What's your superpower?

[rolanni]

So, yesterday I was sitting in my office, entering stuff into a database. Because entering stuff into databases is so Very Exciting, I had popped Springsteen's Seeger Sessions into Mac's CD player and was happily singing along as I typed.

About half-way through "She Blowed Away" I looked up to find a faculty member standing in my doorway, watching me with a...peculiar...expression on his face. I turned down the music and asked if I could help me.

"No," he said, "I'd just like -- are you typing the lyrics as you sing them?"

I pointed out that since I was typing the details of job applications into a database, the lyrics of "She Blowed Away" would hardly inform the search committee.

"Right. So...bear with me... you're entering data into a search database, and at the same time you're singing the words to a song that has nothing to do with the data, and you're not getting mixed up."

I agreed that this was the case, and added that I can also hold a conversation while I'm typing from copy.

"I've been doing this a long time," I told him.

"I...see. Well. Good morning!" And off he went.

It was an odd enough exchange that I mentioned it to Steve, who knows very well that I can type (not write, mind you -- type) and talk at the same time, over dinner. He tells me that this ability is unusual, though it seems to me that I've known other typists who can talk on the phone, for instance, and type a letter from copy simultaneously.

And, so a poll!


[Poll #1270349]

Comments

[katmoonshaker.livejournal.com]

Let's see... I've been looked at weird for singing the songs everyone else was singing without music when I didn't know the song and/or doing harmony to same. I also do the type and talk/sing and have the tv on with no problem. People think I'm strange for reading while watching tv. And I'm also known for finding things on the internet when doing the exact same search as at least two other people using the same search engine with the same search parameters within five minutes of each other. (But Kat, I just tried that, nothing comes up!)

I also have synaesthesia if I want to, which weirds people out. I read at least a sentence at a time, which gives me a natural reading speed of 560 wpm, making people accuse me of having taken a speed reading course. I don't know why but even though I can't spell worth a darn, spelling errors jar my mind and I always notice them.

As for multi-tasking... it's considered normal in my family.

EDIT: Someone further down mentioned reading while walking. This is one that has definately gotten me the stares etc but that I take so much for granted (as does my mother, daughter etc) that I didn't even think about it. I used to have people try to trip me up in school when I did it in the halls and freak when I just walked around them. ::shrug:: Which brings me to another thing... why can't everyone put a baby on their hip, read the book in their hand, talk on a phone, and cook dinner at the same time??