UPDATE: Symbols and an Alternative Strategy

[Cole Wyeth]

Hi everyone,

A couple big updates this time.

First, I strongly recommend checking out https://www.reddit.com/r/Symbology/ and particularly the page on frequently sough symbols. There's so much content here that I won't attempt to port it all to the Master List (except perhaps some particularly neat symbols I see in real life).

Second, I recently ran a meetup with about 22 people attempting to infer things about each other, which let me stress test the Master List. A lot of standard things worked, but some didn't - for instance, weight lifters may develop calluses on their hands, but a lack of obvious calluses does not mean some one doesn't lift weights! More importantly, I was outperformed (subjectively) by at least one person, of the type I'd expect to be good at this (I, uh, would describe her as a little witchy). Her strategy was to compare people to the closest person she knew. I think this is quite neat (reminiscent of the few-shot learning algorithm k-Nearest Neighbors), and it suggests that the best way to develop Sherlock-like skills might be to collect data by meeting a lot of people and learning about them (not just collecting details like I do in this list, which is more similar to feature engineering).

With that in mind, here are a few new entries:

Scar on Inside of Elbow -> Blood Donor (or addict)

Source: A lab tech I talked to

Confidence: Mid-High

Relevant Background: https://www.reddit.com/r/Blooddonors/comments/16zcj4q/questions_about_scarring/

The lab tech I discussed this with described the scarring as "half moon." Most of the pictures I can find seem to have scars located on the crook of the elbow specifically, which makes sense.

Braces -> Cerebral Palsy

Source: @rationalelf

Confidence: Mid-High

Relevant Background: https://primecareprosthetics.com/blog/orthotics-for-cerebral-palsy-everything-you-need-to-know

Of course, this type of brace (orthotics) should be distinguished from casts etc. Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition and is frequently (though not usually) accompanied by intellectual disability.

Mesh Heels -> Dancer

Source: Amanda

Confidence: Mid

Relevant Background: https://burjushoes.com/products/sierra?variant=48667908964662

According to my friend Amanda (who dances pretty competitively) this type of shoe is popular for a style of dance called "heels," and is sometimes worn walking around. She hasn't seen it on anyone who doesn't dance.

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think?

-Cole