I’m often amazed with the physical and mental variations in people.
When I first visited Indonesia, I was surprised to see that most women are flexible enough to easily bend their fingers back to their wrists, and some can also straighten their ankles to more than 180 degrees.
Similarly, Cirque du Soleil employs some female performers from a tribe in Mongolia who can arch their back 180 degrees.
A large percentage of the population in some areas in Bali and Solo have the ability to sculpt to a museum-quality level, similar to ancient Greek and Roman artwork.
I think Asian people are more aware of the umami taste sense also.
I’ve met some people with photographic memories … and others who can effortlessly mimic complex bird songs. Also some that are empathic … which makes meetings awkward when I’m not in a good mood that day – they immediately want to know why.
Babe Ruth was tested by neurologists and found to have reaction and processing times better than 95% of the population. One doctor said that he was capable of being successful at anything, given his mental capabilities.
Here’s a new one to me though – some women can see in 4 color bands:
Some women may see 100 million colors, thanks to their genes
Some people see different colors when non-visual cues are received, called synesthesia.
“I have synesthesia. I didn’t know it was so uncommon. I actually like having synesthesia, it helps me with spelling and other stuff (I know what colour a word should be, so I change the letters until the color is right). Sometimes it is annoying when people don’t understand what I’m talking about, or when I hide from a colour because it hurts.”
“I am a working artist in San Francisco… I have synesthesia to a great degree… all numbers, number sequences, letters and words have corresponding color patterns… I think that is why i have a very easy time remembering phone numbers and quotes…I also see music with great definition when i listen to it… I’d love to learn more about it…” – Xavi
I guess we each have our own talents, and part of life is discovering what those are.
In Our Messy, Reptilian Brains
Hypnosis Lets Regular People See Numbers as Colors
msnbc: Your body’s 10 weirdest health clues
