Quote from: RavenMoon on October 07, 2013, 12:34:06 AM
Going back a page I see...

I can spot my basses! I have two 1973 4001s.   I have an SD Curleee here that I'm doing work on (I'm a luthier).

I have too many basses and guitars, and amps... I'm starting to sell some of them to help finance my transition...

Wow, I'm a bass player and luthier as well.  You will pry my '64 P-Bass from my cold, dead hands! 

I didn't realize how many musicians we had around here. 

Quote from: Jill F on October 23, 2013, 04:27:44 PM
Wow, I'm a bass player and luthier as well.  You will pry my '64 P-Bass from my cold, dead hands! 

I didn't realize how many musicians we had around here.

I can't remember where I saw it, but I've read an article previously saying there seemed to be a higher propensity for certain traits amongst trans people, musicianship and programming were on the list of abilities that are present in a higher percentage of trans people than cis peeps.

There maybe nothing to it, but I'm currently figuring out using Swing to create GUI's for java apps (been spoiled by Visual Studio) and play a fair few stringed instruments (guitar, bass, ukulele and even giving banjo a go )

Quote from: Kaylee on October 24, 2013, 12:44:29 AM
I can't remember where I saw it, but I've read an article previously saying there seemed to be a higher propensity for certain traits amongst trans people, musicianship and programming were on the list of abilities that are present in a higher percentage of trans people than cis peeps.

There maybe nothing to it, but I'm currently figuring out using Swing to create GUI's for java apps (been spoiled by Visual Studio) and play a fair few stringed instruments (guitar, bass, ukulele and even giving banjo a go )

Interesting.  I was having conversation with my psychiatrist about this sort of thing.   Apparently we also overrepresented in aviation and art, run left-handed and have more of a propensity for ADD, while running 20+ IQ points above average.  I personally won't even get aboard an aircraft, but the rest applies to me.  My current houseguest is trans and a commercial pilot though, so go figure... 

My counsellor says there's apparently a tendency for many trans people to be involved in geek culture...? That's got me pegged!

I'm a bit of a geek as well--computer nerd, gamer, and artist.

Quote from: Grace_C on October 24, 2013, 03:50:59 AM
My counsellor says there's apparently a tendency for many trans people to be involved in geek culture...? That's got me pegged!

Yeah, I think that it's due to

a)  The escapism factor (taking you away from the real life that you consciously/sub-consciously know it wrong for you)
b)  Geek culture used to be on the outskirts of society, you had a legitimate reason to not "fit in" with people perceived as your peers.
c)  The ability to excel in something while avoiding stereotypical male past times (I don't need to be good at sport when I grok object orientation!) 

Quote from: Alaia on October 24, 2013, 04:47:19 AM
I'm a bit of a geek as well--computer nerd, gamer, and artist.

Same here, my artistic tendencies are outlet through painting figs for wargaming...which just about the geekiest thing ever

I'm a total comic, sci-fi and fantasy geek... 
Escapism has been a major survival technique for me.

I can see us derailing this here thread, any chance a mod can move this conversation to its own thread at all?

The trait list got me. I was a Paramedic/Firefighter, flew a Piper Tomahawk and Cessna 152 and played brass instruments in Drum Corps. It does make one wonder, doesn't it?

Really? Lets see: Left-handed, keyboard & piano player, also dabbled in banjo and b->-bleeped-<-ipes, amateur radio operator, licensed pilot (single engine land), R/C helicopter pilot, entire career in science & technology, micro-electronic designer, 10 years professional programmer (before PCs!), geeky (but hate comic books and games), skin diver, honours student, hi IQ, astronomy, target sports, figure skater, writer, antique machinery (farm & construction) buff & restorer, model builder, photography, used to sing, draw comic strips .... and probably a bunch more than I have forgotten.

Let's see... Programmer (trending towards artistic interests/worldbuilding), nerdy, apparently high IQ (based on that one test I took years ago), ADD tendencies, plastic models... Not a leftie, though.
I'm inclined to think most of this is as a result of ->-bleeped-<-, rather than comorbidities. Escapism and similar.

Quote from: Northern Jane on October 24, 2013, 09:45:12 AM
Really? Lets see: Left-handed, keyboard & piano player, also dabbled in banjo and b->-bleeped-<-ipes, amateur radio operator, licensed pilot (single engine land), R/C helicopter pilot, entire career in science & technology, micro-electronic designer, 10 years professional programmer (before PCs!), geeky (but hate comic books and games), skin diver, honours student, hi IQ, astronomy, target sports, figure skater, writer, antique machinery (farm & construction) buff & restorer, model builder, photography, used to sing, draw comic strips .... and probably a bunch more than I have forgotten.

Daaaamn... it's amazing how much in common we all have.
I've played piano, have my amateur radio license (legacy Advanced license), electrical engineer, programmer, geek, RPG gamer (once upon a time), semi-pro student, individual sports (swimmer), reader & writer, photographer, singer...
and much much more.

