Do any of you guys have talents?

Because I'm trying to find mine and well...so far crocheting and drawing and painting haven't been successful. And I can write, but unfortunately, ever since it became my job, it's not that much fun to do.

So any of you peeps got a story as to how you found your talent, or how I could try to find mine?

Looks like you're trying to look for a skill you don't have to work for.

Ain't happening, dude.

I recommend you find something you're passionate about and pursue it, no matter how shitty you are when you begin. Everyone sucks when they begin something, but hard work and passion are more important than any level of natural skill. The early months or even year of learning might suck hard, but you have to develop the internal fortitude to push through and become good at whatever it is that interests you.

I think after four years and no improvements, I should accept the fact I am not artistically inclined. Besides writing. But writing, again, has become a chore.

There are other talents. Especially after watching Friendship, I'm curious as to how people come across theirs.

I mean some people realize they can speak backwards.

I just don't understand how.

I'm quite good at modding Civilization IV. The problem is finding graphics.

I'm quite good at ancient history, the Persians in particular. They had lots of talents.

I don't seem to have any talents, really. Just average in all stats.

See those are the kind of unique talents I'm talking about. Not boring "Oh I can play this instrument!" talents.

But see, being "good at history" isn't a talent. The skill in play is consumption, analysis and retention of information — specifically, information that can be relayed in a narrative context (as history is). After that skill is developed, a particular interest in valid narrative information can then create the illusion of a talent. One may not work particularly hard at a skill and still develop it, even unconsciously.

Furthermore, how can modding at all be a talent? Game modding can be about 20-30 years old at most, yet humans have existed in our current intellectual state for 10,000 years. That would suggest that there was some hidden internal function passed down specifically to influence one's skill at modding software. That's ridiculous, of course. The fact of the matter is that Santos has the skill of modding. He or she probably got it mostly through practice and personal study, although some intellectual attributes may have contributed towards it. If one is skilled at detailing specific functions and relating them to mathematics, for instance, that can contribute to skills in software development or alteration.

I consider the concept of a talent as an unlearned, inherent skill to be a fallacy of expectation. Ultimately, all talents are skills, and skills must be learned, even if indirectly.

I'd also like to note that most people who have mastered skills consider themselves untalented, as they consciously focused on their skills and therefore never found they had a skill that was developed without expectation. While some particular cerebral attributes might contribute (such as perfect pitch for musicians), all talents are essentially trained skills, be they wittingly trained or unwittingly trained.

Ten, you said you've been influenced to find your talent by media. I suggest that you don't trust the concept of a talent if that concept comes from media, because media rarely investigates its own preconceptions on a baseline, unbiased level.

If you fail to see development in a particular passion, then chances are that you need to seek new sources of inspiration and new methods for expressing it, as well as learning a variety of different theoretical positions on it.

edited 12th Jan '12 3:41:38 AM by MadassAlex

Yeah, I got one. It's silver, buried in my backyard with all the bodies.

If anyone found it, I would be criminally and financially ruined.

In all seriousness, no. Few people actually have raw talent, untrained and yet adept. And in any case, the talented tend to rely on those talents in their endeavors, becoming complacent.

Over time, those who train furiously tend to surpass the talented.

edited 12th Jan '12 3:27:07 AM by Kraken

It was designed to set up a terrible joke no-one will ever laugh at. Hence the strikethrough.

I think my take on it was easier to understand.

Mine was intentionally horrible.

@Tittle: No

I really don't consider myself as having many talents, and I have a difficult time listing (read: acknowledging) my strengths.

Here are my unique "talents" as I consider them: writing (although I used to really struggle with it), diagnosing medical issues based upon symptoms, martial arts and reflex actions, and working with computers (solving problems and understanding strings of code). And I'm gaining a talent in sketching realistic figures (with charcoal especially). I'm told I have many more, but...

Also, I agree with what Alex said several posts up: Raw talent is very rare, and being good at just about anything requires hard work and dedication to the task. Unless you're one of those Wunderkinden, that is.

I'm good at knitting, but it took a lot of practice to get that way.

Though I think the actual "talent" behind it would be mostly finger dexterity and the ability to memorize the different stitches.

According to others at least, I share your talent for writing, tendo. Thankfully I haven't become quite as disillusioned as you, because even with all my self-criticism it still seems to be one of the few things that actually makes me happy

edited 12th Jan '12 6:22:55 AM by KSPAM

I'm actually really good at spinning a hat on my finger, and can also spin (fake) pistols quite well on either hand.

...saying I'm talented at anything else would be boasting.

I've been told I can create good stories. Never got enough feedback to confirm this. In fact, considering the feedback I have gotten, I think it's the exact opposite, where I'm terrible at creating stories.

edited 12th Jan '12 6:40:13 AM by MrAHR

Apparently I can write pretty good stories, when I'm motivated enough. According to my friends who lack much in sanity, anyway. Personally I wouldn't take their word for it.

I suppose slightly more unique, I can write songs somewhat capably. And I've been told my singing sounds like Bob Dylan, but I don't know if you could consider that a talent per se...

I'm pretty good at music, actually.

When you practiced, did you think about where you made mistakes? Practice is essential, but doing it mindlessly doesn't result in a lot of skill growth.

Drawing, wordplay, lightning fast wit, potion mixing and exceptional lovemaking prowess. Oh, and reading upside down and back-to-front, which is far more useful than you'd think.

Everything else is a skill I had to work at, rather than a talent.

edited 12th Jan '12 9:08:48 AM by InverurieJones

I'm also really good at word jumbles, as in nine times out of ten I'll just look at it and know what the word is.

I can make crepes like nobody's business. I am also spectacularly talented when it comes to awkward hand flailing

Being lazy. I made it into an art form.