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person01
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07 Dec 2021, 8:38 am

Does anyone else not have any specific special interests? I used to be very fascinated with snakes when I was a child but I have not had a real special interest since then. I enjoy things like exercising, and martial arts but I don’t think I have any “savant” level knowledge on any particular topic.



apex116
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07 Dec 2021, 9:59 am

There's nothing wrong with that - There is a good answer on Quora in relation to your question.

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-some-autistic-people-not-have-a-special-interest-at-all



Fnord
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07 Dec 2021, 10:05 am

One need not be a savant to have a special interest.  The mere possession of detailed knowledge does not make one a savant.  It is the act of applying that knowledge to levels above and beyond average expectations than makes one a savant.



Joe90
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07 Dec 2021, 11:22 am

I have no special interests but not for any of the reasons listed in the link. I just lack that symptom.


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kraftiekortie
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07 Dec 2021, 11:33 am

I don’t have any really esoteric “special interests.” I don’t go into great depth within my “special interests.”



apex116
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07 Dec 2021, 1:41 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I don’t have any really esoteric “special interests.” I don’t go into great depth within my “special interests.”

You special interest is clearly Wrongplanet as shown by your "Veteran" status.



Joe90
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07 Dec 2021, 2:33 pm

Being a long-term member on WP doesn't mean it's one's special interest.


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Fnord
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07 Dec 2021, 2:36 pm

Joe90 wrote:
Being a long-term member on WP doesn't mean it's one's special interest.
Indeed.  WP fulfills my social needs at work, where I am surrounded by technology and may have little or no face-to-face contact with another human being on any given day.

My special interest is in the rulesets of role-playing games like BESM, Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, Paranoia, and Traveller.



babybird
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07 Dec 2021, 4:06 pm

I have things that I enjoy doing like recycling old furniture, reading, doing home improvements and stuff but I don't have a vast knowledge about one specific subject. I don't have the inclination for such a thing.


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CinderashAutomaton
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07 Dec 2021, 5:36 pm

person01 wrote:
Does anyone else not have any specific special interests?


I have both very specific and very broad special interests. I can imagine it going either way, or even neither way, for different people.

An example of both, for me, would be:

1) polished cross-sectional cuts of wood, or anything with an interesting cross-section, but wood is my favorite. If I ever had the idle time to get into it, I'd definitely have myself a collection of samples, not just of different tree species but also of a variety of species and types of cuts. I might even experiment with different plants, soaking them in preservatives and sealing them in a clear lacquer before cutting them so I can get nice specimens from more fragile stuff.

2) combat/warfare dynamics, and any near parallel like trading or the various types of interpersonal relationships. Mostly direct combat/warfare stuff, though. I grew up playing games of one confrontational manner or another, was obsessed with learning how to fight (and not allowed because of over-protective parents), was really into MMA for awhile, and these days I just play or watch people play RTS or other games with a very dynamic and choice-rich combat environment. I spend inordinate amounts of time analyzing and theorizing.

At one point I wanted to learn about real war and game theory but I could never find any good info, then realized that of course governmental bodies and military forces will keep that stuff hidden away and it's best I don't try to dig too deeply just for a hobby T_T

I have a LOT of special interests, though. Between that and the mild ADHD, it's probably why I tend not to accumulate much in the way accomplishments. I'm just too used to jumping to another interest when too-big an obstacle gets in the way. Or maybe it's the other way around and I'm avoiding situations where I get so overwhelmed I lose control. Anyway...


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kraftiekortie
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07 Dec 2021, 8:35 pm

All one needs for "veteran status," by the way, is 1,000 posts.

WrongPlanet is something that interests me----but it is very far away from being a "special interest" in the Aspergian sense.

When I was 7-10 years old, the weather was a "special interest." It caused me to run up a $600 phone bill back when I was almost 10 years old in 1970. At the same time, I stole $20 from my father to get a telescope, and cut my hair so bad that I had to get it shaved.



Joe90
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07 Dec 2021, 8:55 pm

I have interests, because having interests is a normal human thing (yes, NTs have personal interests too besides sports), but I don't have any special interests or obsessions. I used to have obsessions with men (like intense crushes) but those were caused by hormones and a desire for romance. Now that I have a boyfriend of my own I haven't desired any obsessions, as I now have romance in my life. I still sometimes get (secretly) obsessed with certain women though, as those aren't sexual or romantic desires, those are just craving friendships.


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kraftiekortie
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07 Dec 2021, 8:58 pm

I happen to be reading lots of sports books lately, and watching sporting events from the 1960s on YouTube.

Sports are somehow soothing to me. I've been going through a bit of a tough time.

Jo has been going through a tougher time, it should be noted.



Benjamin the Donkey
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07 Dec 2021, 10:19 pm

The "autistic special interest" and "autistic savant" concepts are overblown and harmful. Other people have interests or hobbies or passions. We have "special interests." Other people have unusual talents or abilities. We're "savants."


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shortfatbalduglyman
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07 Dec 2021, 11:37 pm

since 12, my worthless corpse has been so detached, dissociated, ahedonistic, and apathetic, and (zero sum game), to get interested in anything. intensity, duration, frequency.

it is a wonder how i got an associates degree in accounting, and bachelor degree in cognitive science.

it is a wonder how, since october 2020, my worthless corpse has held a job. for a long time, my worthless corpse just assumed that i was totally unemployable. a job is pretty significant (in terms of Global Area Functioning). even though it is just any old monkey unskilled labor, part time, minimum wage.

for a long time, my worthless corpse has had zero interests, zero special interests, and zero precious lil "friends". once in a while, minor/brief exceptions. but the slightest thing happens, and they go away. that could be good, bad, both, or neither.

especially since coronavirus, and that i am 38 years old, i find it hard to imagine that i will ever get hobbies, friends, or job again. if the current slave plantation has the nerve to make my worthless corpse redundant, nobody will ever make the mistake of hiring my worthless corpse again. even if they do, they make my worthless corpse redundant. precious lil "friends" just dump me with the slightest miscommunication/occassion/provokation.

most precious lil "people" are not worth the energy it takes to interact with them.

most precious lil "people" talk way too much, too loud, too enthusiastically, and expect everyone else to talk and act like themselves.

but whatever. 38 is already senile.

plenty of people, (autistic and neurotypical) have zero special interests, zero interests, zero hobbies, zero friends, and zero job.

there is nothing wrong with that.



kraftiekortie
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08 Dec 2021, 7:55 am

Why do you feel you’re a “worthless corpse”?

I hope you’re being ironic when you say this.

I see lots of worth in you.