Lets say, in theory, that some benign power offered to give you one ability...
The stipulations of the gift are:

1. It cant be supernatural, or super powerful. ( IE no Superman...)
2. It cant be used for personal gain. The more you abuse the more of the power you loose.
3. No magical gifts. It has to be a talent that a human has possessed in the past. ( and VERIFIED)

This is part of personality test I designed several years back and I have always found that people gave the most interesting answers...

Just curious...

The ability to make other people excessively happy.

DJ

I'm actually happy with the gifts that I've already been given.

But I guess I'd like to be able to better nurture the gifts of others (especially when their talents are different from my own) so that together we are even more effective. Still searching for ways to make 1+1 equal something more than 2 I guess.

Hey Dazz, how did you animate your avatar? That's cool!

I drew them all up and thanks go to Durachko who made them into the animation.

Off the top of my head first thought was to be an absolutely brilliant, compassionate, simply perfect clinician. Health is a good starting point for all other things.

simply to bring a smile to another, thereby in turn make yourself smile too... nothing better than just that... hehhehe nice theory...

I would want there to be so much love in my heart that everyone around, would want to hang around me,

like mother Thereasa. As well as wisdom.

As opposed to what? chimpanzees?

photographic memory.

TO be able to hear a song once then duplicate it on Piano...

Yes-with that I could get 4.0 in anything-plasma physics,elctrodynamics.ect.

Yes, but that would be for personal gain...Then it would start to go away...

Oddly enough I have only had one conversation with a chimp....

Ooops! Make that two!

but with a 4.0 he would be in the position to secure a valuable position where he will be poised to help man kind

Still personal gain. Thats kind of like saying if I kill the person in line for the next good job I can take it and be okay with it because Im going to do better things...

these rules stink

Yes, many people are surprised at it.

To be able to write music that everyone could enjoy.

I don't quite agree with the analogy that having a better memory than someone is akin to killing them, but that's beside the point...

I doubt a photographic memory alone would earn you perfect grades or an influential job. Problem-solving and interpersonal skills are equally important and cannot be photographed. That's not to say he couldn't possess "normal, human amounts" of problem-solving and interpersonal skills in addition to the super memory, but anyway, that too is beside my point...

Okay, here's my point. This personality test seems impossible. Can you name someone, either past or present, who had a special talent but didn't gain anything from it? As soon as you use your special ability to affect the world positiviely, you gain respect and admiration, at the least.

Alright, I'll go ahead and say it: What ability would you want, SJ?

The ability to be more approachable. I'm tired of hearing others ask me why I look to serious and pissed. I tell them I'm still on my 6 cup of coffee.

OT...dam Durachko, your holding back some skill. Can I learn, huh, can I, can I...???

so does this come before or after the question about why manhole covers are round?

If I could have one ability? That's easy , I wish I had a good work ethic, mine stinks.

the ability to be able to piss people off whenever I want?...oh..never mind.....

Dont feel alone guys and gals. You and about 500 plus people have experienced this...
I'll give you a hint. It has NOTHING To do with you ...per se...

You are almost there...

There is no point to having a talent that you cannot use for personal gain.
Any purpose you could put it to use for is, at a minimum, satisfying your desires and therefore it is being used for personal gain. (At least briefly, just before you loose it.)

This is not a personality test, but a critical thinking exam.

... Agreed.

There is no valuable human talent one would want to subject to those conditions.

Talents should be exploited without guilt because gain is mutual.

Without the ability to exploit that talent for gain, the best choice is to keep all of your own talents.

So I choose none... If forced to choose something, it would be the most insignificant talent I could concieve.

I guess I would have to give up on the dream of being on Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks".

I think that a naturally loving and forgiving nature would be the greatest gift to give to others. This then would alow one to settle disputes then, because he could talk his way out of things. (not for manipulation though.) @ least in theory.

okay so how about we amend the first rule to "It cant be used for EXCESSIVE personal gain...?

Ok, I'll bite.

How about the ability to convert vast numbers of followers to do my every whim. Is that excessive?
How about just a few female followers? Perhaps just one local redhead to do my every other whim? One whim? Oh never mind.

Yeah...every OTHER whim. We wouldn't want to get bored with Red on every whim, would we!

Animal! My second favorite redhead. Kinky, Sim.

This is quite an intresting analogy like the 3 laws by asimov. we're one law cannot contridict the other so even if I could bend the rule's I still would not be able to do what my mind desires. intresting bravo!

How about the ability to teach anyone anything. You would be helping others to help themselves. No personal gain, not really supernatural, BUT i'm pretty sure nobody has ever possesed it other than Jesus (who was supernatural so doesn't reallycount). It would be a broad application of the old saying about giving a man a fish will feed him for a day, while teaching a man to fish will feed him for life....

Dave

The ability to resist visting forums would be up there high on the list.