Neither names nor dates

I think everyone has something (or, several things) that they're good at -- and thing(s) that they're pretty bad at.

I lack a strong sense of direction -- unlike my dad and my brother. However, I have a pretty good spacial ability. So, inside a building, I can visualize where the other parts are. But I can't say where north is. And even for our house, I have to visualize it on a map to know where the points of the compass are.


I also have an abnormally (it seems!) poor ability to remember names and dates. I don't know my parents' birthdays, except for "April 20-something", and I don't know the birth years of my parents, or children!

Nor do I know the middle names of my two boys -- made the more difficult by their appearing at the same time (twins!), and their having **two** middle names each. Thus, I can list the four middle names -- just not which two go with which boy, nor their order within each boy. I even wrote the boys' full names down on a piece of paper and posted it near my computer at work, where I looked at it every morning when I sat down. Didn't help.

Also, when I teach, I have to bring a camera, pass out crayons for people to write their names, and take ''mug shots'' of my students. Then I cut the photos into strips, and use them as flash cards. By exerting a lot of effort, I can learn everyone's name in two to three weeks -- but then I've forgotten most of them by the start of the new term. Whereas my wife, in contrast, simply has to ask people their names as they ask questions in class, and has everyone learned by week two or so.

This lack of facility with names, dates, and general ''brute force'' memorization prevented me from being a History major, being an actor (I love improv, but JUST... CAN'T... MEMORIZE...!!!), or going in to politics (where you need to be able to schmooze and remember people's names). Curiously, I **do** remember things **about** people (e.g. used to be a plumber; has a pet cat who's been ill) -- just not their label (i.e., their name).

This also means that (unlike my dad, and my brother) I am STINK-o at foreign languages -- because, at least at the introductory level, learning a foreign language is all about memorization (vocabularly and verb conjugation).


Conversely, I have a few enhanced abilities. I'm able to write pretty good songs -- apparently most people can't do that. And I'm able to come up with unexpected, creatively off-the wall ideas within a broad range of fields (sociological theory; woodworking; music) -- ideas that actually work.

I think I would've made a pretty good advertising agency person: coming up with creative, catchy ad campaigns and catchphrases -- kinda like this.


--GG