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Do You Get Into Arguments Over Your Special Interests?

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Deinonychus
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25 Jun 2009, 11:51 am

Danielismyname wrote:
No, because I am always right.


I like your attitude! 8)

Seriously, however....

I find that it doesn't always have to be a special interest area for me to feel a need to correct someone. I am one of those who collects "trivia". When I hear or read something interesting I will usually go and do a little mini-obsession session and study the topic for a day or two before sliding back into my more standard obsessions. As a result, from time-to-time I encounter someone spouting off a bunch of non-sense about something and I just reflexively make a "correction". Most of the time no one seems to notice or care, but once in a while..... someone will want to argue about it. Well, maybe not "argue" per se, but it escalates into one because they will insist that they are correct and that I am incorrect. I really hate it when that happens because if there is any chance that I might be wrong I will almost NEVER make a comment. There is an invisible "95% confidence interval" around most of what I have to say or I won't say it. Being ignorant is annoying, but being wrong and hell bent that you are right could be grounds for a fist fight!! ! :lmao:

Oddly... I have this problem at home much more often than I do out in the "world". Probably because my family knows me and we are all comfortable with being sh***y with each other.



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25 Jun 2009, 12:56 pm

There was a thread about this on Spectrum Forums. It's more of a compulsion thing really, I KNOW it's not welcome, but I can't help it, I just don't like incorrect information being disputed. I'm gradually being able to control the urge to correct people, like with teachers it's a massive no 'cause they'll usually deny it and also certain people, like in my Year I heard someone ranting on about how 'Blu-Ray is better than HD' and I just felt like ranting on to them about how Blu-Ray incorporates an HD resolution, but I knew that person would deny it(he's an arrogant, sexist, racist idiot) so i just bit my lip really hard xD.
Once my RE teacher said that Hinduism was a polytheistic religion and I ended up getting in a massive argument with her over what it was(I don't see how she's more qualified than Wikipedia... but she could).
EMZ=]



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25 Jun 2009, 2:03 pm

Oh...the fact that I don't want to argue is the reason, despite my special interest, I rarely go on Nirvana forums any more. I don't want to do the conspiracy theory thing (although, for the record, no, I think it was suicide, now can we talk about interesting stuff....you know, like whether or not 'Sappy' would have been a hit single?) but there are always people who want to get into that debate. And I'm just like, what's the point?

(PS I don't hate Courtney Love either, which I think is what's behind that particular debate for most people. I wish she'd get her act together and release Chinese Democracy :lol: , sorry, Nobody's Daughter, but I don't hate the woman.)


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25 Jun 2009, 4:12 pm

Emor wrote:
about how 'Blu-Ray is better than HD' and I just felt like ranting on to them about how Blu-Ray incorporates an HD resolution,


Maybe they were talking about HD DVDs(i mean, not just that have HD resolution... but the ones that were out for awhile that were actually labeled "HD," in a separate section from the regular DVDs and Blu-Rays, and required a special "HD DVD player" to play). They were only out for awhile, before Blu-Ray pretty much crushed them and they stopped making them. They are both HD/High Definition, yes, but these were actually also their own little thing. It was sort of a VHS vs. Beta type competition going on. I think the fact that Sony incorporated the whole Blu-Ray thing into the PS3 is something that really won that war.

Sorry, lol, i work in selling elecronics and remember that. We used to have a small section for Blu-Rays and also HD DVDs, but then the HD DVD thing kind of died, and we got rid of them and started selling even more Blu-Rays. But, yeah, occasionally a customer will come in and ask about HD DVDs, and it often causes all kinds of misunderstandings when they are actually talking about those(especially is they are one of the unlucky ones who bought an HD DVD player and everything back then, haha!), instead of just HD resolution.. because they are rarely very specific about what they're talking about, they just say "HD" and it takes awhile to understand what they're getting at.



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25 Jun 2009, 4:33 pm

ColdBlooded wrote:
Emor wrote:
about how 'Blu-Ray is better than HD' and I just felt like ranting on to them about how Blu-Ray incorporates an HD resolution,


Maybe they were talking about HD DVDs(i mean, not just that have HD resolution... but the ones that were out for awhile that were actually labeled "HD," in a separate section from the regular DVDs and Blu-Rays, and required a special "HD DVD player" to play). They were only out for awhile, before Blu-Ray pretty much crushed them and they stopped making them. They are both HD/High Definition, yes, but these were actually also their own little thing. It was sort of a VHS vs. Beta type competition going on. I think the fact that Sony incorporated the whole Blu-Ray thing into the PS3 is something that really won that war.

