When no one cares about your special interest...

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Do any of you guys ever feel like no one else cares about your special interest. I've felt really alone lately... I know all these great things about science and math and no one else seems to know about them, or care. I'm well aware that there are many on this site who like things like that but I don't know anyone IRL, so I can't have a conversation back-and-forth with someone about, say, the fate of string theory. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this?

Well, I learned to avoid talking about my special interests altogether, unless someone else brought the subject up, or it's with a friend who shares the same interest as me. But I still keep it pretty minimal. But that's what I had to so to stop annoying the s*** out of people.

So, what I'm saying is, if people aren't interested, they aren't interested. If you don't find someone with the same interests as you, then maybe you could start a pen pal sort of thing with someone on this forum? Just a thought.

I had this problem for a long time as well. Personally I recommend either finding (or starting!) an interest group either at your place of education, or in your local area.

I didn't find anyone to talk to about my special interest (not that it stopped me) until I went to University to study it and, even now there are some on my course who aren't that interested. If it's something you're *really* interested in depending on your location (US or UK) you could consider community college class in it, or an Open Uni option in it.

Even though my interests are not very uncommon (drawing, mythology and fantasy gengre stuff) I seldom get to discuss it in detail before people think I am treating them like they are dumb getting bored etc. I find silent enjoyment is less painful.

I keep my computing special interest to myself and only come out with it when its needed like helping in a job, or attempting to teach someone who wants to know. Heh... I do often overwhelm NT's with vast knowledge-banks

I don't know anyone in my personal life that cares about my special interest either. I find I really have to restrain myself not to spam the forums about it sometimes lol, any time I see a topic remotely related to it I can't help but jump in! I personally think that online is a great way to connect with people on stuff like that, since outside of the internet it can be pretty difficult to find many people whose interests involve more than football and reality TV.

I understand this feeling very well.

Thanks for all the advice, guys . The Internet: the best gift mankind has ever received!! !
I think, if not for the internet, I'd be dead by now.

If you're really 13, I doubt you know anything about String Theory.. lol
But anyway, I have the same problem.
My interests vary from Math and Science to Psychology and Philosophy, but there's still not many people around to talk to on a level that's "up to speed".

Thanks for the suggestion--as a matter of fact I'm already doing that to some extent. I'm learning some calculus from khan academy.

I don't talk about mine. People think I'm odd enough as it is, without me going on about genetics in great detail.

On the other hand, I can't seem to talk about what was on TV the other night because it was a load of rubbish and I didn't watch it!

Khan academy won't teach you enough mathematics for String Theory, nor any Physics that has been developed since Einstein's relativity.

As for noticing that other people think you have to be a genius to understand 'such and such', this is the new cultural paradigm. We entertain people with absolutely retarding programming through the television and media, and make 'experts' or 'scientists' seem like super-human geniuses.
When in reality, most so-called 'experts' you hear about on the news are complete idiots. The only intelligent thing they did was learn what came before them and used the tools they were trained to use. I think monkeys can use a screwdriver.

Studies show that <such and such> makes you overweight and more likely to die? No s**t, thanks captain obvious. That first year statistics class must have been hard.

Anyway, if you're going to learn anything worthwhile, you need to study things that the school doesn't teach you. Schools are not designed to cater to smart kids, curious kids: Schools are designed to manufacture workers.
Khan academy is only a way of speeding up the curriculum, you're not learning anything different. Go out of your comfort zone, read some philosophy. Quantum Physics and beyond are extremely philosophically loaded.
Here's a pretty good documentary on the philosophies and implications of the "new physics" I found recently: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/beyond-reason/

So, basically what I'm saying is that your education is in your hands. Even in University, the classes are designed the same way as high school: Student #58472 and Student #13844 must learn the same things, so they can do job #587.
The best part about a university is the library, and the professors who actually want to teach people (outside of the classroom).

Good luck kid. You sound like me when I was younger. I would personally mentor you if you lived nearby heh

Edit:
When you're a little further along, the book "Shape of Inner Space" is a great introduction to the mathematics of String Theory (specifically Calabi-Yau manifolds - the 7 dimensional collapsible manifold which adds the extra dimensions to the theory) which doesn't get *too* technically complicated.
http://www.shapeofinnerspace.com/

Brian Greene's work is also for the laymen audience, I haven't read any of it but I've heard decent things. http://www.briangreene.org/?page_id=7

There are also many things to consider on a philosophical level. Many geniuses of the past trained their minds using Vedanta (Huxley, Tesla, Einstein, Oppenheimer, Schrodinger, President Adams etc.), and I've found many similar philosophies to be useful. I've already written an entire post about it here;
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postp5293967.html#5293967