Hidden Talents and Special Abilities

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Just to clarify, I was diagnosed with ADHD 5 years ago, and I am currently seeking a diagnosis for Asperger's.

From a very early age, I knew that I was not the same as other people. I found it very hard to fit in, and so would spend most of my time by myself. My parents, for one reason or another, didn't pay me much attention during my childhood (they always seemed to be too busy to really notice me), and so I would occupy myself by creating my own little world inside my head. I didn't begin to speak properly until I was nearly 4 years old, not because I couldn't, but because I chose not to. I sort of knew what was going on around me, but I preferred to be an observer rather than a participant.

My first memory of having any kind of unusual ability was at around 8 years old, when I discovered that I could multiply numbers in my head without any conscious effort. The ability literally came out of nowhere, and was around a year after I had slipped on ice and received a heavy blow to the back of my head, which had rendered me unconscious. I can still remember the incident like it was yesterday, except for the end part of course. The downside to this ability was that I had no idea how I was able to do this, and it almost felt wrong, like I was somehow cheating. And so I would pull apart the process and try to figure out the details of how it worked. Sadly, after around a year or so, I was no longer able to do this, as I had created a 'mental block' regarding the ability.

Several years later, at around 14 years of age, I tried repeatedly to replicate this ability, but was unable to do so. After finally accepting that it was not do be, I turned my attention to other possible skills, and was surprised to discover that I had a natural talent for problem solving, and more specifically, mathematics. I started to come up with unique ways of solving various problems, which I thought my school teachers would most certainly be interested in. As it turned out, they didn't really seem to like the idea of a 14 year old child having capabilities that they did not, and so they actively discouraged me and told me to focus on what they were trying to teach me instead. I did of course continue to develop my ideas in private, as this was something that had grabbed my attention like nothing I had ever known. It was like I had finally found my place in the world.

Some of the more prominent discoveries I made include the following:

a very fast method of squaring numbers
a replacement for 'long multiplication' for which all working out can be done in your head
a simple algorithm that allows you to calculate over a billion years of calendar dates in a matter of seconds

The algorithm mentioned above works with 2 different calendar systems, and includes a large amount of encrypted data that I have discovered over subsequent years. For example, there are prime numbers, parts of the Fibonacci sequence, and I even found a way of using the algorithm to identify the missing sets of dates which were removed when the Julian Calendar was replaced with the Gregorian Calendar (10 days in 1582, as originally ordered by the Roman Catholic Church, and 11 days in 1752 in the UK)

As well as these mathematical achievements, I have also, on occasion, found that I can learn new information very very quickly, as long as I have a strong enough desire to do so. For example, on one occasion I taught myself to read sheet music, and then translated a piece of music into sheet notation. This entire process took around 2 hours. On another occasion, several years later, I taught myself to read and write in Greek to the point where I could pronounce any Greek words perfectly and translate any phonetic sounds between the two languages with little to no effort. This took around 3 days. I also remember in my early teens being able to code on my ancient computer in raw hexadecimal notation, again with all of the translating being done in my head. There are other examples, but these are the ones that stand out the most.

On the flipside, ask me to do something simple, like ordering lunch from the local cafe, and I'm almost guaranteed to mess it up!! In addition to this, I often experience severe mental block whilst under pressure, and so the above methods always work far better when I'm relaxed and in a positive frame of mind.


And so, I now put the question to all of you. What unusual talents or abilities, if any, have you uncovered?

Ok, for those of you who doubt my claims in the above post, consider the following:

From the algorithm that I use to calculate calendar dates (which I do not wish to disclose), I can extract the number 53. This is a prime number with several unique properties, including a rather unusual effect when converted to hexadecimal notation. Namely, the digits become reversed, giving 35, which is a multiple of 7. This number is highly relevant when calculating calendar dates, but I digress.

Going back to the number 53, if we separate the digits, and insert the 4 basic mathematical operations in order from greatest to smallest, we get the following:

5 x 3 = 15
5 + 3 = 8
5 - 3 = 2
5 / 3 = 1 2/3 (equal to 1.7 when translated to a decimal number with one significant place)

If we now string the first 3 answers together, we get 15,8,2. Or 1582. This is the year that the Gregorian calendar was first introduced in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal, as detailed above. If we then take the 4th answer of 1.7, this is the exact duration (in centuries) between the previously mentioned year and the year that the very same calendar was introduced in the UK as well as the United States. 1582 + 170 = 1752, also as detailed above. Both of these dates can be verified with a simple google search.

In addition to this, I can also use the algorithm to pinpoint the exact sets of missing dates in both of these years. At this stage, however, the algorithm has never been formally published in it's completed form, either in print or on the internet, and as such I do not wish to present it here. Like I said, the example I have provided above serves to help validate my claims, just in case any of you think I may have been telling porky pies

Although I don't paint that often, when I do choose to, I can replicate most artworks to a considerable degree and can paint at a pretty skillfull level. This is without any proper training or learning how to paint, it just occurs naturally to me.

That sounds pretty sad. I didn't have any particular speacial abilities in math, but the teachers didn't like my abilities in math. I eneded up having trauma because of my abilities in math and I stopped doing math. Right now I just started getting back into math. I'm doing very basic math right now, but I'm learning it pretty fast. One ability I did keep was my ability to score well on tests. I could always get a B is tests without studying.

I have no talents. I'm pretty useless...

^Thank you! No one is ever useless. If you believe that you are useless, than that's what you will make yourself into. If you believe that you are a wonderful being full of love and light, than that's what you will make yourself into. Belief is an amazing thing that shapes our realities, but a lot of people don't know that.

I am an excellent copy editor. I find grammatical errors wherever I go, including those in other editors' works. Many people who edit as a career have commended my eye for detail.

I'm really good at psychics, and Mathematics.

None. Except people tell me I am good at writing and good at using words.
However I do not understand most of the terms and rules of spelling and grammar.

Definitely people can find their talents if they let go of the idea that they suck and have no talents.

I haven't found any.

I actually have a lot of talents, which tend to really surprise other people. But I think it makes people think that I'm bragging or arrogant to talk about them. And it makes people feel bad, too.

I could never do all the math stuff you were talking about, but I could easily teach myself to read and write Greek in a few days, and also pronounce it correctly. I wouldn't actually understand anything I was reading or speaking, though. Learning a language, and learning to read and pronounce its syllables are two totally different things. Greek is pretty regular with pronunciation as far as I know. Nothing like English.