Does everyone who has Aspergers Syndrome have...

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An attention to detail?

And what does this actually mean as such?

I have great attention to detail and it means that I do my job that much better than most people.

This is a very very very common trait on the spectrum.

A little too common if you ask me.

It's pretty common. My problem is that every detail grabs my attention, and I don't know which ones I'm supposed to remember.

This means that when you look at anything you see the details instead of an "archetype" of the object.

So, for example, mt NT friend and I both look at a door.

The NT glances at the door and instantly associates it with the idea of "door" or "doorness" in his head, and identifies it in his head with words: "there's a door." He does not necessarily see this door right in front of him, so much as identify the meta-concept of door as being located in that position.

I look at the door, and note it's color. Where the handle is located. The cracks in the corner where the wood is chipped from usage, and the shadows in said cracks. The scuff marks on the ground that delniate where the door opens into. I look at the doorknob, and note the design pattern in the brass. Where the tarnish on the brass has been rubbed back into a polish by human hands touching it. The window, it's shape and location in the frame. Particles of dust on the window. A chip in the corner of the window. The degradation of the caulk around the glass as it weathers away. The hinges, little lines of rust on the edges. How one of the pegs in one of the hinges is not fully inserted into it's socket. I see where the door sits in it's frame, whether it is level or crooked. At no time do I dismiss it as an abstract archetype of "doorness," I see the precise object that is in front of me.

That is what is meant by "seeing details."

So, when an NT walks into a room, they note the location of all the archetypal objects in the area and no longer need to dwell on them. They can get on with their business in no time and their brain subconsciously keeps track of all this meta information for them.

When I walk into a room, I notice that level of detail for every single object I lay eyes on, every sound I hear, and everything I smell. It takes me much longer to adjust and get on with my business.

The nice thing about noticing details, however, is that I am not as bound to treat objects by their conventional archetypal uses. I look at a milk crate, and see the useful qualities of this particular structure, instead of immediately limiting it to "that thing holds milk."

MacGuyver had an AS capacity for seeing details over archetypes.

Yep Yep Yep Yep Yep Yep Yep

Even though details cause me all kinds of sensory overload, I still like this aspect of being detail-oriented. The world seems very interesting this way.

It depends.

If you mean, "do I notice things most people don't, and occasionally get hung up on them?" Yes. Absolutely.

If you mean it in the "job" sense of dotting Is and crossing Ts, No. Not even close. I'm horrible about overlooking details.

It kind of boils down to whether or not something is directly under my creative control and influence.

If it's not, I'll either notice details nobody else does, or I'll be completely oblivious to its existence.

If it is, I'm oblivious to its details, and make careless mistakes up, down, left, right, and diagonally. It's like my brain knows what the item under my control is supposed to be like, and just goes with the theory instead of bothering to verify that it matches reality.

Qualifier: I was officially ADD long before I realized I was aspie. In this context, that might be significant.

We would do so well in the wild. There are so many trees..... but out attention to detail would prevail and we would know if we've seen it or not.

That is probably my most defining and noticeable trait that qualifies me as different to other people I suppose. It has its advantages and disadvantages. Sensory Overload and deadlines for work(sometimes learning in detail wastes a lot of time) are disadvantages, while a strong dedication toward thinking and learning are advantages.

I notice some details and completely miss others. I recognize the vehicles of my friends and family by license plate number alone, half the time I don't even know what colour the car is or if it has 2 doors or 4. This weird skill has proven to be of very little use.

Thanks for all your replies everyone!

This has actually reminded me of something that I used to have real trouble dealing with.

I remember once I bought an MP3 player and the screen was seated slightly wonky, by millimetres, but this was noticeable by me instantly and when using it I couldn't help but focus on the wonky-ness of the screen...

That, I believe was a suitable cause for complaint (although most people I showed it to didn't even notice) but I also have issues with thinks becoming scratched and many minor imperfections...

can anyone relate to this?

I was just confused because I was wondering if 'attention to detail' meant like a work sense of crossing t's and dotting i's like dr01dguy mentions, because I'm awful at this type of thing... I notice you mentioned you have ADD too? Is this due to the ADD? Also does anyone else have issues with attention in this particular area?

This.

I went for an interview and had to say why documents were not ready for submission and I found far more mistakes than anyone else interviewing down to petty things such as not signed, not dated, typo. I'm good at spotting imperfections and take in details others don't but sometimes miss more obvious things e.g. notice the picture on the wall, and a background noises/people passing but tune out the person in front of me.

I'm good at picking up spelling errors too. When I would go to a disability job service the worker put in charge of me would make little mistakes in cover letters and I'd point them out.

I buy little toys and gadgets (especially LED) and stare at them for ages. I love rough edges and smooth metal and little decorations on some of the most everyday objects.

I use my attention to detail to take individual types of photos. Band photography is every popular and therefore competitive but I take up close head shots, feet, single shots of the mic and even guitar pedals. My friends take shots from far away but to me it doesn't capture as much emotion. I frame a subject for a good 4 seconds before pressing the shutter. I don't like to just point and fire off 60 shots at once. A lot of the time people think my camera is broken because I focus for so long and tweek the settings. One singer actually stopped and asked me if everything was ok.
Or I zoom in on very basic household objects and try to get people to guess what they are.
It's good when I miss a spot shaving and hardly anyone but me notices.

It's very good for drawing but I sometimes forget to draw the rest of the picture and just have a head and a whole lot of geometrical shapes underneath.

I think we make very thorough cleaners too.