About noticing details and observing people.

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Today I realised something. I've always known this but today it hit me hard. I am an observer. Not only do I notice details other people don't notice, but I observe people. It's like I'm standing outside looking in at people and that makes me feel alienated. I look at how people behave and how the interact with each other. I notice how they talk and I get annoyed when they use wrong grammar (sorry if I make any grammar mistakes now by the way, English is not my first language). Anyone else feel like an observer?

And like I said, I tend to notice details. All the time. Wherever I go. The other week for example I noticed something. At work we have special lids for the cups used for the hot drinks. I looked at one of the lids for a second and I noticed the text on the lid was different. It was a bit thinner than normal. The size was the same but it was not as thick as usual (does that make sense?). Not only did I feel it was different, it felt completely wrong. Like the pattern was broken. I told a colleague about the lid and she said I was wrong. That it was the same lid as usual. Then she came up to me half an hour later and said I was right, it was a bit different. And then she said "you're SO weird for noticing things like that". That happened to anyone else? Do things that break the pattern feel wrong to you? What kind of details do you usually notice?

I notice fascinating details NTs don't notice.

I don't notice the vital big picture the NTs notice.

The things NTs notice are usually deemed (by them) to be the big, important things in life.

I do the same thing! In fact, when I was a young child, changes in details I thought were "wrong" would freak me out more than scary shows.

When I was in art class in HS, I painted scratches into a jug the class was painting. The teacher was surprised because I was the only one who noticed them.

Yeah, I definitely have an eye for tiny details that most people tend to miss. My childhood drawings, for example, were way more detailed than what my peers drew.

I like to people watch. I like to sometimes sit in a U-shaped bar, surf the Internet on my iphone, watch a little TV, and casually people watch. I can slip into watching people like I might watch a character in a movie and that can be too much, it makes people uncomfortable. So, I am looking for other ways to watch.

I notice everything. There was a 40 page document my employer wanted me to look at so I could see what our company actually provided for our clients. In one of the columns on the 17th page of the Power Point section, there was a Chinese character in one of the cells. I spotted it immediately. This was a $10,000 document we were preparing for a client. I wish I could set up a consulting business where I checked company materials for errors because every place I've ever been theres always been a few. Did you spot the error(s)?

Constantly. I'm always called weird or odd for it too. Most of these things are pretty pointless to others, but I think they're interesting.

I'm that way too, and i suspect a vast majority of aspies are.

I think it comes down to not inherently understanding people's nonverbal language, and being forced to do so very consciously.

Yeah definitely. Yesterday I noticed the paper bags at work were thinner than normal which made them feel different. When I walk outside things are always catching my attention. I can never just walk outside and walk. I always notice things. I think that makes me look at the world a different way. At least in comparison to people I know.



Thing is, I've always thought I'm quite good at understanding nonverbal language. Not all of it, but most of it. I understand when people are getting bored of me talking (I still continue talking though) and sometimes I can see if people are sad even though they don't mention it. I do have some difficulties though. I have a really hard time seeing if people are serious or not for example. Anyway, even though I'm quite ok with nonverbal language I still observe people. I think I'm kind of studying how they can be so socially successful (which I'm definitely not). Do you know what I mean?

Oh i didn't mean aspies were always completely lost, just that it seems to require more vigilant observation instead of just "feeling it". I'm 28 and i've spent the last two decades trying to fit in, and if you spend that much time learning something you can get pretty good at it. I "get" turns of phrase and can generally work out how people are feeling, but i still get caught out by certain people with regularity (it's like my social simulator is slightly inaccurate). I just believe that at least my unusual eye for detail is most probably a result of that forced awareness.

Yeah I guess it's possible to get quite good at it. I think that's probably why most people don't really believe I might have Asperger's (but I haven't told that many people). I'm quite good at camouflaging. Which is very tiring.

I don't know about you, but I like noticing details! I think details make life more exciting

It is fun, yes.

Are you one of the people that love pointing out continuity issues in movies? I think production companies need to hire more aspies to catch stuff like that.

I'm not sure I point out issues in movies unless they're really obvious. I do love pointing out details though. Things which are in the background, the way people speak etc. Ha, I talk a lot during movies but I get really annoyed if other people talk when watching a movie. Weird. What about you?

EDIT: I often point out things which are illogical in movies. Then I just say things like "that makes absolutely no sense!" out loud.

Last edited by rebbieh on 26 Apr 2012, 3:26 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't know HOW that couldn't matter to other people (what you noticed)... It would matter to me. I notice the direction trees sway in the wind, patterns on the ground- things like that. If I ever told people half the things I look at or watch/find interesting, they'd think I was nutty. It makes life more exciting, does it not?

Yes, it definitely makes life more exciting! I love details. For a while I thought everyone saw just as many details as I do but since people have pointed it out and called me weird for it I don't think that's the case. What else do you usually notice?

Unfortunately they don't a lot of the time. -.-... I've pointed at something really obvious, and a lot of them just go "Oh." And then look away. Hairs on people's faces, unevenly shaped faces, patterns in things- I can't remember any right now-, mostly RANDOM and off-the-wall stuff... In paintings I notice things that look like mistakes, and then I analyze whether or not it's a mistake. I do that with a lot of stuff. Do you not only notice the details, but over-analyze them as well? Whether or not they're correct. why they are there, that kind of thing... <-- That's the MAIN reason why I think I'd be called nutty.