What do you consider "narrow interest?"

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Most of my special interests branches into a other and expands with another, hmmm...
Even chocolate gets branched into confectioneries and baking.



The narrowest possible I got would be about boxes. I'd like hoarding it all.

Unless I have to specifically involve my lifelong and ever expanding interest of crafting, but my focus on that area lies elsewhere...

I don't care what it made of, where it came from, how it was made, what it is specifically called or it's intended use or any specifics.



Just. Boxes.

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Most autistic people learn things deeply and in terms of one topic at a time.

Most allistic people learn things shallowly and in terms of many subjects at once.

Neither of those learning styles is superior or inferior to the other. Although if someone was to learn many subjects at once and all of them deeply, that person would be very intelligent.

It's the same with interests so most autistic people have passions but aren't interested in loads of stuff. Most NTs are interested in loads of stuff but don't feel it as intensely as we do and get bored of one topic more easily.

For eg someone on here said he had a specialist interest in the weather so didn't mind that being 'small talk'. My stepdad's a bit the same and my NT mum [hates[/i] for eg when he says 'well actually you can't be cold as it is 28 degrees celsius with a wind chill factor of... and it is a southerly breeze' rather than 'yeah it is a bit nippy isn't it?'

Or when people ask me what my favourite type of book is. I get funny looks if I say 'post-modern' rather than 'crime fiction'.

I love having narrow interests. I'd rather listen to organ music than music of any other instrument. And I'd rather listen to Forest Green and Personent Hodie (FYI those are hymn tunes). I'm not a believer anymore but I love organ music and those hymn tunes as much as I did in the past. It triggers me immensely when people tell me to stop being obsessed with those tunes. I hate the idea of broadening my horizons and I wish people would accept that. I also love Gothic and Tudor architecture and find other architecture nauseating. I don't want to widen any of my interests but least of all those that relate to music. I got really angry when someone online (specifically, on YouTube) told me to "stop obsessing" with those tunes, and I wish I could say to him, "You are a bully!" I also know a person IRL who calls me obsessive and I think he's just as inconsiderate as the one on the internet. I hate neurotypical attitudes. Honestly, people who force their neurotypical ableism and attitudes on me make me sick. I hope you understand.

If I sit in front of an internet search engine, I can't think of anything to type outside of my usual narrow interests. I am lucky in that model railways is one as it is a very broad subject though I tend to stick to my "Core" aspect of what I enjoy in it.

But I can sit there really wanting to explore something else but I just can't think of a single subject and go back to the same old six or seven sites and hope to find something new.

I suppose my main interest (music) is pretty broad these days, with branches into many different genres, instruments, recording methods, etc. It wasn't always so. When I started out all I wanted to do was to collect Beatles records, listen to them, and try to play the best 4/4 beat I possibly could with drums, bass, guitars and vocal, very much in the style of The Beatles. But different bands, instruments and recording methods kept interesting me and broadening my focus, and I became aware that people weren't going to be very interested in collaborating with me on music projects if I was too narrowly-focussed.

I get very obsessional and narrowly-focussed when I'm pursuing a particular goal, but I always surface when the task is completed (or when I've given it up a a lost cause, though that rarely happens because I tend not to take on tasks when I don't have much hope of achieving them).

I fervently hate it when people tell me not to be obsessed with my narrow interests. People make me so upset with their comments. Even a local parish choir director (at a small parish)told me I was too obsessed with my favorite tune. I left that parish and went to another one, a larger parish, where the choir director is much more sympathetic. That was four years ago. Actually I don't go to either parish anymore because ever since COVID started I'm not a believer. I only like the music and Gothic architecture. But at the larger parish the director was always kind. He and I are good friends.

You can't tell if someone has narrow interest from a brief encounter. What he/she's into might be the topic of the week or month or year. Interests change over time. Some might be persistent but there are some that a five year old likes that just can't be sustained for a long time. When I was that age I was into homeless people and beggars. If I had a pencil and paper I could spend hours drawing pictures of beggars. You'd think I would become some charity worker if you met me then. I think it's better to characterize autistic interests as intense, obsessive for a length of time, and brings comfort and pleasure to the person.

Current obsession: entropy. Gosh it's just so awesome.