Sorry, lol, i work in selling elecronics and remember that. We used to have a small section for Blu-Rays and also HD DVDs, but then the HD DVD thing kind of died, and we got rid of them and started selling even more Blu-Rays. But, yeah, occasionally a customer will come in and ask about HD DVDs, and it often causes all kinds of misunderstandings when they are actually talking about those(especially is they are one of the unlucky ones who bought an HD DVD player and everything back then, haha!), instead of just HD resolution.. because they are rarely very specific about what they're talking about, they just say "HD" and it takes awhile to understand what they're getting at.

It's plausible but IMO, if they're going to say something's better than the other they should at least have knowledge of it(it was a PS3 versus Xbox 360... not even argument, just exchanging of inaccurate and incoherent jargon they put together to conduct a minor structure of a few sentences, and the guy said, 'Blu-Ray owns HD!! !' and it's not like anyone EVEN bought the HD DVD player extension for the Xbox 360, and tbh, I don't think he'd even change the required switch for it if he was going on about HD resolutions, which even then makes no sense! It's also weird when a girl tells a guy all this stuff so that's another reason xD).
EMZ=]



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25 Jun 2009, 5:32 pm

ColdBlooded wrote:
I definitely do, so i was wondering if it's a common thing. It's something i've been trying to control. I don't usually consider myself all that confrontational... But sometimes i feel like i need to correct people. It just usually ends up starting an argument and making me seem like i'm looking for a fight. For example, i've gotten into arguments with pet shop employees a few times over reptile-related things. One time an employee at a pet shop i happened to be looking around in said something about how the reticulated pythons they had there would get 30 feet long, and then i start explaining about how the maximum recorded length was just under 33 feet, but that that was a rare occurance, and that that the longest ones currently in captivity are only around 26 feet, definitely NOT 30. Plus, even the 26 footers are a rare occurence, and even very large females only get around 20 feet most of the time. And he apparently "knew people" who were breeders who had a bunch of them over 26 feet, and i tried to explain how that wasn't possible, because if they did, then they'd be on the news and every herp-related website in the world. Also, these have been a few instances where the labels on an enclosure read "tegu monitor," and i try to explain to whoever will listen that there's no such thing as a tegu monitor, because tegus are, in fact, TEIIDS NOT MONITORS. Then i also get kinda upset with people if i see crickets in iguana cages, because they're HERBIVORES... just things like that. I don't like always causing conflict, but it just happens with these things. I really just want to give helpful input when can see that i know better than others about certain things, but i don't know how to keep it from turning into a big argument. I'm stubborn as hell, so it's reallllly hard for me to "just let it go" after it starts, too, because i NEED to get my point across. But afterward i always wish it hadn't turned into an argument, because that's not what i wanted to happen. I don't know if this makes a whole lot of sense, but i seem to have so much in common with people here that maybe someone can relate to this too, heh.



Your example reminds me of my monkey vs. ape issue. It's not exactly a special interest in the aspie sense (obsession), but I am quite interested in how living things are categorized and related. It just so happens that I took a physical anthropology class once in which the professor explained some differences between monkeys and apes. You know that horizonal ladder thing on children's playgrounds, that you swing across one hand after another? They are often called "monkey bars", but the fact is, a true monkey cannot do that. Only apes can swing from limb to limb with their arms in that way. Gibbons and siamangs are a few of the small apes that you might see in a zoo, swinging from branch to branch with their long, powerful arms. A monkey, which includes a wide a variety of species, including baboons, can not make that movement. The monkey will run across the top of the bars.

Well, go to any zoo in the world, and you will find parents pointing to the gibbons, and telling their small children, "Look at the MONKEYS!! ! Oh, don't you like the MONKEYS!! !! Hello, MONKEY!! !! What a funny MONKEY!! !!" And it just makes my skin crawl. However, I know that not everyone took my anthropology class, so I try to be forgiving.

But then they amble over to the flipping gorillas and start up again, "Oh, look at the funny monkey! Oooh oooh ooooh! What a big MONKEY!! !" I just want to shout, "Oh, for crying out loud, just say 'gorilla'. It's technically an ape, not a monkey, by the way--but you know it's called a gorilla, so teach your kids the right word, you stupid mini-van driving, cell-phone talking idiot!" But I don't say that. I just roll my eyes.



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25 Jun 2009, 6:41 pm

For the most part, I try to avoid correcting people; not because it may spark an argument; but because I know that if my correction should eventually lead to one, then I'll probably begin stuttering or stammering at some point, or shutting down altogether.


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25 Jun 2009, 8:10 pm

i am not really fussed about monkey/ape categorisations but i am certainly glad elderwanda is. :)

I am however, always ready for a tussle on my special interest subjects. Most people back off after a little while however, assuming I am some kind of crazywoman. I am yet to fully cope with that.... the delights and downers of ASD's.

