I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of fish from the atlantic basin, specifically in and around the south east US and Carribean.

It freaks people out sometimes when I just start reciting fish facts whenever the rare occasion this comes up.

It's from me living partially on a boat as a child and tearing through books about fish while dreaming of being a marine biologist until the cold hard reality of for-profit education hit me in my early adulthood.

What are your weird topics and skills?

  • opposide [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I can put most sedimentary rocks or their dust into my mouth and tell you what they are by how they feel (I am a geologist, this isn’t exactly common but it isn’t rare either)

    I can also measure almost anything I am walking next to with solid accuracy because I learned the distance of my stride to make field measurements easier. 33 inches stepping with my left foot (83cm) and 32 inches stepping with my right (81cm). Most people do not take perfectly consistent steps at consistent speed but I trained myself to do so as consistently as possible for this purpose. After a fairly long time of training I can go just about 1km before I start to get more than a step or two off due to natural variation. This has made walking very funny because I know the exact distance between places I travel to and from often.

    I also have 6k+ hours logged on EU4 lol

    • skippy_flippy [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Hey! I'm an environmental science major I just learned the pacing thing too in a geology field methods class.

      • opposide [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        If you plan on doing fieldwork this will save you hours so learn your body well. It’s worth the hour or two of practice a month

        • skippy_flippy [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I planned on it. Interviewed for the USGS a while ago but it fell through but field work would be the ideal for me but you know I have to work 40 hours outside of school to make ends meet but I graduate next semester so maybe more options will pop up.

          • opposide [none/use name]
            ·
            4 years ago

            USGS is a great place to start and the experience is diverse in future application but burns people out quickly if they aren’t ready for the workload so be wary. It’s a fantastic field to work in though and as much as I do not dream of labor, geologist has always been the closest thing to a dream job to me.

            Unfortunately I don’t see as much of the field now that I’m living in nyc. I miss it a lot but you have the privilege of getting to live and be employed with stability just about anywhere you want with geology

            • skippy_flippy [he/him]
              ·
              4 years ago

              I have been manual laborer for a long time before I went back to school. So the workload I'm used to but it's always been my dream to work outdoors. I just didn't have the programming stuff yet they wanted because I hadn't finished the courses involved. But hey maybe a graduate degree who knows.

              • opposide [none/use name]
                ·
                4 years ago

                It very rewarding to study. I want to go back for my PhD one day and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it. In case I do, I have a climatology degree to fall back on which I also recommend looking into! Good luck!

    • discontinuuity [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I know someone who spent a summer internship licking animal bones to see if they were fossilized or not

      • opposide [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        This does work lol but please don’t just go and lick bones

        Edit: some bones 😏