Is there such a thing as 'too far'?
Hey there people of wrong planet
Okay, brief background:
When I was a toddler, my parents debated seeing if a doctor would diagnose me with autism. They'd done some reading up on the condition, and realised I fit the stereotype (walking on my toes, not making eye contact, not speaking unless i had to, head banging etc) but they decided not to see a doctor because, after enrolling me in a toddler group, they realised i learnt very fast, and I was able to mimic the actions of the other children well enough to pass for normal. I also managed to teach myself to count, read and write before primary school, so they dismissed any issues they might have had. Also, my brother was born, which diverted a lot of attention.
As I was growing up, I lived a very sheltered life, only really interacting with my best friend/dad, and not going out much. My parents didnt worry, because i was on gifted and talented, and I fit in well enough (I didnt have any close friends, but I got along with everyone because I could mimic their actions and mannerisms, though i couldn't understand them).
When I was 9, my parents divorced. I was very upset and withdrew into myself, only coming out when I was with my dad. Relations between myself and my mother plummeted.
A year later, when I was 10, my dad died of cancer. I stayed in my bedroom, not going to school and refusing to talk to anyone, for two months. I dont remember much of that two months, but afterwards, I was very depressed. The next time I went to school, it was to say goodbye to everyone I knew to go to a secondary school (bad timing). I was very depressed/self harming for two years, until last summer when I started meditating and effectively rewired myself.
I now know who I am, and, after a little metacognition, I realised I was an aspie (tests have confirmed this, I have an AQ of 48 and an IQ of 163, though I sill cant be bothered to get a professional diagnosis - i'm not a big fan of doctors/attention/being examined etc).
Right, onto the actual point of this, when I figured out who I was, I started paying attention to my special interests (there are 7 areas of study i LOVE, but my special interests are questions and links), and trying to gain as much knowledge about ANYTHING that I could. This means that I have spent the past 6 months asking questions to my teachers about anything and everything (I have been informed on numerous occasions that I am very annoying), but now a lot of my classmates and friends (I HAVE FRIENDS, AND THEY ARE AWESOME ) have been telling me that I have been going to far and I should stop asking questions. I'm wondering if there is such thing as 'too far', and whether I should stop after all. I have no idea what social boundries exist, and what happens when I cross them, so any information regarding what are and aren't good conversation topics, and how to tell when I've gone 'too far' - if there even is a too far - would be very much appreciated.
You have classmates. Somebody will tell you if you go too far.
You have friends. Some of then might tell you if you are about to go too far.
Until you have more feel for it - you can learn, kind of - you could go to the most likely of your friends and ask for help - signal me by douing X if I am getting into trouble. A friend might do that.
I'll try and keep this as short as possible.
Yes, divert a little time into finding other sources for the information you need and try to be patient.
I know how you feel though I have always been the same, and I have a recent example that might help you save time learning a lesson.
For the last few months I have been trying to get out and about, so I've been trying to find things of interest that I would like to go and see.
I had read an article in the paper about a bridge collapsing in my city and the lorry landing in the canal, which took me back to a conversation I had with a friend once whilst walking down that canal, it was about the ability to analyse and assess the possible futures.
It sounds silly I know but I used one of the bridges to demonstrate to him what I meant, the conversation took around an hour because I couldn't communicate my meaning easily to him (which was a simple, if the bridge looks like it's going to fall down, and you can see that it's going to fall down, it does not make you a fortune teller for saying that it's going to fall down, it just says that the bridges future was predictable).
I used the bridges as an example, and more to the point the cracks in the brickwork and mortar and the rusty old bracket used to strengthen the structure.
I was trying to explain to him that this bridge was in an industrial estate and the lorries can weigh tons which is why the bridge is cracking, and that at some point someone saw fit to brace it a little, but the brace is now rust and the bridge will sooner or later collapse, this conversation took place approximately four years before the event.
Anyway, I wanted to find the new bridge, and take a look at another one of the old bridges that was suffering to see if there had been any changes.
I did find a new bridge which I suspected to be the one that fell down but could not be sure, I don't have the original article I read and cannot remember the date I read it on.
So I walked around the industrial estate with my friend and asked the local business folk if they knew anything about the story of a lorry falling into the canal.
I must have asked around 5 maybe 6 people, and my friend was starting the stress about it, so I had to stop and think of another way to find the info.
From previous experiences I know it would mean sitting in the library for hours searching through index's of old papers, and the search engine in libraries is you.
So I've had to let the matter drop.
Is there a too far?
Probably not for you but it will be for others, consider it a blessing they are willing to tell you when you are going too far.
So much for keeping it short huh.
But on the bright side, I'm still here, present on this forum like you are, and still learning away to this day.
Last edited by Digsy on 21 Feb 2011, 9:57 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Yes, you can definitely ask too many questions and become annoying. If you ask more than one or two questions in a class or lecture, you are probably monopolizing the conversation. Try writing down your questions and saving them for office hours/email with your professors.
You might try utilizing "ask an expert" type web sites, like Yahoo! Answers, where you can post questions and get answers from people who enjoy sharing their knowledge. Also, you might enjoy a documentary series called "Connections" hosted by James Burke--all the episodes are available online.



The internet was a complete godsend to me. Hallelujah! An inexhaustible question answering machine.
_________________
Not currently a moderator
I do this too.
Eventually my boyfriend is like 'okay, shush now, before i have to kill you.'

I do it, but my NT husband does it too. I tell him I didn't marry him to listen to him talk.
He infers from this that he is extremely good looking

_________________
"Aspie: 65/200
NT: 155/200
You are very likely neurotypical"
Changed score with attention to health. Still have AS traits and also some difficulties.
I do this too.
Eventually my boyfriend is like 'okay, shush now, before i have to kill you.'

I do it, but my NT husband does it too. I tell him I didn't marry him to listen to him talk.
He infers from this that he is extremely good looking

I tell my boyfriend that the only way to shut me up is to kiss me.

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