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30 Basic Skills That Folks Thought Everyone Had Until They Saw Others Do It Horribly, As Shared Online
The neat thing about our existence is that everyone gets to experience different lives. Sure, there could be a couple of similarities between a person or two - however, the way we talk, our thoughts, and the things we go through all would be entirely unlike someone else's.
Growing up in other cultures or simply in a different upbringing can help develop several skills that some people either can’t perform as well or never had the need to learn. Yet, we assume that we are all familiar with those everyday skills like vacuuming and cooking - however, this thread will convince you otherwise:
Someone on Reddit wondered about a similar thing and asked fellow users, “what is a basic skill that you grew up thinking everyone had until you saw others do it so horribly?“. The question received nearly 44K upvotes and 24K worth of both entertaining and sincere comments.
Do you have a skill that you thought was basic?
More info: Reddit
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I had a friend who grew up with maids. He was 18 and gay and his family kicked him out. So he got this tiny little run down studio apartment in Los Feliz. He was super proud of it, and invited me to see it. He was using candles to light it when I got there (maybe to save money? Maybe to hide the blemishes?) and had left an ashtray on the floor, which I accidentally kicked and got (cold) ashes all over his carpet.
He freaked the f**k out. “What do I do? How am I going to clean that?!”
“With a vacuum?” I replied, confused as to why this was a mystery.
He didn’t have one, so he went to ask the building manager if there was one he could borrow; which there was.
He pulls this standard upright vacuum into the middle of the room and then stares at it. After a few seconds wondering what he was doing I asked “do you not know how to use a vacuum?”
“No, you have to understand, we always had maids, I never even made a bed before last week.”
So I plug it in, turn it on, and take it a couple times back and forth across part of the carpet.
Then like a child with the Fisher-Price popper vacuum he went to work. He was over the moon excited. 25 years later it’s a favorite memory of that person.
it seems this case wasn't willful ignorance because it should be the parents responsibility to teach him.
Explaining things. If I explain something and someone tells me they don't understand, I explain it again, but frame or phrase it differently. I will never understand why so many people think just saying the exact same words again in a more exasperated/condescending tone is at all effective.
There's also the possibility that the person doesn't understand it enough to be able to explain it to someone else. Being able to do something and understand it are two different things.
Being polite/having manners
While polite/ manners differ somewhat between cultures, rude and entitled is universally understood. Trying to be polite will get you everywhere, and specific customs might even be politely explained by the locals. In short- it is an attitude thing.
Writing---and I don't mean grammatically perfect pieces or novel writing. I am amazed how many people can't do basic level writing stuff like putting sentences in logical order, using basic punctuation and grammar, etc. I am not a world class writer, but years of Catholic school taught me the basics. I occasionally proofread papers for younger family members and honestly don't even know where to start. The grammar issues I can deal with, but the total lack of organization in paragraphs drives me crazy because I basically end up re-writing the damn paper so it makes some kind of sense.
It's mostly people who don't read a lot of books - reading makes it so much easier to know how a text should be constructed
You're right. Reading is to writing what listening is to speaking.
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This happens when people are not required to write essays in school and/or generally don't read much.
That pic. I dont know why but seeing someone hold a pen like that makes me feel a bit off...like ...why the f**k would you hold it like its about to fly off ...
I feel you. I've seen people on US TV shows holding their pens like that, that's when I noticed it first. Where I live, there's like a checklist of things that kids in kindergarten have to know/be able to do in order to decide if they are ready to even go to school or not. Holding the pen correctly is one of those things. But it seems like that's very different in a lot of countries.
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I currently work in customer service - call-in centre. After each conversation we have to put down basic notes of interaction with customers. There are some general abbreviations, but I like to keep notes comprehensive yet easy to understand for next person. And yes, before I hit submit and close interaction I check spelling after myself. The number of gibberish I had to decipher after some colleagues is astounding. And who are the worst offenders? English native speakers.
As a college student in the US, my drama class was held in the same classroom as freshman English--we used the room after they did. I showed up a little bit early for Drama one day and saw the words SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT, in giant capital letters, across the length of the blackboard. I asked the English teacher if she taught remedial/ESL. "Nope, regular freshman English. You'd be surprised, the number of students I have, who were born in the US, English is their native language--yet they've never had to write a single paper in their lives, until they got to me (most college freshmen in the US are 17-18 yo)."
My friend has this horrid handwriting, yesterday we exchanged essays and i thought that he wrote “a mortar” but it was really “Another”. Even he cant read it
I've seen that a lot with teenagers doing their homework in the library and asking me some help right before printing it. It is rather sad to witness a smart 15 yo conscientiously trying to write an essay, verbally expressing relevant ideas about the topic they're dealing with, but failing to put it down on the paper properly because they seem to lack some writing competences you would expect them to have acquired much earlier in their scholarship.
as soon as I read the word - catholic, I lost interest in this brainless moron.
