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Original poster

How weird is my daughter's skill?

127 replies

IndiganDop · 28/05/2023 16:14

My 12 year old can reverse any sentence instantly, phonetically, so if you play what she says in reverse it sounds like the actual sentence
(So not like saying "enoph" for phone, she would say something that sounds a bit like "newoff")

She has just recorded the entire song "how bad can it be" from the Lorax backwards phonetically, without reading from anything. She says she can just do it. When she then reverses the recording it is recognisably the words.

How is she doing this? Is it a utilisable skill in any way or completely pointless?

OP posts:
Clymene · 29/05/2023 01:19

Wow! That's so cool. Surely she can do something awesome with these skills. Not sure what but it must be useful in some way.

Is a double crown meaningful? I have a double crown Hmm

Swallowdoubleandrunamile · 29/05/2023 07:04

That is amazing!

itsgettingweird · 29/05/2023 07:14

Wow that is phenomenal Halo

Does it translate into other skills academically?

Interested in this thread?

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12 year olds
rosepetaljug · 29/05/2023 08:03

I would love this skill! I agree it's when your brain is wired differently you find these things just happen. I am very good at languages. I also have a whole orchestra going off inside my head all the time. I can make up new pieces of music in minutes. I write music daily for fun. It just pours out of me.

It's almost like I can't help it. I've always felt like my brain is the wrong way round. I remember when doing IQ tests or verbal reasoning tasks I always got them right as they were designed to 'challenge' peoples brains in a certain way, my brain worked that way already so it wasn't a challenge! Maybe it's like this for your dd?

Perhaps she could explore recording herself to music with certain beats. She may find it fun as she clearly has a rhythm going on for it. Imagine if she met lots of others with this skill and they conversed like this. That would be fun I imagine!

IWantToVote · 29/05/2023 08:23

That's really cool. You both sound adorable!

I'd find that so difficult.

WhatWhereWhenHowWhy · 29/05/2023 08:37

That is absolutely amazing. I've always been a little bit jealous of those with synaesthesia!
Love how much fun you're having together with it as well. Sounds fabulous backwards - like welsh or speaking with a Swedish accent

mauveiscurious · 29/05/2023 08:43

Amazing phonetic intuition I imagine r any university linguistics department would be fascinated

Jifmicroliquid · 29/05/2023 08:55

That’s incredible! There must be something she can do with that talent!

rainbowstardrops · 29/05/2023 08:55

Oh wow, how interesting!
I'm also absolutely fascinated with the seeing colours as well. How?!

KateMularkey · 29/05/2023 08:58

So cool! I mean ultimately probably not lucrative unless TikTok can be harnessed but still so quirky and impressive. Brains are phenomenal and the stuff some people can do is fascinating.

My DD has synesthesia (and a double crown!) and is totally ambidextrous, also ND. Her main quirk isn't with words though, it's numbers. She solves really complex stuff in her head. So if a teacher puts a big equation up on the board DD can do it in her head. She says all the numbers move around in front of her mind and rearrange and she can "see" a whole load of stages as she works through and then has the answer. For really
Complicated stuff (gcse) she does use a calculator but then kind of inserts those new numbers into her visual working through iyswim. I'm mediocre at maths so the fact she can do it at all impresses me but the way she does it is very cool.

Jifmicroliquid · 29/05/2023 09:03

I’d set her up a YouTube channel and make some money from this! Useful for uni fees or saving for a house. I doubt it’s a skill that will land her a job in the future, but it can certainly make some money in the meantime.

BMW6 · 29/05/2023 09:22

Astounding! Perhaps a University researching how the brain works would be interested in looking at your daughter? She may be able to help ND studies

Allrightmylover · 29/05/2023 09:35

I do this in my head, have never told anyone, I also swap vowels about and play about with letters. One of my friends and I used to make up words and had our own language. I taught myself to read before I went to school and read Wuthering Heights aged about 7, I remember thinking the main characters were self absorbed and rather obnoxious. I am probably neurodiverse but have never sought a diagnosis, I’m older and it was not a thing mentioned when I was a girl. I did take refuge working in academia and so many people are quirky in that field you can hide in plain sight.

Original poster
IndiganDop · 29/05/2023 09:35

Well, bugger me. I have seen so many posts over the years where someone asks if what their DC is doing is unusual/advanced (and it's typically something much more useful than phonic reversal!!) and usually they get shot down in flames.

Looks like DD really does have a weird and amazing skill!

I have to say it is incredible to me as I can't even work out what "my" would sound like backwards, let alone whole sentences. It must take quite some working memory too!

Not sure about YouTube or Tiktok - I mean, making money would be cool but I don't want her exposed to too much social media or exposure at her age. Any linguistics people can PM me though if they want to take a look at her!

OP posts:
Magnoliainbloom · 29/05/2023 09:38

I would get in touch with universities researching the brain if she’s up for it.

Original poster
IndiganDop · 29/05/2023 09:59

itsgettingweird · 29/05/2023 07:14

Wow that is phenomenal Halo

Does it translate into other skills academically?

She failed her 11+ (maths too slow) but she's caught up and doing well across the board academically, but apart from French, none of her teachers gush about her - they are all happy with her though, she's a decent student but not years ahead or anything.

I have always found her unusually perceptive and analytical - for example she thought the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk was a wronged character and Jack a nasty thief, way back when she was 3 or 4....

OP posts:
Original poster
IndiganDop · 29/05/2023 10:07

Allrightmylover · 29/05/2023 09:35

I do this in my head, have never told anyone, I also swap vowels about and play about with letters. One of my friends and I used to make up words and had our own language. I taught myself to read before I went to school and read Wuthering Heights aged about 7, I remember thinking the main characters were self absorbed and rather obnoxious. I am probably neurodiverse but have never sought a diagnosis, I’m older and it was not a thing mentioned when I was a girl. I did take refuge working in academia and so many people are quirky in that field you can hide in plain sight.

Wow! Just as fast as DD?

What branch of academia, out of interest?

OP posts:
MMMarmite · 29/05/2023 10:24

She might be a natural at languages and linguistics. Would she be interested in trying another language besides French? Non-European languages have quite different phonetic systems which might fascinate her. There are lots of resources and tutors online these days.

Useruser222 · 29/05/2023 10:29

If you are thick skinned and can handle criticism and abuse I'd post on Tik Tok. Someone somewhere who could make use of this skill or for research will get in contact

WingingItSince1973 · 29/05/2023 10:33

Wow this is absolutely fascinating. Her brain is amazing. Thanks for sharing. I love stuff like this x

MrsSkylerWhite · 29/05/2023 10:34

Wow!

ursuslemonade · 29/05/2023 10:40

Really fascinating!

HumanBurrito · 29/05/2023 11:52

Hey sister! Just played it to #3 who says to tell you she can do mirror writing with both hands at the same time 😀

reelcat · 02/06/2023 10:08

That is a cool talent!

Original poster
IndiganDop · 02/06/2023 11:09

By way of a little update -

I found a researcher studying this and got in touch. She has written back with some information about the studies they have done:

"We have found that backwards speakers generally have a (very) high IQ especially in the areas of working memory and data processing - they find these kinds of tasks very easy. We have also found that some of them (but not all) have an altered genetic code in genes that function as receptors in the brain and we think that at least some of the ability to backwards speak may be inherited.
We estimate that about 0.1% of the population have a natural affinity for the skill and many less than this go on to develop being able to recall whole sentences."

So it looks like her pointless talent really is weird and very rare!

OP posts: