Special Interest Question.

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My two main special interests I tend to specialize in certain aspects of them. For example, with my secondary special interest which is bicycles (Cycles as it includes tandems, trikes, HPV's etc)... Now ask me something about people, like famous cyclists, and you probably know more then I do. But ask me about the bikes themselves like the mechanical aspects and riding them, and those areas that I love, and I can go i to depth.
It is the same with my primary special interest, though I am a bit more knowledgeable about people in that I have a knowledge of designers etc. But ask me about model railways, or about the real ones... How they are run and how they work etc... Especially model railways... But the more traditional aspects and I am in my element.

For some reason though, referring to both my special interests, I tend to specialize within them so within the special area I will have a great knowledge... But expand outside of that area and while I have a rough knowledge... But I do't seem to know any more then anyone else? Is this normal as I was told that for it to be a special interest one has to know everything?

It is like my knowledge is at a great depth in a specific area but is at a shallow depth outside of that area within the same hobby? So is this a special interest? Is this how others who are on the spectrum are like within their special interests? (I am not assessed yet).

Any thoughts?

Ooh. Anyone who knows me... Do you find my knowledge within my special interests deep or shallow?

I am trying to fathom things out and what the term "Special interest" differs from the term ""Hobby" etc.

You sound like an academic! I think anyone who delves deeply enough into a topic will inevitably discover the bounds of what they know and understand. What you are describing sounds like the crisis of nearly every PhD student I've ever met. "to know an awful lot about an awful little" as they say.

Anyway, I think there is nothing wrong with having great depth but narrow breadth in terms of your special interests. To some extent, that is the fast-track to the edge of human knowledge on a topic.

I can see exactly where you're coming from Mountain, I can be a little encyclopaedic on some subjects and know little about others because they are of no interest to me!

This often manifests in surprised looks because many times these are popular subjects today.

I think I have the same sort of thing. For example, I used to be obsessed with The X-Files, but I know next to nothing about the actors in it, and also never went error-hunting (both of which were the only things my therapist asked me about when I mentioned that I love the show, started with who had appeared in it, then asked if I knew all the little errors like one time having the wrong initials for a file with x-ray results or something - made me feel pretty stupid, because I know very little about those things, really just the names of the actors who play Scully and Mulder and that’s about it). I can give a synopsis of every episode, used to have the order memorized, and can tell you all about every “monster”/bad guy” but know very little trivia-type stuff.

It is strange in that I have a poor general knowledge but in the realms of what I do know and like I can go deep.... Far deeper then most ever touch... But ask me outside of this area and I could be completely lost!

It comes as a surprize to some that my general knowledge is not too great.

I am quite similar with my languages. I only really know English. Attempts to learn Wrlsh and French failed. I can remember a few single words in Welsh, but to make these words into a sentence... Haha! It does not work.
But my English, which is my only real earthly language is somewhat limited to simpler words. Many times words that everyone assumes I should know I have to ask what it means or look it up. It is odd as it is the language I speak in.
But the words I do use which tend to be simpler words in general, I can use in ways that make me come across as having a great grasp of the English language which I have not. Well. Not outside the words I use if that makes sense?

Uhmmm. You have me thinking about another subject entirely. Time to start another thread!

It sounds like me. I only have a certain subset of knowledge about anything. Often, on my "own ground," I know details that few others would know, perhaps in some cases nobody else knows some of the things I know. I suppose the phrase for it is "highly specialised." There simply wouldn't be time to learn a broad subject in the depth that I would feel compelled to learn it. It's probably why I so often find myself shutting off my attention from a lot of things that I see - everything is a potential can of worms, so I have no choice but to screen out most of it.

Theoretically there's nothing that I would consistently for my entire life refuse to take on board, it's just that I only have time for so much. That might explain why I don't easily recognise myself in the "restricted, circumscribed special interests" description so often assigned to ASD. It's like that in a way, but it doesn't seem like it because my interests are fairly varied and versatile. Ultimately I suppose somebody with ASD can choose to specialise in just one or two subjects for their whole lives, or they might flip around more, as I do, but at the root of both is sticky-brained hyperfocus and perfectionism. The brain wiring is the same, it's just what the individual does with it that's different.

I guess the neurotypical brain has half an eye on most things but never really sees anything as intensely as we do. Kind of like the difference between normal vision and looking through a microscope. When you look through a microscope, although you can see small things very clearly, it's hard to know where those things are on the microscope slide, and you have to zoom out first in order to navigate to the things of interest.

This is the first I have heard you mention bikes, let alone HPVs. Are you really interested? That's a World Champion velomobile I built, shown in my avatar. The special thing about it is the fully integrated frame and suspension, but the child seat and the side door are pretty unusual too.

Yes. It is my secondary special interest, but my area of coverage tends to be more selective? I would like to see your design.
In my older age (I am in the latter half of my 40's) I have become far more selective in what I like and what I don't like within the subject of bicycle mechanics. If anything, it is the mechanical side and how it relates to the practical side of riding them. The strange thing is, I may not be able to tell you the names of specific parts (Usually I can but I have a friend who has bicycles as his primary interest who goes down to part numbers and he is less bothered about mechanics. However, I have seen him walk carrying his mountain bike over the length of a cycle path incase a tiny stone from the duff surface will scratch the paint on the frame. (He is wierd like that. The frame can be rusting through and he may not notice... But if one tiny scratch is found on the paintwork he will be upset.) I don't go to that depth, but how it fits and how to get the most out of that part and then I come to life if that makes sense?)

