> > I wonder if most
> >people would consider that they have below average
> >artistic talent, or below average avoidance of
> >procrastination, etc. Only one way to find out.
> >Time to start a series of polls.
>
> Also, I think people generally rate themselves low in artistic and creative ability, because, as a general rule, people with artistic or creative talent have low self esteem.

Ok, you two have made me think a bit more about these polls. I was surprised by the totals for the "Do you have a large vocabulary?" poll, because I answered "No, about average" and found myself in the next-to-lowest category. Meanwhile, the highest category was "Yes, larger than average." I don't think I severely lack a decent vocabulary, but there are so many words out there that I've never even heard of, let alone used. When I look at it in those terms, I don't see how I could reasonably say that I have an "above average" vocabulary.

To go back to what Dave was saying about creative people rating themselves low in creative and artistic ability because they have low self esteem, I'm not so sure about that. I think it's probably just what and who they're comparing themselves to, and where they see their own abilities in that respect. And it probably also depends on their mood that day, or even that minute. I know that I have occasional bursts of brief creativity where I actually (*gasp*) open Photoshop and try to create something. Or I'll open Word or grab a pen and paper in an attempt to capture a fleeting thought or idea. But, for the most part, I don't feel any more creative than the average person, and sometimes I think I'm a lot less creative than the norm, too. I'd probably be prone to answer polls about creativity very differently in those two circumstances, but I don't think it's really a self esteem issue.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I'll be quite interested to see how people answer further polls in the same vein.

Ell"Sometimes insouciantly verbose, usually mildly corybantic"myruh