I am rarely interested in tussle or arguments in areas that have little to do with my areas of interest. not interested at all. I usually retreat and go and paint or draw.


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25 Jun 2009, 11:05 pm

Lately I've been getting in arguments with people about whether or not I have asperger's syndrome. I have to explain that they know nothing about it and just I don't "look" or "seem" autistic doesn't mean I'm not. Then I go into a list of symptoms blah blah. Afterwards, I realize I shouldn't have just gone into so much detail about myself but I HAD to get my point across. It's ended up with a couple people being a little scared of me, I think.

Before Asperger's I would argue about ballet to no end. Before that, video games. The list goes on.



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26 Jun 2009, 2:16 am

elderwanda wrote:
ColdBlooded wrote:
I definitely do, so i was wondering if it's a common thing. It's something i've been trying to control. I don't usually consider myself all that confrontational... But sometimes i feel like i need to correct people. It just usually ends up starting an argument and making me seem like i'm looking for a fight. For example, i've gotten into arguments with pet shop employees a few times over reptile-related things. One time an employee at a pet shop i happened to be looking around in said something about how the reticulated pythons they had there would get 30 feet long, and then i start explaining about how the maximum recorded length was just under 33 feet, but that that was a rare occurance, and that that the longest ones currently in captivity are only around 26 feet, definitely NOT 30. Plus, even the 26 footers are a rare occurence, and even very large females only get around 20 feet most of the time. And he apparently "knew people" who were breeders who had a bunch of them over 26 feet, and i tried to explain how that wasn't possible, because if they did, then they'd be on the news and every herp-related website in the world. Also, these have been a few instances where the labels on an enclosure read "tegu monitor," and i try to explain to whoever will listen that there's no such thing as a tegu monitor, because tegus are, in fact, TEIIDS NOT MONITORS. Then i also get kinda upset with people if i see crickets in iguana cages, because they're HERBIVORES... just things like that. I don't like always causing conflict, but it just happens with these things. I really just want to give helpful input when can see that i know better than others about certain things, but i don't know how to keep it from turning into a big argument. I'm stubborn as hell, so it's reallllly hard for me to "just let it go" after it starts, too, because i NEED to get my point across. But afterward i always wish it hadn't turned into an argument, because that's not what i wanted to happen. I don't know if this makes a whole lot of sense, but i seem to have so much in common with people here that maybe someone can relate to this too, heh.



Your example reminds me of my monkey vs. ape issue. It's not exactly a special interest in the aspie sense (obsession), but I am quite interested in how living things are categorized and related. It just so happens that I took a physical anthropology class once in which the professor explained some differences between monkeys and apes. You know that horizonal ladder thing on children's playgrounds, that you swing across one hand after another? They are often called "monkey bars", but the fact is, a true monkey cannot do that. Only apes can swing from limb to limb with their arms in that way. Gibbons and siamangs are a few of the small apes that you might see in a zoo, swinging from branch to branch with their long, powerful arms. A monkey, which includes a wide a variety of species, including baboons, can not make that movement. The monkey will run across the top of the bars.

Well, go to any zoo in the world, and you will find parents pointing to the gibbons, and telling their small children, "Look at the MONKEYS!! ! Oh, don't you like the MONKEYS!! !! Hello, MONKEY!! !! What a funny MONKEY!! !!" And it just makes my skin crawl. However, I know that not everyone took my anthropology class, so I try to be forgiving.

But then they amble over to the flipping gorillas and start up again, "Oh, look at the funny monkey! Oooh oooh ooooh! What a big MONKEY!! !" I just want to shout, "Oh, for crying out loud, just say 'gorilla'. It's technically an ape, not a monkey, by the way--but you know it's called a gorilla, so teach your kids the right word, you stupid mini-van driving, cell-phone talking idiot!" But I don't say that. I just roll my eyes.


Oh, i totally get your frustration there! People always seem to call Apes, especially Chimps, "monkeys." You'd think people would at least get the classification of our closest relatives, the Apes(or, should i say, the other Apes), correct. I almost feel like i should start referring to humans as "monkeys" around these people just to make a point!



