What's your mutation or not-so-super-power?

[Lizifer]

I have a pretty flawless internal alarm clock: if I say "wake me up at 'x' time, please," inevitably, I will wake up two minutes before.

According to one of my girlfriends, sweaters are my superpower. How that works, I'm not entirely sure, but I've been told this numerous times, so it must be true. (In short: I wear sweaters year round - preferably turtlenecks, but any will do. I live in a place where it is very often hot and/or humid; as such, I have summer-specific sweaters, much to the amusement of everyone I know.)

I also have the ability to craft a tasty meal out of just about anything - but never be able to replicate it - and in large Sherman's-coming-to-dinner-and-he-brought-his-army quantities.

[faerywethyr]

I am an uber fast reader as well. Also whenever I recall something I have read I will see it on the page like a photo in my head.

My husband is the real superpower. As preciously described by some my husband is very perceptive. After speaking with someone for a short time he can tell a significant amount about their personality and history and is invariable accurate. He also accurately predicts the sex of unborn children.

[Artinum]

I have a curiously specific memory. Song lyrics, film and TV scripts and jokes are easily memorised, but my mind seems highly resistant to memorising useful things like names and telephone numbers. I am also temporally unfocused - I cannot remember when things happened, or what order, and when I am recalling an event I tend to refer to events in relation to that time and in the present tense.

But then, time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

[bigm141414]

This thread is great

So I have curiously cat like reflexes when it comes to catching pencils/pens from fall on to the floor. If one starts to roll off the desk I can catch it if it is within 4 feet of me. I don't think I have let one drop since early college.

[Divo]

I'm also pretty empathic. If someone hides an emotion, it kind of jumps over to me. It took me some time to figure that one out; it involves random attacks of joy, anger, fear, etc. It also involves something I would describe as 'knowing how people think' - I know what people want to hear, how they are going to react, and sometimes what they are not telling me. I had this even when I was a kid. It's mostly subconscious and therefore while I talk to people I mostly don't 'actively' think, but I rather just talk and everything works out great.

So there are more of us, huh? Couldn’t have described this ability better myself. Growing up was…interesting... I'm in control of it now, though.

Oh! I can also dislocate my right shoulder. Always useful

[QuinnFerno]

My most realistic superpower is finding bargains. Also the spelling errors thing.

BUT I maintain that I can subconsciously summon cyclones/tornadoes. When I was in grade 10 my mum was in hospital with cancer and cos of family stuff there was no way I was going to be able to finish a geography assignment on time. A cyclone came and flooded the school, shutting it down for 3 days, which is exactly how long I needed to finish the assignment.

A couple of months after buying a house a cyclone came and destroyed the crappy ugly fence and my shed. Insurance paid for brand new fence and shed plus fancy new letterbox (nice housewarming pressie).

A few months ago my town had its first ever tornado, thankfully a weak one, but it impaled my car with roofing iron and did some damage to the house. Sadly there were some bad repercussions (one of my chooks was killed), but I had recently resigned from a really dreadful job and my boss was becoming very hostile. The abuse he dished out to me when I told him I couldn't come to work that day was the final straw, and it enabled me to seek action to get out of the situation faster. Also, insurance will eventually be doing extensive work on the house which should raise its value.

Maybe that's just seeing the silver lining or making the best of bad situations (I'd like it noted that no humans died in these events), but the timing always makes me feel someone's really looking out for me

[SusieBlu]

My most realistic superpower is finding bargains. Also the spelling errors thing.

BUT I maintain that I can subconsciously summon cyclones/tornadoes. When I was in grade 10 my mum was in hospital with cancer and cos of family stuff there was no way I was going to be able to finish a geography assignment on time. A cyclone came and flooded the school, shutting it down for 3 days, which is exactly how long I needed to finish the assignment.

A couple of months after buying a house a cyclone came and destroyed the crappy ugly fence and my shed. Insurance paid for brand new fence and shed plus fancy new letterbox (nice housewarming pressie).

A few months ago my town had its first ever tornado, thankfully a weak one, but it impaled my car with roofing iron and did some damage to the house. Sadly there were some bad repercussions (one of my chooks was killed), but I had recently resigned from a really dreadful job and my boss was becoming very hostile. The abuse he dished out to me when I told him I couldn't come to work that day was the final straw, and it enabled me to seek action to get out of the situation faster. Also, insurance will eventually be doing extensive work on the house which should raise its value.

Maybe that's just seeing the silver lining or making the best of bad situations (I'd like it noted that no humans died in these events), but the timing always makes me feel someone's really looking out for me

Remind me not to upset you.

[gymell]

I can write my first name with my left hand, and my last name with my right hand, at the same time. I even demonstrated this ability at a job interview once, and got the job.

Oh and I can raise each eyebrow individually. Entertaining when I'm standing in line at the grocery store, with little kids around.

Also I can spot a red-tailed hawk just about anywhere I go.

[GoToTheGround]

Haha, I'm not sure they're particularly noteworthy but:

Significantly above average hearing and double jointed wrists...seriously my palm goes all the way to my forearm: creepy.

[Frost of the Gloaming]

I can catch flies while they are in mid-air using my barehands; I would try using chop sticks but I can't figure out how to use them properly......

[Rivanariko]

I can also write in mirror image. My handwriting is better in mirror image than it is normally. Go figure.

[leadchipmunk]

Oh and I can raise each eyebrow individually. Entertaining when I'm standing in line at the grocery store, with little kids around.

I can only do that with my left eyebrow. But I can move each eye independently and can bend only the first knuckle of each finger save my right pinkie. It isn't anything special, but it sems to freak people out.

[RaeVynn]

I forgot my kitchen-witchery skills. I, too, can walk into a kitchen, take "ingredients", and feed any number of people.