For me it is primarily about the riding and maintaining them. The mechanics of them. The riding experience.
I am a traditionalist, but I am not closed to modern ideas. I just want them to be practical, easy to fix and long lasting (Durable). I hate the modern trends that are only designed to maximize profits for the manufacturers. Due to the mechanical weaknesses I just do not like carbon fibre. True, it may be stronger from certain angles, but it is alarmingly weak in others. It is a compromize too far in my way of thinking.
If I was wealthy I may just buy one for the experience of owning one, but I have ridden a few and while riding them my brain is not at ease! Performance is good, but it is also good on my 531c racing bikes, and these I can trust. I don't like the compromized mechanics to get carbon fibre bikes to work. To me, to need large bearing surfaces (Which to be honest have been a problem in that I used to get them coming back for services far more often then a steel or aluminium bike (So I am not against trying different materials as I am all for aluminium if done right) which happen to have traditional bearings.
I hate it that the bicycle industry tries to then force the larger less reliable bearings onto the better quality steel and aluminium frames.
I remember when the bicycle industry started pushing aluminium framed mountain bikes like mad. Aluminium had been around for ages before the general bicycle industry started to really get in on the act... But what the did to sell cheaper steel mou tain bikes was to make them look like aluminium by giving them fat tubes... Steel does not need fat tubes. It just makes them heavy, tough to ride and spoils the rider experience of what would have been a nice enough bike to ride had they not done that.

Sorry. I am on a tangent again... Yes. I would love to see your HPV.
I did make one once but just to try out the concept as I had not ridden one and they were soo expensive so I did not get one coming my way as a repair. I could ride it ok. Yes... I had to use the force steer method to help balance it. My young brother could ride it no hands. I can't do that on a traditional diamond framed bike! Never have been able to.
But for me, I could have bought one that was better then my home made one, but I did not get on with the need to use a mirror to look behind me. I can do mirrors on my car, but on a bicycle I don't really get on with them.
I realized how much I appreciated the traditional touring bike and the riding position they give.
Mind you, years ago I did fall in love with the Peer Gynt HPV but I never bought one. Out of my price range. The King Cycle HPV seemed to be nice being 531, but I preferred the concept of the long wheelbased HPV's as they seem more practical.

Now I get it. It is why someone said I am a lot like you. My interests involve bicycles and railways.

An idea I have been considering in my mind is finding a way to make or buy a front fairing for a traditional touring bicycle (Diamond frame) which has the practical value of cutting down wind resistance (Along with lessening the exposure to the weather) without the negative aspect of them being a handful in the wind.
I believe a small fairing just to deflect the airflow that is easy to fit and does not get in the way is the answer.

The Zzipper fairing had room for a handlebar bag, but was not really big enough for most people to tuck in well behind it on descents. Still, it would usually let you shift up one gear, and didn't cause other problems. I have not seen one for many years, though. It was made of vacuum-formed polycarbonate, which scratches easily and is very hard to polish, because it is very tough, fairly strong, but not very rigid.

I treat my special interests in a similar way, where they're relatively specialized. I used to think they were too specific, but then I noticed other people have very narrow special interests so I stopped caring. Video games in general are an SI of mine, but specifically Nintendo games, and then more specifically Zelda games, are what I tend to focus on. I guess biology is another SI, but I'm mainly interested in the anatomy and physical development of organisms.

I have seen that but it is not available in the UK. I have never see a fairing other then on a HPV.
I reacon that it does not need to be that large to make it work.

When I was obsessed with buses, it was only the drivers I was obsessed with. I didn't know anything about the actual vehicles, and I was no good at memorizing bus routes or schedules, and I was not a bus spotter. I just had a fascination with the drivers, some I had a crush on and others I was just obsessed with and wanted to get to know.

When I was 12 I had a special interest with Spanish. I hardly knew anything about the country, but I had an obsession with Spanish people and I so badly wanted to speak Spanish. I done Spanish at school (it was part of the curriculum), but although I was so eager and obsessed, I still had trouble learning the language and I didn't get very good grades. I even bought myself a book and some CDs to help me learn the language at home, but I hardly ever read the book or listened to the CDs because I had a short attention span. Then I lost interest and didn't even like Spanish any more.

International shipping is a common occurence. A small fairing will give a small improvement, if it does not have interference problems. The Zzipper size was a decent compromise for slender riders inclined to tuck in on descents. There was also a full-body fairing for riding in normal touring position. It was worn like a rigid helmet and cape, with only the legs exposed. It was very fast, but prone to overheating.

Streamlining is not always obvious. There was a coarse wire mesh replacement tailgate for pickup trucks, the Ayr Flow which was produced for a year before the company decided to get certified tests to brag about. It was worse than a standard gate either up or down.

Tiny Train Trivia: Canadian rock star Neil Young holds patents on model RR gear.
The MIT model railway club had a huge layout produced by generations of students. Then they learned to use primitive computers to control it and mostly quit building trains, applying computers widely as pioneer hackers.

If I cant get the item here and it is made over there is is an option... But the price to me after import taxes is very likely to be the equivalent to a whole bicycle, so making our own fairing is probably a more viable option, especially as it is just an experiment to see if it has a practical value as an all in concept.
I heard that a small streamlined fairing the size of a small handlebar bag can make a difference. This is what I am considering... Nothing big. Just something small to deflect the wind past the frontal area of my body.