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26 Jun 2009, 3:04 am

I can really identify with the need to correct people. One of my talents lies in recalling past events. I can see them happening like a movie playing in my head. If a friend says something like, "Do you remember that day when blah blah blah..." and in my head I'm screaming "Not true, not true, not true" and have to correct them and give a more accurate description of what actually happened. It also means that I can expose liars quite quickly! :D



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27 Jun 2009, 5:55 pm

If somebody lists an incorrect fact about one of my most intense special interests, it's almost unbearable for me to not correct the person. It's also hard for me to not show that I know more about the subject than they do. :wink: I get very, very competitive when somebody says that they are a "huge fan" of one of my main special interests. I grow very defensive, knowing that they cannot possibly be as big of a fan as I am, or have as much knowledge about the subject as I do. It's the only time I ever get arrogant and actually want to shove my knowledge in people's faces. :lol: About six months ago, I was waiting in line for dinner at my college, and some girl in the line noticed that I was wearing an "I Love Lucy" shirt. "Lucy" is my number-one special interest, and it is almost impossible to beat me in a "Lucy"-related trivia contest. She claimed that she was a fan. This irritated me, so I started competing with her. Sadly, when I threw out a very easy trivia question for a "Lucy" fan to know, it was her turn to enter the dining hall, so I couldn't confront her about not knowing the answer. How badly did I want to go over to her table and pursue the fight! :lol:
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27 Jun 2009, 10:42 pm

ColdBlooded wrote:
elderwanda wrote:
ColdBlooded wrote:
I definitely do, so i was wondering if it's a common thing. It's something i've been trying to control. I don't usually consider myself all that confrontational... But sometimes i feel like i need to correct people. It just usually ends up starting an argument and making me seem like i'm looking for a fight. For example, i've gotten into arguments with pet shop employees a few times over reptile-related things. One time an employee at a pet shop i happened to be looking around in said something about how the reticulated pythons they had there would get 30 feet long, and then i start explaining about how the maximum recorded length was just under 33 feet, but that that was a rare occurance, and that that the longest ones currently in captivity are only around 26 feet, definitely NOT 30. Plus, even the 26 footers are a rare occurence, and even very large females only get around 20 feet most of the time. And he apparently "knew people" who were breeders who had a bunch of them over 26 feet, and i tried to explain how that wasn't possible, because if they did, then they'd be on the news and every herp-related website in the world. Also, these have been a few instances where the labels on an enclosure read "tegu monitor," and i try to explain to whoever will listen that there's no such thing as a tegu monitor, because tegus are, in fact, TEIIDS NOT MONITORS. Then i also get kinda upset with people if i see crickets in iguana cages, because they're HERBIVORES... just things like that. I don't like always causing conflict, but it just happens with these things. I really just want to give helpful input when can see that i know better than others about certain things, but i don't know how to keep it from turning into a big argument. I'm stubborn as hell, so it's reallllly hard for me to "just let it go" after it starts, too, because i NEED to get my point across. But afterward i always wish it hadn't turned into an argument, because that's not what i wanted to happen. I don't know if this makes a whole lot of sense, but i seem to have so much in common with people here that maybe someone can relate to this too, heh.



Your example reminds me of my monkey vs. ape issue. It's not exactly a special interest in the aspie sense (obsession), but I am quite interested in how living things are categorized and related. It just so happens that I took a physical anthropology class once in which the professor explained some differences between monkeys and apes. You know that horizonal ladder thing on children's playgrounds, that you swing across one hand after another? They are often called "monkey bars", but the fact is, a true monkey cannot do that. Only apes can swing from limb to limb with their arms in that way. Gibbons and siamangs are a few of the small apes that you might see in a zoo, swinging from branch to branch with their long, powerful arms. A monkey, which includes a wide a variety of species, including baboons, can not make that movement. The monkey will run across the top of the bars.

Well, go to any zoo in the world, and you will find parents pointing to the gibbons, and telling their small children, "Look at the MONKEYS!! ! Oh, don't you like the MONKEYS!! !! Hello, MONKEY!! !! What a funny MONKEY!! !!" And it just makes my skin crawl. However, I know that not everyone took my anthropology class, so I try to be forgiving.

But then they amble over to the flipping gorillas and start up again, "Oh, look at the funny monkey! Oooh oooh ooooh! What a big MONKEY!! !" I just want to shout, "Oh, for crying out loud, just say 'gorilla'. It's technically an ape, not a monkey, by the way--but you know it's called a gorilla, so teach your kids the right word, you stupid mini-van driving, cell-phone talking idiot!" But I don't say that. I just roll my eyes.


Oh, i totally get your frustration there! People always seem to call Apes, especially Chimps, "monkeys." You'd think people would at least get the classification of our closest relatives, the Apes(or, should i say, the other Apes), correct. I almost feel like i should start referring to humans as "monkeys" around these people just to make a point!



Well, in all honesty, I've pretty much gotten over it. I've learned to expect it and accept it. It used to bother me a lot more than it does nowadays.



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28 Jun 2009, 1:32 am

I used to when I was a kid. I had an obsession with video cameras and everytime someone was using one 'wrong' I got really annoyed and just felt compelled to show them the proper way. I don't get into arguments over my obsessions anymore though, basically because I've learned that nothing good comes from doing so.


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