know I’m actually good a few things….

– Dog Training

– Simplifying complex problems

– Dealing with difficult people and situations in a calm manner

– Getting people to do what I want

I’m also very good at:

– Technical writing

– Presentations

However, I’m also aware of my weaknesses. I’ve learnt to play to my strengths, enhancing these where I can, and doing a bit of damage limitation on what I’m bad at – rather than trying hard to get better at something I don’t like doing.

Jack sh1t, but I’m good at not worrying about it.

Eating chocolate, biscuits, cake…

– Simplifying complex problems

That’s rather subjective. What if some people already find your “complex” problem “simple”?

🙂

mtb is about the only thing I’ve ever been remotely good at and that’s only good for a complete amateur enthusiast, just riding around type of rider, (ie anyone who specialises in one of the disciplines will kick my arse)

I guess I’m quite good at devoting a ridiculous amount of time to computer games too – not technically very good at most games but I have the willpower to run around powering up for a mind numbing amount of time until I can kick Mr Big’s arse.

<edit> rereading that I should maybe add “good at having confidence issues” 🙂

Unicycling. On the basis I’m better than 99.9% of the population and almost certainly the best at that on this thread. Of course I’ve met plenty of people better than me (including some aged <12), but in a general population sense they’re a complete rarity.

That’s rather subjective. What if some people already find your “complex” problem “simple”?

Aren’t you making rickon’s simple statement more complex than it needs to be?

Merely pointing out that it assumes that the problems need simplifying 😉

That’s rather subjective. What if some people already find your “complex” problem “simple”?

Some people do – they’re subject matter experts. However, being able to communicate this complex subject matter to people who do not know the area well is a real skill.

How many times have you been to a technical / university / research meeting, where the speaker is incredibly intelligent, but you just can’t follow what they’re talking about?

Either you’re not listening, or they haven’t keyed their presentation to the audience properly, and just dive into the detail.

The key is to know the area well, but also understand how simple the complexity can be. I find simple analogies, examples, and then building up to more complex examples being a good way to describe things.

I really don’t feel like I do much at work, but make things better for people, and easier for them to do stuff.

Dress making, made my daughters prom dress so she wouldn’t get twinned, and yes i’m a geezer with gnarly hands and a serious attitude problem.

I know I’m actually good a few things….

– Dog Training

– Simplifying complex problems

– Dealing with difficult people and situations in a calm manner

– Getting people to do what I want

I’m also very good at:

– Technical writing

– Presentations

However, I’m also aware of my weaknesses. I’ve learnt to play to my strengths, enhancing these where I can, and doing a bit of damage limitation on what I’m bad at – rather than trying hard to get better at something I don’t like doing.

Did you just copy and paste that out of your cv personal statement? 😛

I have climbed E5, but as a lot of people I know climb much better than that I didn’t consider myself good. I guess by UKC standards I was above average though.

By ukc standards that is almost superhuman 😀

For example, I used to think I was good at snowboarding, even during a season I was in the top quarter or riders. Then I started riding with people who are a different level (two GB riders and a load of people who pay the mortgage riding), and I realised just how average I was.

I think the where you are in the pack thing is interesting and agree that its easy to get the wrong idea of you ability. My great humbling moment as thinking that I was getting good and finding that the queues for the routes had got longer!

In my 20s I’d have said i wasn’t much of climber. I saw the top of the tree. My mates were better than me. Their mates were as good as anyone. That didn’t bother my I was just out for fun. Now looking back I’d say I was good. That leaves brilliant, excellent and many other adjectives ahead of me. i think your snow boarding was the same, you wee good

I’m good enough at teaching and teaching physics that its not illogical that I do it for a living. But again that’s not the same as being the best

Randomly Im good at wrapping presents . I have on idea why as i dont have any patience whatsoever .I just seem to be able to make a box look smart with some paper, selotape and abit of silver tape.
Ok at malt based alcoholic beverage production too , but thats down to being QBE

“Most things are relative aren’t they? Sounds like Peterfile was well above average at snowboarding, just not international level. Surely that still qualifies as good though?”

It depends on how high the standard was elsewhere. If the standard was poor in the UK and internationals are doing badly against any number of random Continentals, Americans etc, than being in the top 25% is no big deal surely. You cant really just look at a national level, the Saudi Arabian snowboard champion is likely to be pretty crap in absolute terms. The guy qualifying 90th for a world cup DH might usually be the best rider in the bike park but, he is crap when compared to the top 10. etc, etc.

So, I reckon to be good you need to be in the group above +2 Standard deviations from the global mean for whatever it is you do. Therefore, most people will never find anything they are really good at, above average maybe but that’s all.

Excavating complex archaeological sites. I had to knock it on the head when my boss(es) were increasingly unable to understand the sites I was working on and the deposits I was able to decipher.

APF

Speeling.

A few years ago I was climbing v9…. So that was considered alright. However, some of the chaps I used to climb with climbed v12\13. So I was pretty rubbish by those standards 😉

Patience – I’ve waited 48 years so far to find what I’m good at and if it takes another 48 so be it.

V9 respect

Bullshitting bullshitters to earn their respect as an accomplice bullshitter.

I talked myself in and i’ll talk my way out.

Getting injured on a bike…