Is infoseeking/googling common?

Post Reply New Topic

I do that now ! !

One of my earliest memories is sitting on the floor in front of my grandmothers bookcase and looking at her reference books. I loved the thesaurus, and the book of birds. There was also a really neat anatomy book that had clear pictures of the human body,and you flipped the pages and saw the different systems and internal organs. Gosh I loved those books...

I tend to only read reference type books. When I started down the autism path, I think I checked out every single book possible from the library. And in between turning pages and reading, one finger would type queries into Google. In fact, I just got done doing that. (Its IEP time at my daughters school and I don't think the meeting will go well... I was Googling information on Pragmatic Speech disorders and qualifications for special education.)

I would just like to say that this has been a very comforting thread to read. I do the exact same thing! I remember several times when I came across some tidbit of information only to start looking it up and branching off into other inquiries, sometimes spending several hours researching. I often forget to eat or drink anything when this happens.

And before the Internet I can remember spending hours amongst the stacks of books at the library or browsing the shelves at bookstores. It's like immersing myself in another world (separate from the "real" world). I will still hit the library or bookstore on occassion, but much of my research time is spent online. I go to the actual books when I want to get a little more in-depth into the material.

OMG I am known as The Google Queen to all my family! And I research EXACTLY like you. I have ADHD and a bad memory, so I don't retain a lot of what I read but that sure doesn't stop me from reading until my brain/curiosity has had its fill. It's soooo nice to know I'm not the only one!

You say you're dx'd as AS. (I'm self diagnosed) Do you have any other long standing obsessive interests that you work on all the time? Or is it mainly the research thing? I have some long standing obsessive interests but I wouldn't call myself an expert at any of them. How old are you? I am female and am 49.

Somebody once asked me: 'do you read much?' my reply was serious, i said: 'yes, the internet'. She was in hysterics.

I couldn't figure out what was so funny about that? I don't read books, i read the internet, which is one big book.

This happens often, i say serious things and everybody else finds it funny.

I spend some of my time on http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com search function , mainly because i'm dropping to bits. I also enjoy reading or watching Wikipedia, Google and Youtube.

I love to use the define function in Google...
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rl ... arch&meta=
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rl ... arch&meta=
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rl ... arch&meta=

Oh, no! Now I need to find out how the toaster was invented ...

Three references:

1.) http://inventors.about.com/library/inve ... oaster.htm

"Toasting bread began as a method of prolonging the life of bread. It was very common activity in Roman times, 'tostum' is the latin word for scorching or burning. The first electric toaster was invented in 1893 in Great Britain by Crompton and Co (UK) and re-invented in 1909 in the United States. It only toasted one side of the bread at a time and it required a person to stand by and turn it off manually when the toast looked done. Charles Strite invented the modern timer, pop-up toaster in 1919."


2.) http://www.toaster.org/faq.html#7

"When this question is posed, usually the questioner is interested in who invented the electric toaster.

There is information about just this subject in the 1900-1920 section of The Cyber-Toaster Museum. There is evidence now that either an inventor at the Pacific Electric Heating Co. (later Hotpoint), someone at the Simplex Electric Co., or Hoskins Manufacturing came up with the first American electric toaster, but there is no known patent coverage so we don't know the date or the person. And, we've heard rumors that there is an 1893 English toaster that was the very first electric, but we haven't tracked down any info yet. Details on the inventor who designed the first automatic pop-up toaster can be found on the 1920-1940 page.

Of course, there was toast before electricity. The ancient Egyptians are credited with first making bread as we know it today (leavened, with natural yeast), and probably made the first toast by placing bread near fire."


3.) http://www.life123.com/home-garden/home ... ster.shtml

"Ever think about who invented the toaster? This modern electronic miracle makes it possible for Americans to enjoy wonderful toasted bread with the push of a button, but most people take it for granted.

A British Invention
The very first toaster isn’t the American version that became the springboard for modern-day toasters. In fact, the first electric toaster was invented by a British company called Crompton and Company. This first toaster was invented in 1893 by a company that also made space heaters. Rookes Crompton's design had iron heating coils that were exposed, and users had to flip the bread themselves to brown both sides. From a safety standpoint, the Crompton design would never make it today, but it certainly was easy to clean.

