Family, Fitness, Games, Health, Kids, Medicine, Nature, Uncategorized

Speed

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Husband is slow. Motorically slow. He always has been slow.  He really can’t do much of anything quickly, and it has been a source of frustration for him that I can do things quickly.  Really quickly.  When I did my psychology internship at a VA hospital in Iowa, we interns were administered  the same  battery of neuropsychological tests that we would eventually administer to the patients.  One of the tests was the Purdue Pegboard, which is a large board with holes for pegs, and you time people to see how fast they can put the pegs in the holes. It assesses bilateral motor speed and coordination. I had the fastest time ever for anyone who had taken the test at that clinic.

Last week, I got a notification from Ancestry.com that recent analysis of my DNA revealed me to have the Sprinter gene, common in athletes, especially in successful short distance runners. I never was an athlete, but my dad was, and he was really speedy.  In high school he could zip around the basketball court so fast that he once caused the boy assigned to guard him to start crying during a game because he couldn’t keep up with him.  He did most things really fast, and I am pretty sure I inherited that gene from him.

What genetic advantage  do you think you inherited? Make up a gene you would like to have.

 

41 thoughts on “Speed”

        1. Actually, people in Bremen and Hamburg really like spices and spicey food, as the ports are gateway for lots of imported food and goods. That is where my family originates.

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    1. Sorry, I think I did that last night when I scheduled the post for today. I wasn’t on the Trail most of today so I didn’t notice your comment but I have fixed it now.

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  4. Enjoying the word “motorically” for some reason.

    I seem to have inherited a musical ear (from my mom, mostly) – able to decipher and remember complex harmonies, hear when things are not in tune, recall entire songs from my earliest years, etc.

    I wish I had a gene for being able to reiterate complex thoughts and material that I have read, and managed to understand, but cannot pass on without the text in front of me.

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  5. Like Renee’s husband, I am characteristically slow. Unlike him, it doesn’t bother me much. It’s just my rhythm. Along with being slow, I am patient with a long attention span. That influences the things I choose to focus on. In things like games where speed is critical, I don’t do well, nor do I expect to. Speed in and of itself has limited value.

    It’s hard to say whether my slow and methodical makeup is genetically influenced. I can’t recall either of my parents engaging in any activity that would test that faculty.

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    1. One problem for me is that I get really impatient when I blow-dry my hair in the morning because it won’t dry as fast as I want it to.

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        1. I’d be willing to bet that for every snappy retort that you didn’t think about until a week later, there’s a snappy remark uttered by someone that they regretted the moment it was out of their mouth.

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        1. Oh I disagree, I have extremely fine and fast-drying hair, just like my dad. Fortunately, I didn’t inherit his hair’s propensity to fall out; he was bald by the age of twenty-four.

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        3. Hair strand thickness is genetically determined. Ancestory predicts, correctly, that mine is average to medium thick, hence my impatience with the blow dryer.

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  6. I hate to state the obvious, but probably the greatest genetic advantage I inherited is white skin. Of course, the degree to which it is an advantage depends largely on where you live, and has nothing to with the “superiority” of that particular attribute. In the past thirty years or so, I have come to understand and appreciate the struggles I have avoided in my life simply because I was also cis-gendered, heterosexual and able bodied with “normal” intelligence.

    OT – surgery is on for tomorrow. From what I understand my future will be clearer and more colorful. Can’t wait to be able to read a book again.

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  7. Morning-
    I inherited my dad’s lousy feet. And passed them on to my daughter I’m afraid.
    But I also inherited Dad’s ability to fix things. My mom is always saying “I’ll have Ben look at it; he’ll fix it.” I told them the pressure that puts on me is terrifying!
    Last week it was her sewing machine. I had done all I could with the tools she had and about to give up and suddenly “Click” and it worked. Don’t know what I did.
    Most things, just keep pushing buttons. As long as you don’t hit “delete” it’s OK, just keep trying things. It’s surprising how many people are afraid to push buttons.

    I wish I had the 6″ taller gene.
    I’m glad I got Mom’s musical gene and Dads ‘fix-it’ gene.

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        1. “TIMING TOAST
          Grook on how to char for yourself

          There’s an art of knowing when.
          Never try to guess.
          Toast until it smokes and then
          twenty seconds less.”

          ― Piet Hein

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        2. I love poetry but I don’t have too much of it memorized. “Timing Toast” is one of those things that I have had in my memory since I was a kid.

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        3. I remembered that you are a Piet Hein fan, vs, and that you knew this poem. Ben’s comment made for perfect opportunity to trot it out.

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  8. i got some good stuff some bad
    nervous stomach that led to ulcers at age 15
    alcohol intolerance, prostate cancer, alzheimer’s on the horizon, but on the good side i am athletic, smart and oh so handsome so you gotta take the good with the bad
    if i got to wish for one it would be the get it done gene, i am afraid my multi tasking around in circles has been an affliction i have all to myself but it did pass on to a kid or two. i love when i’m in a situation where my creative juices are allowed to flow and form real stuff but organizing files /order/ systems ain’t it.

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  10. i had to smile tonight
    i went down to grab my bed time snack of an apple and peanut butter and my son had the super chunk downstairs. we are normally a creamy family but he went to the store the other day and all they had was super chunk so i was left with the creamy , then i went for my guilty pleasure of a monster handful of chips to go with my apple, he had the new bag of costco dutch crunch style chips down there with the peanut butter
    it’s good to know i’m passing on the peanut butter and potato chip genes

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