lionesss
Veteran
Joined: 21 Aug 2008
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,305
Location: not anywhere near you
08 Dec 2008, 10:36 pm
08 Dec 2008, 11:00 pm
Teddy
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 6 Dec 2008
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Way too close to Antarctica
08 Dec 2008, 11:30 pm
09 Dec 2008, 12:28 am
09 Dec 2008, 8:02 am
slowmutant wrote:
It's a little-known fact ...
... that cows were domesticated in Mesopotamia and were also used in China as guard animals for the forbidden city.
... that cows were domesticated in Mesopotamia and were also used in China as guard animals for the forbidden city.
Where is Mesopotamia? Sorry I am a bit NT
Just kidding (about Mesopotamia). Cows as guard animals, wow. Who would have thought that! And then they discovered dogs
I am not meaning to be smart-a**, I really liked all your posts in this string. They are cool!
Unfortunately one does get a feel of "NT hate" from WP sometimes (though I still think WP rocks and people here are lovely).
To the original post author - Not all NTs are stupid or lacking in a desire to learn. Some actually quite enjoy learning from others, cuts all the hard work!
They don't feel stupid but blessed to be around people who are knowledgeable. Okay, I am not saying that reflects the whole NT population!
09 Dec 2008, 8:11 am
Jwa wrote:
slowmutant wrote:
It's a little-known fact ...
... that cows were domesticated in Mesopotamia and were also used in China as guard animals for the forbidden city.
... that cows were domesticated in Mesopotamia and were also used in China as guard animals for the forbidden city.
Where is Mesopotamia? Sorry I am a bit NT
Just kidding (about Mesopotamia). Cows as guard animals, wow. Who would have thought that! And then they discovered dogs I am not meaning to be smart-a**, I really liked all your posts in this string. They are cool!
Unfortunately one does get a feel of "NT hate" from WP sometimes (though I still think WP rocks and people here are lovely).
To the original post author - Not all NTs are stupid or lacking in a desire to learn. Some actually quite enjoy learning from others, cuts all the hard work!
They don't feel stupid but blessed to be around people who are knowledgeable. Okay, I am not saying that reflects the whole NT population! And I thought I was the only one! You make me feel a lot better about myself, Jwa. It's so validating to have at least one person echo your sentiments.
09 Dec 2008, 11:48 am
ephemerella wrote:
I think that a lot of normal people don't know how to interpret the "special interest" that Asperger people have. So they think it's weird. They can't relate to being that absorbed in something that is not social. Their minds are not as unbounded in certain directions as AS peoples' are in their area of interest. So if your special interest is cats or space exploration, you will kind of blow them away and confuse them if you start unloading on them.
In my experience, you don't have to unload very much onto them at all for them to think it's weird.
It seems as if, if you provide any information at all on a subject beyond what can be gleaned from the very shallowest awareness of it, you're blinding them with science.
I may be fortunate in that my obsessions frequently center around TV shows or movies, which are, in general, socially acceptable topics. However, I've discovered very quickly that even when the topic is socially acceptable as a whole, there's still a socially unacceptable way to discuss it. For instance, you are not permitted to be interested in anything remotely obscure without it being weird. Only the most mainstream entertainment is acceptable. You are not permitted to analyze the plot/characters/etc. You are not permitted to know anything about the cast beyond that which appears in the average gossip rag - and if it's a cast member that's not well-known, you're not permitted to know anything about them.
09 Dec 2008, 11:53 am
Chimchar wrote:
I sort of mean, you know how cats meow in different ways so you know what they're saying? When a cat meows and someone wonders what the cat's saying, and you come out of nowhere, and tell her that the cat's caterwauling. (I want sex)
Cool, how do you find out what all the meows mean? I'm interested now!
09 Dec 2008, 12:27 pm
For me, the most annoying thing about special interests is that when I'm not interested in learning any more about a subject (although I'm interested in remembering it), I forget half of it
09 Dec 2008, 1:35 pm
pandd wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
Yes and then they wonder why they can never get in contact with me again. The worst thing about having an obsession with meerkats is being asked if I like Meerkat Manor. NO! 
I hate Meerkat Manor, it was inane beyond description. It's hard to imagine making a wild-life footage documentary about meerkats bad, but somehow the makers of Meerkat Manor manged it.
I hate it too. What's going on there in terms of giving animals human characteristic which they do not have (basically making it up to entertain NTs) is called anthropomorphism. Disney makes a killing at it, and I was upset that Animal Planet sold out in this case, although I like a lot of their other programs. Personally, the REAL facts of the animal world are fascinating to me.
09 Dec 2008, 2:06 pm
Hovis wrote:
ephemerella wrote:
I think that a lot of normal people don't know how to interpret the "special interest" that Asperger people have. So they think it's weird. They can't relate to being that absorbed in something that is not social. Their minds are not as unbounded in certain directions as AS peoples' are in their area of interest. So if your special interest is cats or space exploration, you will kind of blow them away and confuse them if you start unloading on them.
In my experience, you don't have to unload very much onto them at all for them to think it's weird.
It seems as if, if you provide any information at all on a subject beyond what can be gleaned from the very shallowest awareness of it, you're blinding them with science. I may be fortunate in that my obsessions frequently center around TV shows or movies, which are, in general, socially acceptable topics. However, I've discovered very quickly that even when the topic is socially acceptable as a whole, there's still a socially unacceptable way to discuss it. For instance, you are not permitted to be interested in anything remotely obscure without it being weird. Only the most mainstream entertainment is acceptable. You are not permitted to analyze the plot/characters/etc. You are not permitted to know anything about the cast beyond that which appears in the average gossip rag - and if it's a cast member that's not well-known, you're not permitted to know anything about them.
Thanks for sharing that advice. It's good to think about it in that way. Makes it easier to visualize/anticipate what to talk about and what not to talk about: learn what is "permitted to know" about the aspects of your special interests, and then only talk about the socially acceptable "ways to know" various topics of that special interest. Once you kind of map that out, it becomes easier to avoid talking "inappropriately" about it.
That is great advice! Thank you!
Moop
Velociraptor
Joined: 3 Dec 2008
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 466
Location: Right here! Ya! Right behind the monitors glass! Get me out of here!
09 Dec 2008, 3:28 pm
09 Dec 2008, 4:07 pm
09 Dec 2008, 4:10 pm
Hovis wrote:
It's incredibly easy to be inappropriate, isn't it? Most NTs - with, I think, the sole exception of NT women when talking about relationships - simply don't want to engage in what I would describe as a proper discussion, only vague chit-chat. There have been multiple times in my life when I've heard a subject raised that I find somewhat intereresting, and, hopeful, tried to begin a discussion about it, only to see the other people's eyes glazing over after a few sentences. They just don't want to know. I like analyzing and debating things, but it's hard to find people who I can talk to. Whatever the topic, something about the way I talk about it is wrong somehow.
LOL. You are an AS who has "An Investigative Mind".
09 Dec 2008, 4:17 pm
09 Dec 2008, 6:06 pm
Well, seeing Hovis' replies, I now understand some things.
I suppose this is the reason why some see me as aloof and uncommunicative. Why on earth would I WANT to engage in such banal and worthless conversations? The rules are; that nothing worthwhile be discussed, nor that discussions have any depth. If those are the rules, it's no wonder that I reject them and hold to my own standards.
It's like living in a world entirely populated by 11 year olds.
Think I've just given up on conversation. Period.
Except with other aspies.
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