Things about which you have Encyclopædic knowledge

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Otherwise known as aspie obsessions. That is a very negative view of autism.

In my case it is - different types of musics from around the world. Although now it is useless, because wikipedia volunteers keep updating every music article with the latest changes. One person can never keep up with that .

They're not always negative, I hope to be-able to use my knowledge of genetics, evolution, and natural selection to get a job, which I'll actually enjoy in the future .
I've never been obsessed with anything, for long enough, to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject, well, maybe a kids encyclopaedia, but that's it .

Hmm, I expected a little more participation on this thread. Now what could be the reason for lack of replies?

Maybe encyclopædic knowledge isn't that common with aspies/auties
or people don't want to expose their most obsessive hobbies

I know a lot about sports, sports uniforms. Does that count?

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I know tones about Arthurian Legend.

But I think I just pick up little facts that stick in my head because they're interesting (slugs have four noses, a month beginning on Sunday will have Friday the 13th etc.) and that seems to be common with AS.

Also the ability to recite a lot of information.

Cars. I can name every make and model (along with all of the available engine and tranny combos) sold here over the last 20 years or so. And most of the older stuff too.

Maybe the reason for lack of replies is that we don't tend to think we have encyclopedic knowledge, we're more self-critical than that and realize there's always more to learn. I've been told by others that I seem to have encyclopedic knowledge about things that I know I don't. I'm just interested and always learning more about them.

In fact, that's what I love about my areas of interest, that there's so much to keep learning. If I ever learned everything about a subject I'd likely get bored and move on. Hasn't happened yet, because that's not the kind of interest that's likely to intrigue me.

I'm somewhat obsessed with mountains. I know nearly everything there is to know about the Appalachians near me, as well as the north american cordillera (rockies, cascades, sierra nevada), the various European ranges, the rate of survival and the elevations of all of the Himalayas. All the state high points as well as high points in many countries. The altitudes that the treeline occurs in various locations. The relative ages of each of the ranges.

I think people might be reluctant to talk about their interests because they're self-critical. The more you know about something, the more you're aware of what you don't know about that subject, so the perception of your knowledge in the area stays constant.

I'm obsessed with Johnny Depp and Tim Burton movies, particularly the ones that they've done as a team. They have done 8 movies together but the focus of my interest is on 4 of them in particular (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd). I know a lot of trivia, for example that Johnny Depp had to run behind a house and puke during the Edward Scissorhands mob scene because he overheated in his leather costume, and that he tried his Willy Wonka voice on his daughter Lily-Rose to see if she would like it before deciding to use it in the movie, and that he wanted the Mad Hatter to have a gap in his teeth as tribute to his (now former) partner Vanessa Paradis, and that he had to have a spring-loaded mechanism put on his razor in Sweeney Todd because he couldn't get the razor to flip open normally... Really, I could go on for hours...

I have a couple of other interests, but I'm too tired to talk about them at the moment, so I will come back later after I get some rest.