In my job at a law firm, I receive a lot of correspondence from solicitors and partners. These people are intelligent and highly educated. Still, they make so many grammatical errors, and much of their syntax is terrible. It makes me wonder where all their tuition money went.
We had this thing in 8th grade called Power Writing. I learned it well and have used it ever since. Except in comments.
I used to teach academic writing and critical thinking at the GRADUATE level and often had to teach basics.
My pet peeve is people that write pages-long posts like this... and like this... or like this... and like that... and another sentence... It's like the only punctuation they know is the 3 dot format. No commas, period or semicolons... Try reading a page full of that.
I remember my daughters paper before we had a computer. We literally cut paragraphs apart and taped them in a new order for her to relight.
Ask someone to read back what they wrote, word by word. Really read it, not what they think they wrote. Scary.
This should be much higher. I see college seniors who can barely write a cohesive paragraph.
I was always a natural writer; I wrote creatively from third grade on. As a teacher, it was very, very difficult to teach writing, partly because it came so naturally to me. Teaching a skill to people who didn't read and/or who had a different first language? It was an uphill battle. I learned to break it down into stages, but it was never my favorite thing to teach. I always thought people who were NOT natural writers would be better teachers in that regard. They would know what hurdles most people had to overcome.
I'll never forget the day I was in grade 11 and a student asked our English teacher why we say, ''If I had time now, I'd do it''. She thought that the word ''had'' referred to the past tense. Teacher replied, ''Well, you're SUPPOSED to know that''. And I thought (silently), ''What's this dude getting paid for, anyway? His job is selling information''. But this behaviour seemed to be the norm. As for Catholic school.....I got to grade 4 without knowing what division and multiplication were, let alone what they were used for, and I was still counting on my fingers. One day, our government stepped in and closed the place down because it was basically a jail for children. Guess you can't sin if you aren,t doing anything.
I could write words and sentences but I was only taught to write paragraphs age 14. It was revolutionary.
Also, the way they hold the pen/pencil. It's as if they are going to stab the paper, not write on it.
There is so much emphasis on STEM disciplines and not enough on being able to read, write and speak our own language.
Ifnthere was ever a time to be grateful for the emphasis on STEM education, it's now. There is a global shortage of engineers, estimated at anything between 500,000 and 700,000. I don't want to hear or read one more anti-vaxx idiot going on about 5G signals, or magnets sticking to vaccinated people, or some other completely scientifically impossible bullshít. Clearly an overabundance of STEM education isn't the underlying problem.
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Their/there/they're.
This used to bother me way too much but I've calmed down. If the wrong one is used, everyone knows what the person meant. Since the purpose of language is to share ideas, they completed the task. I now think it only matters when the different homonyms can lead to total confusion (The priest was last seen on the altar with his hands on a choir boy preying/praying on the young child).
I’m noticing that a lot of younger people can’t read analog clocks…
Being able and willing to figure stuff out. A lot of basic skills aren't that complicated. And in this day, if it is complicated, the internet almost certainly has dozens, hundreds, or more, tutorials. Quitting because "I don't know how" should not be the answer. I wish more were taught to figure things out, or seek the help/answers to get it done.
Bagging groceries. I mean, isn't it common sense to put all the frozen items in one bag, produce in another, raw meat by itself in a bag, cleaners separate from food? Does it really have to be taught that you shouldn't put a cantaloupe on top of bread?
Why use ten different bags to begin with? Heavy stuff on the bottom, more fragile things on top. Done.
I don't want to brag, but I know the difference between "definitely" and "defiantly".
Throwing your trash in a trash can/garbage can and watching people leave their s**t outside their car when they are in a parking lot. Drives me nuts. Especially when NO ONE will pick that up and it's literally littering.
Sewing. I thought I was a mediocre sewer because I wasn't great at cross-stitch and embroidery. Turns out fixing a button or seam is a skill.
Being gentle with your things. Any time we get help from siblings and their spouses I'm astounded by how roughly they treat all of their things/how rough of a job they're ok with accepting.
Also when assembling furniture.. My best mate put together a set of shelves using a drill as a driver on the short and easy to insert Allen keyed screws.. Stripped half of the heads and forced a few in at slightly off-angles and also stripped their threads a bit. Like what are you doing bro? Could have just used an Allen key by hand and put it together in the same time without damaging anything.
a number of people have mentioned using their drill/driver with the right torque setting (and an appropriate amount of skill.!). Yes I agree this is perfectly fine! I didn't mean to say you should never use a driver to assemble furniture, but more that you should know how to use your tools, use what is necessary, and do it with the right level of enthusiasm/strength
Laundry, especially emptying the dryer lint. So many places I’ve stayed had “bad driers” that were packed full of lint! How these people did not start a fire is amazing.
