There are characteristics that can only be seen with a microscope.
A characteristic is a quality that allows you to identify something or someone, distinguishing it from its peers. These may be issues linked to temperament, personality or the symbolic, but also to physical appearance. For example: “The police released the characteristics of the attacker to alert the population,” “I have already asked the supplier to inform me about the characteristics of the new machine,” “This device includes a special feature: it turns off when heated.” ” .
Characteristics, therefore, make the character unique and specific to a living being or thing. To say that a man is tall, dark-skinned, talkative, friendly and respectful is to list his personal characteristics.
It should be noted that certain characteristics are subjective. In the previous example, the subject's sympathy may not be such for a certain person. Height, on the other hand, is a relative data: if we leave aside the metric value, each person judges the height of others based on their own, which is why the same individual can be considered tall and short, depending on who observes them. .
Characteristics of humans and animals
Although human beings share traits with the rest of the animals, if we talk about the characteristics that identify a dog, for example, it is correct to point out that they walk on their four legs, which have a body covered with hair (in such a way that They do not need artificial shelter to withstand the cold) and their sense of smell allows them to identify odors at great distances and with great precision.
Seen from the perspective of today's human being, the rest of the animals are usually characterized by having better senses, more physical strength (and willpower, in most cases), more dexterity and great compassion. Throughout our evolution , we have become increasingly less able to survive in the midst of nature without artificial tools and accessories; Although an extreme situation can force us to draw strength that we thought we did not have, at first glance we do not have what it takes to face daily life in the jungle or a forest.
Having a highly developed sense of smell is a characteristic of the dog.
For every athlete who dazzles us with his somersaults, for every figure skater who spins four times in the air after having propelled himself off the ice with boots whose base is a blade, for every footballer capable of standing and doing a intense use of their muscles for dozens of minutes, there are thousands, millions of people who drag their briefcase from home to the office and who cannot cope with their back pain, who cannot move around freely without their glasses and who eat so poorly. who suffer overweight or are below their recommended weight .
In summary, a characteristic that distinguishes us from other species is that we do not usually take advantage of our potential, neither physical nor mental; Based on the examples in the previous paragraph, it is not normal for us all to be athletes, but rather for us to admire the few who exploit their skills at that level.
The notion in telephony and role-playing games
In some Latin American countries, the characteristic is the prefix of a telephone : “I am trying to call Carlos but a recording informs me that the characteristic is incorrect” , “If the number he gave you has the characteristic 238, it is in the neighborhood of Loma Verde” .
In a role-playing game , finally, the characteristics are the properties that define the characters that participate in the game , whether physical or psychological. Some of the most common are strength, speed, intelligence, size and willpower. It is worth mentioning that both the characters controlled by the players and the others must be described using these properties, so that a phenomenon that affects the flow of the story can emerge from their interaction with the environment and with the other characters.