I keep wondering about this..

[abra]

I'm so intrigued by those of you who are so good at this. I was wondering, those of you who do this so effortlessly, does your talent manifest itself anywhere else in your life. Are there other things that you can do way better than anyone else?

What trait in your make up do you attribute your talent to?

I love cryptograms and I did them in the newspaper for years, before the internet. I always thought I was pretty good, but since being on this site, I'm humbled. There is absolutely no way I could get 100%, some of them would take me hours to solve.

So, I've become very curious about the masters here. I hope you'll answer if you can.

[WidowMaker]

not a master- yet

Hi abra, i used to move large objects, with a simple wave of my arms, that it would take 1000 men, working together, to pick up this object one inch off the ground, ohh if you only knew the power of the dark side- wm

[Lily H]

Abra, I still do the cryptograms in the newspaper. However after playing on this site, I am spoiled by not having the letters filled in automaticallly for me. You will get faster with time. I played for 3 years before I finally made it into the top 20 in speed, just barely. Also, you will learn to recognize word patterns the more you play. I don't have any special skills, but I do read a lot and do crossword puzzles. I'm such a nerd.

[pootie49]

Hi

I never did a cryptogram until I found this site, I did word puzzles, crosswords, mostly in the paper and books. But always skipped cryptos cause they looked so darned hard.

Then I found this site, and beats the heck out of me how I do it? LOL

Really Its a talent I never knew I had I think its a talent, Im not sure.

I dont have any other talents whatsoever except I can recall numbers easily.
Which I believe is pattern recognition so there must be a part of my brain thats not been destroyed by illicit drugs that still works pretty well.

I dont find it easy. Its not easy. Not for me. But it just felt really natural to sit here and solve.
And I asked a lot of questions and absorbed and played a ton and well thats it really.
Wait no a bit more...re the hundred percent. Yep Im a perfectionist.
Drives me round the loop not to do them all.
K now Im done.


Widowmaker is fibbing you know.

Oh wait I can walk and chew gum at the same time is that a talent, for a blonde I hear it is?
lol

[abra]

Thank you all, I thought there might be some other area where you all excelled. I couldn't imagine what that might be. I thought maybe language or math or something.

WidowMaker, I never would have dreamed , Were your parents involved in CIA experiments, during their college years? Could have used you around here this weekend. We were cleaning carpets, and there was a lot of furniture to be moved.

[smoochie222]

b a n s a i s e q u o i a

Is a musician and and super fast typist.

[abra]

Oh yeah, he must type at light speed, but the music part of it, is probably more along the line I was thinking of.

But what about you LLL?

[WidowMaker]

Hi abra, the music trait passed me over, straight to my kids, i have two boys and two girls, the three oldest played in their high school marching band while my youngest girl plays the violin. i speak, read, and write several languages, and if i had stayed in school, who knows what i might have grown up to be??

[abra]

Yes, WidowMaker, it sounds like there was something there that was untapped. A facility for languages is the kind of thing I was thinking of. Something that sets you people apart from ordinary beings.

That ability to move great objects would be nice to have though .

[imported_Lurker]

Cross-training

All kinds of puzzles work different parts of your brain. Some are word-based and deal with language and definition skills, like crosswords. Others, like Sudoku and logic puzzles, are mostly about ruling out impossibilities. Ken-ken is math-based. DropQuotes, cryptos, and anacrostics are largely pattern recognition and language construction. (Anacrostics include x-word skills.) And Solitaire is great for planning ahead.

You should try a variety of puzzles, to see which taps that special part of your brain that's waiting to get out.

And you're not that slow, Abra. Some of us only go fast because there's a competition for it. It never occurred to me to do these quickly until the Puzzle Baron started keeping track. Same with 100%. I didn't start doing it every month for a long time. And some months, I don't, just to see how I do under no-pressure conditions.

[abra]

Thanks everyone for answering. I guess there's nothing definitive that you all share besides your excellence with the cryptograms.

I figured you could at least see through walls, change traffic lights or leap tall buildings.

[pootie49]

Ohhh!

Well I can do that I just thought everyone could?

[pajarito7]

I attribute my success at cryptograms to my skill at pattern recognition, which obviously comes from having raised five kids, and several neighborhood urchins (who would never go home for dinner) as well. You become very adept while watching the kids play outside, at recognizing "good" patterns and patterns that require you to run outside with a bullhorn and the garden hose.

[bansaisequoia]

bansaisequoia can simultaneously flip two large oval restaurant trays, one in his left hand, and one in his right, and he can even do it blindfolded.



(He was also given a Power Ring by the Guardians of Oa to safeguard Space Sector 2814)

[smoochie222]

my talent

Abra,

My talent is that I can say the alphabet backwards and been doing so since I was four.

LLL