Following a series of fires cause by driers that collected lint where they shouldn't, there was a big recall of the affected models, with free replacements being provided, even for quite old machines. The replacements state very clearly that the lint trap must be emptied after each use.
I'm still amazed at how many people my age still can't use computers properly. I don't mean in the too old or too poor category, I'm talking about the sheer number of people in my age group who skipped past computers and went straight to smartphones. (I'm 21)
I'm kind of the opposite. I grew up with computers, before even mobile phones were around. I can work a smartphone (and even develop Apps for it), but typing on a phone to me is like trying to knit a scarf with your eyes shut. Give me a proper keyboard and I'll give a professional typist a run of their money!
I'm shocked at how bad some people are at following writen directions. Not travel, but like... assemble furniture, follow a recipe or experiment, read an instruction manual.
I kid you not, I lived with a guy once who had a butler his whole life. Things I taught him:
The funky knife with a hole in it is not useless, it's a potato peeler
You open cans with a can opener
Nothing needs to be microwaved for 10 minutes
For the record, I really liked this guy and he was incredibly fun and kind.
I met a guy who cooked everything with a drip coffee maker. Closed bag of frozen food, drip hot water over, repeat until "ready".
DarkMonkey98 said:
hygiene
chouston333 replied:
This is a big problem.
My parents didn't teach me good hygiene. I stank all the time and it's not something people will tell you about. They will complain to people around you.
My wife taught me better hygiene and it has changed my life. I'm doing much better professionally and random strangers are no longer mean to me seemingly for no reason.
I wish there was a good resource I could refer my stinky friends to so they could learn about it.
I was amazed, and also of course repulsed, when an ex of mine apparently didn't know how how to properly wipe his a5s after using the toilet. Skidmarks (and I mean, massive ones) were just a normal part of life for him. I tried to talk to him about it but he wasn't having it. Glad to be out of that one for many reasons.
Budgeting
Not quite the same, but I wish someone had discussed how interest on loans could really add up. Did not figure that out until my early 20's.
Basic first aid. Buddy in college got cut and didn’t understand how to make it stop bleeding and bandage/disinfect it properly, I was amazed.
That panic of my coworkers running to me with bleeding fingers or Burns like whatdoido whatdoido?! Duh?!
reading, i sit in my highschool english class everyday and wonder how these mfs got past 2 grade reading a whole page in a monotone in one breath
I thought that everyone younger than me knows how to do basic computer troubleshooting.
Turns out a fair of people younger than myself don't know how to look up answers online, it honestly baffled me.
Reading a map. I grew up traveling long before computers. I've handed several adults paper maps while driving and they didn't even know how to find where we were. I guess it isn't a skill you need anymore though.
Basic cooking skills. I once saw a guy try to cook pasta by dumping raw pasta shells in a frying pan with a little oil...
Watching your mouth as an adult. I’m pretty abrasive with people that I’m close with, but I know how to be professional, especially in front of customers. Worked with a fair few people in the restaurant industry who just do not get it. Blows my mind
Writing an email with proper grammar and formatting seems obvious and easy to me, but I see so many people at work who are just the worst
Washing dishes
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
"Updating people on delays." I mean, if you're running late, let the waiting party know. If someone ordered something and it's delayed, let them know. If you are supposed to come paint the house in week 3, don't wait until they angrily call in week 5 asking where you are. LET PEOPLE KNOW when schedules change. I don't mind that the thing I ordered is delayed for weeks, things happen, but I DO mind not being told.
People that are totally unaware of their surroundings irritate me. For example: Stopping in the middle of an aisle when shopping without regard for others around them.
Beyond irritating! all of sudden they snap back into realty an start huffing cause someone just passed them by on a food isle.
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I read a saying the other day. "Common sense is a flower that doesn't grow in everyone's garden."
Basic survivlal skills such as lighting a fire. Watched one fellow in a campground hold a lighter to a 15cm diameter log for several minutes. Went and showed him how.
I know, right? I was raised with that shìt, in the sometimes wet and nasty but still great and ancient forests of Sweden. How to put up a tent or build wind protection, how to make a fire, how to cook on a fire (or rather, the embers), which animals can be potentially dangerous, basic first aid, all that jazz just kind of came with my upbringing, even though I grew up living in our second biggest city. My slightly crazy dad took us out any chance he got and I had family on the country side that I visited regularly. I guess it’s about what kind of interests ones parents and friends have, and I do NOT look down on people who can’t do these things: I was just surprised when I realized it wasn’t something everybody knew how to do. Sometimes one experiences a shift of paradigmes, I suppose it happens to everybody.
Load More Replies... Some of these are either a pointless skill to learn or forgivable due the technology gap. A good part of society doesn't write emails they just text. The rest reflect a failure of a parent. I was in the military's super young and was shocked at the lack self cleanliness of other recruits. I then attended a university after serving and was shocked even more. Listen everyone it's cute not when you're unable to do your own laundry or cook for your self.
