Asklemmy

Statistical modeling.

And yes, I am miffed about the use of the word “exponential” in this post’s title.

I got a PhD in philosophy. I have exponentially more experience applying for jobs and getting rejected than most people.

Math (I'm a graduate student). And "exponentially more experienced than the average" means nothing as exponential is a progression, not a comparison between two values.

So you're asking people what they do for a living?

Doing something for 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week makes you a lot better at that thing than other people.

By feel I can identify 20 lb, 24 lb, 28 lb, 65 lb cover, 110 lb cover, and 12 pt matte paper. I'm increasingly impressed by people's business cards as a result, as it is often much, much heavier than 12 pt matte.

Using comparison I can distinguish 80 lb semi-gloss cover, 100 lb semi-gloss cover, 8 pt gloss, 10 pt gloss, and 12 pt gloss. (But then again, most people could, given multiple choices rather than a free-response question.)

Since the Reddit blackout I decided to learn how to solve a Rubik's Cube. My best time for solving one so far is 82 seconds. I know it's no world record but the average person can't solve a Rubik's cube so I'm way more experienced.

Being comfortable enough with myself to answer this question honestly: nothing

Socializing with cats, befriending them.

Having gone through conscription military, I have leveled up some very important abilities.

Looking busy: I can find convincing ways to spend time without actually doing anything important.

Wasting time: When nobody is looking, I can find creative and fun ways to pass the time. (this ability is maxed out)

Also gained a few special perks.

Forest fun: Who needs movies, games or the internet when you have an axe and some wood. Even pine cones, rocks and sticks will be enough to keep you preoccupied in creative ways.

Day dreaming: Who needs the forest, when you can build countless universes in your mind.

Oh, and I did learn to shoot and keep my rifle in working order. I guess that’s nice too. Didn’t get to level that anywhere near as much, but that’s ok.

I want to join in here too with the exceptionally good driving. I, like everyone else here, am totally a very much better driver than the average person on the road. Exponentially much better, even!

I have a lot of experience reconstructing whale skeletons for museums and such. I do it as a hobby with a friend of mine who is the marine mammals recovery coordinator for the state of North Carolina.

Statistics.

That word does not mean what you think it means.

I am, without trying to sound arrogant, much better at cornering, roundabouts, and general driving than a large part of the population in Australia.

I can enter a roundabout, in a preselected gear, at appropriate revs and speed. Load up the suspension just right, so I'm released into my chosen exit, kissing the apex with a release of energy that feels so sweet, smooth and safe, that it's a beautiful part of my life.

All within safe thresholds, and always when I know it's safe. And the way others use roundabouts, it's always safer than the general population.

Not littering.

Pole dancing! I’ve taught professionally for like 15 years.

Btw this instance is about to be exposed to amazing pole fitness content, prepare yourselves.

Maybe not better than an average person, but the last 10 years of my life taught me lots of handy life skills, like owning up to my mistakes, having more self esteem, showing confidence in tough situations, standing up for myself, having better people skills and to know when not to get involved and when to speak up.

Most of these are basic human skills, but the combination of these can make a huge difference. I landed jobs thanks to them, I made friends and removed toxic people from my life. I have less issues with adult responsibilities and in general I am less stressed.

Again maybe not exceptionally more experienced than an average person, but compared to my old self its a huge difference.

Locks, lockpicking, and teaching English grammar.

Anyone in this thread could probably just cite their career.

Cocktails. I'm purely an amateur home bartender (I work in software development) but I'm better at making cocktails than most paid bartenders in the city, including a number of the ones working at craft cocktail bars I've been to across the country. I make my own syrups, creams, infusions, carved ice, and dehydrated fruit. I've recently started using an iSi whipper to make foam toppers; beer foam for old fashioneds, tropical foam for Mai Tais. My avocado orgeat is awesome. Fat washing with coconut oil is easy and makes Campari and cachaça amazing. I've hosted many parties in the 15-28 person range, as well numerous smaller cocktail nights, so I have experience creating thematic menus and then prepping and serving the drinks all night.

I have a ton of knowledge about spirits in general, both breadth and depth. Most bartenders and even mixologists don't even know what baijiu is (let alone tried each aroma), know the difference between soju and shōchū, or why soju is rarely made with rice. My rum knowledge is where I've specialized and I can recommend multiple bottles of each type (Smuggler's Cove categories or Minimalist Tiki's) in varying price ranges, what cocktails they are best for, and the subtle differences between each bottle within its own category.

I'm a perfectly average programmer though.

I am "exponentially" better at nothing in comparison to others. There's always this one kid, who will do whatever I do, far better than I can ever do.

I have decades of experience with improv storytelling. It's a niche thing, and normally I use it for tabletop games, but in a pinch I can make up campfire stories, ghost stories, or whatever else and use the slightest cues from the audience to suit what they enjoy.

Exponentially denotes a progression, a rate of change. You probably mean greatly or vastly

For me it would be authoring images-illustration, rendering, etc. I guess most people can answer with their job

How to handle multiple repeated panic attacks every day

The best skill?

Im a good driver. Very good, in fact. Not at racing, i mean. But actually driving on public roads.being predictable, parking legally, following speed limits, using the turn signal before i actually turn, etc etc

It pains me to ride as a passenger now :(

I could say job-related things or my hobbies, but Ima go with Google-fu. Maybe just search engine fu.

I know way too many 'first page people' when it comes to results. No fuckin' way. Learn how to dig. Do not take no for an answer from a search engine without trying a range of strategies to find what you're looking for.

OK, I'm lying. This is part of my job. I teach academic research, and I hear these people with two sources tell me there aren't enough sources for them to do a research paper on a given topic or that all these peer-reviewed journal articles say the same thing.

But it does extend into non-academic life. I was out of town, my older brother needed a U-Haul, drove 40 minutes to a place he knew, but there was a U-Haul less than 10 minutes away that he couldn't find.

I'm surrounded by this.

I can mould the old shower soap in to the new shower soap like an absolute boss.

Gamemastering rpgs. 20 years of experience and a good cross section of games played. Spent the last five years really trying to improve too.

Diagnosis, repair, and operation of CNC lasers, both flat plate cutting lasers and tube lasers.

This feels like a cheat answer, but as someone who has played for 25 years and organized events for 15, I’m likely much more knowledgeable about the rules of Magic: the Gathering than the “average person”. Not sure that I am necessarily exponentially better than the average player, but maybe I am now that so many people play digitally and don’t need to know the rules as much.

I have two useless talents:

• Highly developed sense of smell (sometimes a liability)
• Ability to identify voice actors with high accuracy

I once identified the source of a minute gas leak in my basement, which had evaded the calibrated detection equipment of the utility company, so I guess I can't say it's completely useless.

Picked up soldering and small appliance repairing as a hobby couple months ago so I guess that

I'm good at putting a needle inside people's veins.

Ability: Coordinate system rotation. I can move 3d objects around in my mind with ease and it is clear in group settings that most people are not good at this.

Knowledge: heat transfer. I've done years of theoretical study and more years of practical application of heat transfer.