I also homebrew (or did before the diet)

This is a interesting topic. I thin it touches on the old debate of nature verses nurture. So let's see how my hobbies ad interests stack up, shall we?
Right handed. (I don't thik this is related to transness.)
My I.Q. as tested I highschool is apparently 139.
I played nearly every sport as a child. Made all-stars I baseball 4 years in a row.
I skateboarded for about 7 years. I had sponsers interested when I stopped.
In highschool I was in the engineering club and art club.
I watch a ton of anime and sci-fi.
Played a to of video games. (Ranked 3rd nationally in quake 3)
First time I went to college I earner a BA in web design with a minor in 3d animation.
Currently employed as an Electricall Designer. Working on my E. Engieerig degree and my industrial drawing degree.
My latest hobby/passion is cooking.

<3 Liv
P.s. sorry for typos, typed this on my phone.

Quote from: Olivia-Anne on October 24, 2013, 10:52:31 AM
This is a interesting topic. I thin it touches on the old debate of nature verses nurture. So let's see how my hobbies ad interests stack up, shall we?

Personally, I think this stuff is 95% nurture, but a nurture that's directly related to being transgender. We don't feel like we fit into normal society, so we gravitate toward fringe activities, geeky things, individual sports, etc.

I have heard that we tend to be more intelligent, on average... so I assume there's at least some nature basis

It doesn't look like any list made it to this new thread, but isn't what was previously aspergers and autism-spectrum neuro-atypicality also higher in trans populations?

I'm a concept artist, cartoonist, worldbuilder and amateur linguist. Long time gamer; as a kid I would invent games and board games and things. Hated team sports with a passion, still do, but I've taken to skin diving and kayaking since my formative years. I do love me some physics and astronomy and most of the -ologies too, but my brain has a really hard time grasping most logic systems. It makes me mostly useless in arguments.

Community organizing and logistics is mostly where my technical side shines when it comes to practical matters.

Hrm... I play sax, dabble in painting and drawing, am a systems architect (can program on at least seven different computing platforms from mainframes to cellphones in at least 25 different languages), love fantasy/sci fi, have been told I'm extremely intelligent (and looking around at others of my "peers" at least where I live, I'm apt to believe it), tinker with electronics, love puzzles...

I am right handed, though. 

It has been said that "Genius makes its own rules".  Perhaps nature plays a role here.  It would be far easier to take orders from society and fit into our slots, however uncomfortably.  Perhaps there are many more transgendered people in all areas of society, but many lack the imagination or ability to see themselves as something other than society dictates?

That doesn't mean that trans people are better or more creative than non-trans... it just means that those few who actually identify as trans and are willing to work against society to transition have additional assets that help them to do so.

Maybe as society becomes more tolerant and information becomes more widely available, people will come out of the woodwork and the trans community (and societal acceptance) will increase proportionately.

Dare to dream. 

Quote from: Jill F on October 24, 2013, 02:07:32 AMApparently we also overrepresented in aviation and art, run left-handed and have more of a propensity for ADD, while running 20+ IQ points above average.  I personally won't even get aboard an aircraft, but the rest applies to me.  My current houseguest is trans and a commercial pilot though, so go figure...

Interesting. I have had an obsession with aviation since I was young, love art (but sadly cannot make it,) am mixed handed, being tested for ADHD (not covered by my insurance so it'll cost me upwards of$500, which I don't have) and have A high IQ, although I feel like a blundering idiot most times. I'm an awful musician though.

Quote from: Kaylee on October 24, 2013, 12:44:29 AM
There maybe nothing to it, but I'm currently figuring out using Swing to create GUI's for java apps (been spoiled by Visual Studio) and play a fair few stringed instruments (guitar, bass, ukulele and even giving banjo a go )

I just wrote a computer program in Ruby that plays every pitch in a scale of an arbitrary number of notes. My favorite hobbies in general are programming, watching anime, and fighting/music games. I have an IQ of between 150 and 160 (depending on which test you believe). But I am right handed. I agree that being transgendered tends to lead toward building a life around escapism. If you hate being yourself, you're going to look for anything you can do that allows you to live outside of that identity. Additionally, hating who you are has a way of giving you an inferiority complex, which can make you hypercompetetive about everything you do.

A lot of the stuff in the list is correlated on its own with a high IQ, transgender or not: left handedness, tech jobs, aviation jobs, musical training, ADD, etc.

Quote from: <3 on October 24, 2013, 12:22:40 PM
A lot of the stuff in the list is correlated on its own with a high IQ, transgender or not: left handedness, tech jobs, aviation jobs, musical training, ADD, etc.

...which makes a lot of sense. We all know (I hope) that being transgender doesn't directly affect your interests.

so if trans* is correlated with high IQ and social withdrawal... pretty much everything else falls into place.