Skills: Which are worth developing?

First of all, check this guy out. 

Whether this is your first time seeing these videos or not, there may be two possible reactions: One being the "Holy-crap-how-does-he-do-that?" amazed reaction, or the "Cool-but-how-is-that-helpful-in-everyday-life?" cynical reaction. Personally, I'm with the former but then the viewpoint of the latter intrigues me. I remember seeing a comment in one of those videos (I forgot which) wherein it says something about they're not really worthy skills if doesn't help you earn money. Okay, so maybe playing with physics alone using everyday stuff with a cameraman doesn't really look that good and impressive if you put it on paper. "It's cool to look at, but it's not very helpful, is it?"


Which leads me to ask this: How do you determine a skill's worth?





Skills are the abilities that we have in a certain field. They make up a part of who we are. It is because of these skills that people excel in their expertise. It's a natural weapon for us to survive in this developing world. A person will be remembered for what he has done using his/her skills. It's because of his writing skills that we know who Jose Rizal is. It's because of his musical skills that we (or, at least, some of us) know who Slash is.


So, what about a skill's worth? With something common like writing, painting, composing, etc., it's obvious in which field one would excel at or what will one become in the future. You can tell which profession that person would most likely take. What about the example in the video above? People don't normally drop down 10 feet to the ground to put on a pair of shorts. Nor is it everyday behavior to do backflips down ledges and stairs. And running around, jumping across benches while juggling three rectangular boxes isn't normal either. If you compare the former examples (the common skills) and this ridiculous example, what would you consider to be more valuable? 


Are skills weighed by their frequency of usage? Let's say you had the skills I mentioned, both the common and abnormal. Obviously, you'll get to use the common skills more often. But does that mean the other skill is any less than the common?


Are skills weighed by their possible contribution to the industry? As in the above statement, let's say you still had the power to write, paint, compose, etc. and the power to run 3 steps up a wall and back flip. In a country such as ours, where talent is desperately needed, I'd say you'll need those talents and skills of yours. You can be a script-writer/design team head/composer/stunt double. Now who wouldn't want that?


Even as I'm writing this down, I don't think I have the answer to the question I raised. I'm starting to wonder why I even asked it. As for me, I think that if it serves to give the people a refreshing perspective on something to appreciate, something to move forward our world with, it's a skill of value and worth.








On a totally unrelated topic, I'm thinking of music reviews as possible entries for this blog next time. What do you guys think?