Post by Yahweh on Apr 19, 2009 0:50:21 GMT -5
This thread is a celebration of whatever talent you have and want to share. Feel free to include pictures, video, or any other visible demonstration of your talent. And also make a brief comment on the history of your talent, such as how you discovered it, whether its in-born or developed over time, etc.
Since I created this thread, I'll go first:
I only have two real talents:
1) Computer programming. I can make computers do my bidding.
Programming is my first and only hobby. I started writing code when I learned VB5 back in '97 or '98. Since then, I've learned and used a variety of other languages, including but not limited to: Delphi, C++, classic ASP, C#, OCaml, Perl, Python, Java, and several flavors of SQL. My dominant languages are C# and F# (as a side note, I've written pretty much all of the content in the F# wikibook).
I would have never became a programmer without inspiration from my dad, humbly known as Pa Yahweh, and occasionally as Dadly Daddums. In '97, my dad had been an airplane mechanic in the Air Force for 15 years, and while the work was rewarding, he got bored with it and couldn't see himself advancing in his career. He decided to change careers; he had an interest in computers, and he was a whiz in MS Excel VBA, so he pursued a degree in microcomputer science with an emphasis on software development.
As my dad was earning his degree, he occasionally showed me programs he was writing. The first program I remember was written in VB5: it displayed a circle on a form, and when you clicked the circle it became a square; when you clicked square it became circle again. I thought this was simply amazing, and I became instantly hooked on computer programming. When my dad went to work, I'd take his school books and go through them all, page by page, copying code from the books into the IDE. Eventually I learned how to write code -- as poorly as it was -- on my own.
I'm a reasonably good programmer, better than most of the people I work with, but nowhere near the best programmer around. I have lots of gaps in knowledge, especially in the area of algorithms and data structures, and I'm working the fill those gaps. I hope one day to become a legendary, influential contributor to the field of computer science on par with Alan Turing, Edsger Dijkstra, Alan Kay, Donald Knuth, and others.
2) Writing. I'm a reasonably good writer when I write casually, and reasonably good at putting my ideas and thoughts down on paper. I've never written any kind of fiction, and don't really have any interest in doing so. However, I've written tons of non-fiction, critical essays, especially on moral topics. When I get started on a topic I'm really interested in, I develop a kind of creativity where I simply cannot stop myself from writing, even if I wanted to.
One piece of high-quality writing that I'd like to share is this refutation of potential person arguments -- I consider this a good essay because it presents my arguments in clear, unambiguous terms which can be appreciated by educated philosophers and laymens alike. Additionally, this essay is very characteristic of the occasionally long-winded, lucid style of prose present in everything I write.
I've always wanted to write a book simply for the sake of being able to tell people that I'm a published author. More than that, I consider writing an underdeveloped talent of mine, and I'd love to take it as far as I can before I die.
With that being said, I'm a truly awful proofreader.
So, now its your turn, share your talents
Since I created this thread, I'll go first:
I only have two real talents:
1) Computer programming. I can make computers do my bidding.
Programming is my first and only hobby. I started writing code when I learned VB5 back in '97 or '98. Since then, I've learned and used a variety of other languages, including but not limited to: Delphi, C++, classic ASP, C#, OCaml, Perl, Python, Java, and several flavors of SQL. My dominant languages are C# and F# (as a side note, I've written pretty much all of the content in the F# wikibook).
I would have never became a programmer without inspiration from my dad, humbly known as Pa Yahweh, and occasionally as Dadly Daddums. In '97, my dad had been an airplane mechanic in the Air Force for 15 years, and while the work was rewarding, he got bored with it and couldn't see himself advancing in his career. He decided to change careers; he had an interest in computers, and he was a whiz in MS Excel VBA, so he pursued a degree in microcomputer science with an emphasis on software development.
As my dad was earning his degree, he occasionally showed me programs he was writing. The first program I remember was written in VB5: it displayed a circle on a form, and when you clicked the circle it became a square; when you clicked square it became circle again. I thought this was simply amazing, and I became instantly hooked on computer programming. When my dad went to work, I'd take his school books and go through them all, page by page, copying code from the books into the IDE. Eventually I learned how to write code -- as poorly as it was -- on my own.
I'm a reasonably good programmer, better than most of the people I work with, but nowhere near the best programmer around. I have lots of gaps in knowledge, especially in the area of algorithms and data structures, and I'm working the fill those gaps. I hope one day to become a legendary, influential contributor to the field of computer science on par with Alan Turing, Edsger Dijkstra, Alan Kay, Donald Knuth, and others.
2) Writing. I'm a reasonably good writer when I write casually, and reasonably good at putting my ideas and thoughts down on paper. I've never written any kind of fiction, and don't really have any interest in doing so. However, I've written tons of non-fiction, critical essays, especially on moral topics. When I get started on a topic I'm really interested in, I develop a kind of creativity where I simply cannot stop myself from writing, even if I wanted to.
One piece of high-quality writing that I'd like to share is this refutation of potential person arguments -- I consider this a good essay because it presents my arguments in clear, unambiguous terms which can be appreciated by educated philosophers and laymens alike. Additionally, this essay is very characteristic of the occasionally long-winded, lucid style of prose present in everything I write.
I've always wanted to write a book simply for the sake of being able to tell people that I'm a published author. More than that, I consider writing an underdeveloped talent of mine, and I'd love to take it as far as I can before I die.
With that being said, I'm a truly awful proofreader.
So, now its your turn, share your talents