How about getting your kids involved in scouting, almost every thing here is covered either in merit badges or rank advancement or even just camping and learning by doing with friends
No-one is born knowing these skills (or any others). Some people are taught, and benefit from good parenting. Some people make the effort to discover for themselves how to interact with the world. But unfortunately some people are just not interested in learning how to be fully functioning adults.
Also, can we add an inability to provide usable directions? if your home is next to another home with say...a GIANT ROLLER COASTER just start with that. The amount of obscure directions of received in the past is insane. I mean you live right across the street from a Super Market?...just say that.
So glad I learned basic life skills growing up. Trying to do the same with my kid. And I write for a living and don't have enough time to address those points on the list!
Walking in a crowded area: don’t stop in the middle of everything, try to stick to one side so other people come ing other direction can pass you, don’t walk 2/3/27 abreast with all your mates so no one can get past or around, be considerate of people less mobile or bulkier than you (elderly people, folks with walking frames, wheelchairs, prams and/or small kids they’re trying to hold).
With most of these cleaning entries, knowing how is one thing and doing it is another, but doing it thoroughly is the real skill. If you're halfway cleaning you might as well not be cleaning at all.
Well, you've convinced me...no cleaning at all. ;-)
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People playing videos and music or speaking on speakerphone, anywhere and everywhere. Every creed and age group has done thus, every single nationality. Why? I am convinced they want the attention. Sometimes they have expensive headphones sitting right there with them
"Updating people on delays." I mean, if you're running late, let the waiting party know. If someone ordered something and it's delayed, let them know. If you are supposed to come paint the house in week 3, don't wait until they angrily call in week 5 asking where you are. LET PEOPLE KNOW when schedules change. I don't mind that the thing I ordered is delayed for weeks, things happen, but I DO mind not being told.
People that are totally unaware of their surroundings irritate me. For example: Stopping in the middle of an aisle when shopping without regard for others around them.
Beyond irritating! all of sudden they snap back into realty an start huffing cause someone just passed them by on a food isle.
Load More Replies... I read a saying the other day. "Common sense is a flower that doesn't grow in everyone's garden."
Basic survivlal skills such as lighting a fire. Watched one fellow in a campground hold a lighter to a 15cm diameter log for several minutes. Went and showed him how.
I know, right? I was raised with that shìt, in the sometimes wet and nasty but still great and ancient forests of Sweden. How to put up a tent or build wind protection, how to make a fire, how to cook on a fire (or rather, the embers), which animals can be potentially dangerous, basic first aid, all that jazz just kind of came with my upbringing, even though I grew up living in our second biggest city. My slightly crazy dad took us out any chance he got and I had family on the country side that I visited regularly. I guess it’s about what kind of interests ones parents and friends have, and I do NOT look down on people who can’t do these things: I was just surprised when I realized it wasn’t something everybody knew how to do. Sometimes one experiences a shift of paradigmes, I suppose it happens to everybody.
Load More Replies... Some of these are either a pointless skill to learn or forgivable due the technology gap. A good part of society doesn't write emails they just text. The rest reflect a failure of a parent. I was in the military's super young and was shocked at the lack self cleanliness of other recruits. I then attended a university after serving and was shocked even more. Listen everyone it's cute not when you're unable to do your own laundry or cook for your self.
How about getting your kids involved in scouting, almost every thing here is covered either in merit badges or rank advancement or even just camping and learning by doing with friends
No-one is born knowing these skills (or any others). Some people are taught, and benefit from good parenting. Some people make the effort to discover for themselves how to interact with the world. But unfortunately some people are just not interested in learning how to be fully functioning adults.
Also, can we add an inability to provide usable directions? if your home is next to another home with say...a GIANT ROLLER COASTER just start with that. The amount of obscure directions of received in the past is insane. I mean you live right across the street from a Super Market?...just say that.
So glad I learned basic life skills growing up. Trying to do the same with my kid. And I write for a living and don't have enough time to address those points on the list!
Walking in a crowded area: don’t stop in the middle of everything, try to stick to one side so other people come ing other direction can pass you, don’t walk 2/3/27 abreast with all your mates so no one can get past or around, be considerate of people less mobile or bulkier than you (elderly people, folks with walking frames, wheelchairs, prams and/or small kids they’re trying to hold).
With most of these cleaning entries, knowing how is one thing and doing it is another, but doing it thoroughly is the real skill. If you're halfway cleaning you might as well not be cleaning at all.
Well, you've convinced me...no cleaning at all. ;-)
Load More Replies... People playing videos and music or speaking on speakerphone, anywhere and everywhere. Every creed and age group has done thus, every single nationality. Why? I am convinced they want the attention. Sometimes they have expensive headphones sitting right there with them
