Let's start a meme!

[torquill]

What odd yet useful talent/skill do you have that you don't think anyone would expect you to have?

I can lip-read. Not very well yet -- I still need faint aural cues -- but the difference in comprehension between listening to a soft voice in a noisy room and actually watching the person's mouth is about threefold, maybe more. I need to find a little time to practice with the television so that I can mostly, maybe completely, eliminate the need for sound.

What's your useful oddity?

Comments

[shadowwalkyr.livejournal.com]

Even for people with lots of practice lip-reading (deaf people, for example), comprehension runs about 40%. Yours could probably be a little higher, as you have the sound to start with, but I wouldn't expect you to get much higher than 50%.

[luna-torquill.livejournal.com]

That's good to know. Mostly I need the occasional sibilant, or a broad vowel. Comprehension is a matter of catching a word and filling in the previous two or three from context. It's definitely enough that if I were to become merely hard-of-hearing (rather than fully deaf), I wouldn't always need a hearing aid.

It's also useful in loud parties or classroom discussions. :)