We let the NTs use that term because the real answer would terrify them. It’s all pattern recognition. I’m not “good” at any particular skill but the world is transparent to me. If I understand how something works I can recreate its function.
To them it looks like this is happening in real time. To me, the constantly spinning wheels in my mind grab traction for a fraction of a second giving the illusion of progress.
I’ve got good fine motor control, which means that I can sew, knit, roll a joint, braid hair, make a pastry, seal a dumpling, fold origami, draw, sculpt, paint nails, pick a lock, and most other fine dexterity tasks, excluding musical instruments.
This sounds like bragging, but I didn’t do anything to earn the ability to do this, I literally just do it and it works. I’m not proud of it (though I’m occasionally proud of the things I can craft) and I don’t think anyone else is unskilled because it doesn’t work when they do it.
I know exactly what you mean. I got the musical talent version. I remember being in 10th grade in music class and the teacher passed out band instruments to everyone in the class so we could play with them and laugh at how bad we all sounded. I was late that day and got the only thing left over. A trombone. A week later barely a handful of the students could get a solid note or two out of their random trumpets or clarinets, etc. I was playing “When the Saints go Marching in” with flourishes like a New Orleans brass band.
I got an entry level job sanding military helmets a couple years ago. The kind of job that hires anyone to do the shit work. Two and a half years later I am in charge of the most complicated product the company makes. I’m now the only person in the world who makes the JHMCS helmet. (Google it)
We let the NTs use that term because the real answer would terrify them. It’s all pattern recognition. I’m not “good” at any particular skill but the world is transparent to me. If I understand how something works I can recreate its function.
To them it looks like this is happening in real time. To me, the constantly spinning wheels in my mind grab traction for a fraction of a second giving the illusion of progress.
I’ve got good fine motor control, which means that I can sew, knit, roll a joint, braid hair, make a pastry, seal a dumpling, fold origami, draw, sculpt, paint nails, pick a lock, and most other fine dexterity tasks, excluding musical instruments.
This sounds like bragging, but I didn’t do anything to earn the ability to do this, I literally just do it and it works. I’m not proud of it (though I’m occasionally proud of the things I can craft) and I don’t think anyone else is unskilled because it doesn’t work when they do it.
I know exactly what you mean. I got the musical talent version. I remember being in 10th grade in music class and the teacher passed out band instruments to everyone in the class so we could play with them and laugh at how bad we all sounded. I was late that day and got the only thing left over. A trombone. A week later barely a handful of the students could get a solid note or two out of their random trumpets or clarinets, etc. I was playing “When the Saints go Marching in” with flourishes like a New Orleans brass band.
I got an entry level job sanding military helmets a couple years ago. The kind of job that hires anyone to do the shit work. Two and a half years later I am in charge of the most complicated product the company makes. I’m now the only person in the world who makes the JHMCS helmet. (Google it)