[Larc]

Mine isn't too horribly special I don't think? But I often times get a sense of something being off or if I just feel doing x is better than z it usually is. It's true 9/10 times and often times (even still) surprises even myself still when I just go with instincts on stuff.

It does not work on gambling or anything like that by the way, it's just sort of deals where I feel off. One time I was with Shey who was driving to a chinese buffet and I just didn't feel right about the whole thing. At one point a car did something stupid and came fairly close to hitting us but not quite and I was all "Ah ha~ That's what it was". I can sort of get vibes from people..not as good as some though, but I will get a big vibe-ping sometimes.

[rix]

So there are more of us, huh? Couldn’t have described this ability better myself. Growing up was…interesting... I'm in control of it now, though.

I hear ya on the growing up. There were some uses, but e.g. I never learned how to think before I talk (really. Never.), because my gut was doing all thinking, strategic and otherwise, for me. Reliably, unconscious, always there for me. This worked until ... real relationship with real fears of loss etc. That is the point when having your unconscious on auto-pilot is really nasty. 'Specially when combined with twisted logic and being able to win every argument.

I'm nearly in full control by now; which means I'll still do whatever my gut tells me to, UNLESS I'm in a situation I know that I mustn't listen to my fears.

[Librarian of Doom]

Mild musical precog: if I'm in an alpha-state, I can usually know what song will come on the radio next about 5 seconds before it starts. Also, I can hear descriptions as specific as "there were these kids, and they did something?" and come up with the book a kid is talking about approximately 95% of the time.

[shortstuff]

I have no idea how this is useful in anyway but I can band my thumb back to touch my wrist, it doesn't hurt at all. I didn't really think much of it until I went to a medical last month, and got asked if I could do it. When I showed the lady she said most people can't do it.

[LordOfTime]

I can remember obscure details about events from my childhood, such as something that was on a desk, or something in the background. Usually nothing about the event itself though.

I also have to ability to make people stop talking to me, or not talk to me all together. I guess that could come in handy?

[zielperson]

haha.. nice thread.

"eating books" - just super fast reading, I devour info like there is no tomorrow - I then remember all the completely useless stuff.

Bug Hunter - I can spot where the bug is in the code super fast. My coworkers love/hate me for it. Just spent 2 hours looking for a bug? Zielperson comes over and spots it while you are switching through windows. "Go back. No, really, go back to the one before. ... That there, is that right?" - "%ç/ç%*%&%*!!!!"

Involuntary Invisibility - People often don't notice me or forget me just after I talked to them (which is weird, because at 6feet I am not that small). Sometimes works with automatic door openers, too.

::zielperson::

[realbrickwall]

I have the power of super-pessimism. I'm usually a decently optimistic person, but whenever I make a negative prediction, it will be right far more often than chance should dictate. The accuracy of my prediction increases when people say I'm being negative.

My mental filter is basically preposterous. You know how it's often said that "Don't picture a pink elephant" is an impossible command? Well, that's not true for me. My brain stops the imaging process before it's complete. This would be a much more useful power if I were squeamish, but I can look at pictures of gaping wounds while eating chili, so it's basically just weird.

[KellyElizabeth]

I can remember anything. It's slightly like a photographic memory, only I can remember on what day, time, and who was there at any event and the events leading up to it. I'm able to recall things like that. I have friends who describe it as Robert Langdon (DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons) when he recalls things. I can see it. I can put the puzzle together.

I'm damn good at it.

[leadchipmunk]

My mental filter is basically preposterous. You know how it's often said that "Don't picture a pink elephant" is an impossible command? Well, that's not true for me. My brain stops the imaging process before it's complete. This would be a much more useful power if I were squeamish, but I can look at pictures of gaping wounds while eating chili, so it's basically just weird.

I can do this too. I have complete control of my mental images. I can say the most absurd (nasty, obscene, random, what have you) thing and watch everyone's faces from the mental images, but I can stop myself from "seeing" it. And I'm the one that said it (makes it harder because I had to think of it first)

[rix]

I just thought about it and found that the mental filter thing is true for me, too. Don't think of a pink elephant? Oh, well, I'll think of something else, then. Legolas killing the Oliphant (not pink), e.g.

A question to that awful lot of invisible people (leadchipmunk, Rivanariko, RaeVynn etc) - how do you do this? I can do it sometimes, and sometimes I can't, and I don't know why. In what situation do you turn invisible? Can you do it voluntarily? How so (what do you think/feel/imagine etc.)?

[leadchipmunk]

A question to that awful lot of invisible people (leadchipmunk, Rivanariko, RaeVynn etc) - how do you do this? I can do it sometimes, and sometimes I can't, and I don't know why. In what situation do you turn invisible? Can you do it voluntarily? How so (what do you think/feel/imagine etc.)?

I do not/cannot doing it willingly (though I'm not against it either). A lot of the time, I think it is just because of my soft walk and silent, unassuming nature. People just forget I'm around or generally don't hear me coming.

[Artinum]

I do not/cannot doing it willingly (though I'm not against it either). A lot of the time, I think it is just because of my soft walk and silent, unassuming nature. People just forget I'm around or generally don't hear me coming.

I think it's the same with me. I tend to fade into the background easily.

I can do this too. I have complete control of my mental images. I can say the most absurd (nasty, obscene, random, what have you) thing and watch everyone's faces from the mental images, but I can stop myself from "seeing" it. And I'm the one that said it (makes it harder because I had to think of it first)

I've never had chance to find out, but I suspect I'm the kind of guy who could eat in a morgue. I can read or listen to all manner of icky things and it won't put me off my food in the slightest. In a previous job I had opportunity to look at autopsy photographs. The inside of people is fascinating.