Try to keep it practical (like something that would not be fairly doable, you just havent gotten around to it…yet)

  • TootSweet@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    9 hours ago

    How to convert various units of measurement. (Including between imperial and metric.)

    2.54 centimeters in an inch. Degrees Fahrenheit is nine fifths of degrees Celsius plus 32. Stuff like that.

  • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
    21·
    16 hours ago

    If you’re involved in any kind of protest, the phone number of a lawyer. Hell, generalize this. Make sure you memorize numbers of at least the first few of your emergency contacts. You never know when you will be separated from your phone.

    • chaosCruiser@futurology.todayEnglish
      5·
      14 hours ago

      You know, you are allowed to cheat in this test. Just write those numbers on your arm with a permanent marker or whatever. Get a fake tattoo, if you want.

  • vaionko@sopuli.xyz
    6·
    12 hours ago

    Converting between hexadecimal and binary. It’s not that hard and it would’ve been useful many times, but I still haven’t memorised it

    • TootSweet@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      9 hours ago

      If your a software engineer, memorizing an ASCII table (particularly the hex numbers of each character code) is definitely helpful. If for no other reason than so that you can read things that are randomly written in binary without having to consult a table.

      Something not really otherwise terribly useful that nonetheless helped me keep my sanity: learn how to convert to base64 in your head. At work, we had really boring 8-hours-a-day training for a couple of weeks. To pass the time, I came up with random strings to base64 encode in my head. “Hat is 48 61 7a. The first six bits are 010010 which in base64 is an S. The next six bits would be 000110 which in base64 is G.” Etc. I’d write down the base64 strings character by character as I derived them and then check my results for errors when I got back to my desk.

      • CarrotsHaveEars@lemmy.ml
        2·
        11 hours ago

        It’s not something you try to recite. You just do it so many times you became too good at it to look at the table.

        Four bits can represent up to 15, from 0000 to 1111. Correspondingly, 0 to F in hex.

        Binary from right to left is 1, 2, 4, 8.

        One byte is eight bits. It takes eight digit places.
        XXXX XXXX

        0000 0000 to 1111 1111
        00 to FF
        0 to 255

      • tuck182@lemmy.world
        3·
        13 hours ago

        The important thing is not to complete the circuit near a battery, since it can cause sparks which can ignite the flammable vapors that batteries tend to emit when discharging. This is especially important near the dead battery, which has potentially been discharging quite a lot recently.

        So the usual sequence is:

        1. Dead positive
        2. Live positive
        3. Live negative
        4. Dead ground (to the metal chassis, ideally not right next to the battery)

        I usually start by clipping the dead negative wire to something non-conductive to keep it out of the way and then move it to ground as the last step.

  • Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    6·
    13 hours ago

    The general knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and sentence structure of the language families/subgroups, in order to better grasp a basic understanding of a common language when I encounter it, and be more respective - for example knowing when to use -kun, Fraulein, señora, and courteous actions native to the locale

    • bob_lemon@feddit.org
      7·
      13 hours ago

      knowing when to use […] Fräulein

      That’s an easy one: never.

      It’s outdated and no longer used as a title. And mildly derogatory as a standalone word.

      At least in Germany. Not sure about Austria or Switzerland, tbh, they might well be more traditional about it.

  • Mighty@lemmy.world
    11·
    16 hours ago

    Basically any song on guitar that I like. I can sing the entire song back to front, but I can’t for the life of me remember the chord sequences. And I’ve been playing for many years.

    • sopularity_fax@sopuli.xyzOP
      23·
      12 hours ago

      Do Germans care a ton if you get the wrong article? That must be a common thjng for even native speakers to get the article wrong on millions of individual words

      • Knossos@lemmy.world
        1·
        6 hours ago

        They learn the article with the word. So they never really have a problem. The biggest problem is that the article is necessary to know how other words need to be written.

        Also, in English you can have one word that is written the same but can be the name of two entirely different things. We use the context of the sentence to determine which word is actually intended. Germans know through different articles, which word is intended.

        • Knossos@lemmy.world
          1·
          6 hours ago

          Also no German really gets upset by it if you get it wrong. They know that German is complicated in that regard. They are usually just happy that you are trying.

          The only person that has ever said anything at all about it, is a colleague that I asked to correct me. It helps with the learning process.