Is your general knowledge limited?

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Due to only thinking about obsessions almost constantly, do you find you lack general knowledge about what is going on around you, current world affairs, everyday kinda stuff?

I certainly do. I mean I read the paper and watch the news but I forget about 90% of the stuff the next day. And even if I do remember it I find it hard to form an opinion on it when someone asks.

This makes me come across as stupid to other people and I can sense that they think that. I think in a way I am stupid that way, one of the many disadvantages of being an aspie I guess.

Was just wondering if this is common among aspies? I mean alot of people here come across as intelligent and knowledgable.

I can totally relate to what you wrote. I watch the news and read the papers but just like you I forget about it unless it's something huge. I find that in social situations when big topics are being discussed (politics, religion etc.) and I happen to be there... Well, I have nothing to say. Nothing clever anyway. I simply have no interest for such things. I can only talk in depth about the few things I'm truly interested in. So to answer your question: Yes, I have an enormous lack of knowledge.

No idea if this is common.

Indeed, many here seem to have a really wide range of knowledge.

I usually lack general knowledge, not because of forgetting but because I'm not interested in acquiring it. I never watch the news on TV, I skip political articles in the newspaper, I don't regularly talk with the kind of people who like to discuss current affairs (either local or world). And I'm usually busy with my obsessive interests anyways.

When other people bring up these subjects and discover that I'm ignorant as well as bored, I find that they don't find me stupid so much as weird or unpatriotic. I guess it depends on what significance current affairs have for the people who ask you about them. The fact that they brought up the subject suggests that they'll be disappointed if you don't reciprocate, but that's nothing to do with you. It's all about the expectations they brought to the conversation.
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"Not everything that steps out of line, and thus 'abnormal', must necessarily be 'inferior'."
Hans Asperger

My interests are generally linked to events in history and current events. I would say my social knowledge is probably impaired, but not my general knowledge or specific subject knowledge.

Everyone's knowledge(at any level) is limited! MOST people forget a LOT of stuff. Still, I think people with AS ARE supposed to seem very intelligent. A coworker seems to think I am the smartest person on the planet. She says I must use 100% of my brain because I am so smart. She ACTUALLY says that! And she says she is NOT being sarcastic! I don't know HOW she gets that idea. She KNOWS I don't know everything, and I don't profess to. I keep telling her I am NOT the smartest person, and she should have more self confidence, but OH WELL...

All I can say is try working on your weak areas where you think you look STUPID, and emphasize the strong areas where you look SMART, and FORGET about the rest. NOBODY knows everything.

Of what's going on around the world - definitely.

It's the same for me. I don't listen to the news, I don't watch television, just DVDs or videos, and I definitely stay narrowly focused on my current interests. I read current events here on WP, and I will occasionally get interested in some random news item, but that's it.

I keep up on news and current events, but sometimes I misunderstand when's a good time to talk about them and I usually come off as ignorant or stupid. Example of this happened the other day when people in the cafeteria at work were talking about the democratic primaries and someone asked me if I was for Hillary or Obama. I choked on my reply because I had to stop and make sure that if I said 'Hillary' that I wasn't pissing off an Obama fan in the room. I ended up saying nothing because either way I answered I was in for an argument.

I think my limited knowledge is pretty general... a mile wide and an inch deep...

well, I really have excellent general knowledge, to be honest. I guess it's probably because I've gone through so many obsessions that I've got most all subjects covered :D I read books and surf the internet for information just about 12 hours solid per day. :) I'm a compulsive learner. :D

Yes I lack it. I wouldn't say it's an aspie because I have known people without AS who lack it also because they also don't read newspapers or watch the news because they don't care what is going on out in the world.

But I do read some newspapers, and catch glimps of the news at work. It is always on when i am there and I happen to catch part of it.
Amazing how much interesting stuff is on the news but I just don't even bother to watch the news at home. I did watch it back when I lived in Montana. I don't remember everything I heard on it. Only a few.
Because of my job, I happen to find magazines and newspapers with interesting articles in them so I take them with me and read them later. I brought a newspaper home and two magazines the other day but never took the time to read them yet. I even have a newspaper in my locker from maybe last month I never bothered to take home with me to read or even bothered to read during my breaks.


Only things I can remember if it was something that really interested me.

The edge of knowl topic

My edge is limited to theory. In practice I suck, which is what is happening with photobucket. I understand the theory of how to upload, but I cannot do it, even when the instructions are clear.(':wall:') The brackets are also a metaphor for frustration.

No, not substantially less, anyway. Just different. Having a conversation with me is like going to the library and asking for some best seller, but the librarian doesn't have that one so they offer something completely different that they think might relate to the best seller in some way. It doesn't mean my library has less books, just not the books that most people expect.