Toasters Pop Up in America
In 1905, an American by the name of Albert Marsh created something called Nichrome wire. This metal filament could withstand heat long enough to toast bread, and it became an integral part of toaster evolution.

In the five years following the development of Nichrome wire, toaster invention got a little blurry. One company called Hotpoint claimed to have created the first toaster in 1905. However, this claim was made after the fact in an ad that ran twelve years later–in 1917–claiming credit as the first toaster. No patents were filed, and it’s impossible to substantiate this claim.

To further muddy the waters, a man named George Schneider applied for a toaster patent in 1906. His toaster was never built, however, and the application seemed to fall by the wayside in light of the first commercially-successful toaster.

GE created the first commercially successful toaster, which it patented in 1909. Frank Shailor invented the GE toaster, and GE claims credit for the invention of the toaster, although two other toasters were available on the market at about the same time.

Enter Charles Strite
The big problem with early toasters was that the process was manual. People had to watch the toast and turn the device off when they thought it was finished. Charles Strite developed the first toaster that modern Americans would recognize; the pop-up toaster. While this toaster still only toasted on one side, it had a clockwork timer that shut down the heating elements and pushed the toast up out of the machine. It still had to be watched, but it was the first step to creating an automated system. Strite patented the pop-up toaster in 1919.

The Toastmaster
Using an updated version of Charles Strite’s pop-up toaster, The Waters Gentry Company introduced the first automatic pop-up toaster in 1925. The Toastmaster was completely automated, using a timer to determine when the toast should pop up. It was also the first toaster that could toast the bread on both sides at the same time.

Modern toasters have come a long way from the simple pop-up timer variety. Toasters now have a variety of settings, and some toasters can tell the time or make eggs for you in the morning."

Does anyone want any toast?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZslRQvv5zM

haha all the time.
i love google!! !! !

I believe I cycle through obsessions. I might have started being interested in a certain topic 15 years ago, but it hasn't been TOTAL obsession the entire time. It sort of fades into the background for awhile, until for some unknown reason I live and breathe the subject again. Its odd really.

Because in the middle of an intense interest, I can lose all sense of time. I might not eat properly, or honestly.. take care of myself much. Because I am SO wrapped up in absorbing what I'm doing.

Some obsessions:

Googling, obviously. LOL This is prehaps my longest obsession. Obsession about little obsessions.
Gardening... I love to make lists of seeds, and design the garden, and arrange the seed packets..
Scrapbooking years ago
Photography, this is ongoing. I love to take pictures.

One of my earlier obsessions was a horse. I wanted a horse. Unlike most kids, I could get one because I lived on a farm. I just had to save enough money to buy one. And at 10 years old that didn't happen fast. I wanted a Morgan horse. A mare. I would draw her all the time. I'd talk about it. I'd dream about it. I lived and breathed the IDEA of a horse. Months later I was still stuck on it, but still not even close to having enough money. As fate would have it, our house was broken into and they actually stole my "Mare Money" that I had in a coffee can. (with pictures of Morgan horses all over it of course) ..... I realized then it would never happen and I moved on. (Or did I? When my oldest daughter was born I gave her the middle name "Morgan"... because then, I reasoned.. I finally had my Morgan. pretty slick huh? ) Seriously, you know how it can be when you're stuck on something...

I get obsessed about songs. And I"ll play them until everyone I know hates the song now because I play it too much. Even then, I still like it. I just become a closet listener. (Speaking of which, I saw Thriving Ivory today at a festival and it was awesome!)

Am I an expert of any of my obsessions? Nope. I don't think so. But I do know more about things than the average person. Especially things about autism, childhood behaviors, psychiatric disorders... basically, anything I studied IN DEPTH. Things I was really really stuck on. Especially if it was a part of my life somehow, which made me even more obsessed. Like when I was told my daughter probably had Asperger's. I was unable to do anything else but research and learn about it. Total disinterest in anything else. Even things like watching tv, eating, talking, sleeping..

Yes I am officially diagnosed with AS, along with OCD, panic and anxiety disorder with agoraphobia, and PTSD. Diagnosis's that I have been MISdiagnosed with and consequently no longer am diagnosed with: Bipolar II rapid cycling, and Borderline Personality Disorder.

HA! Same diagnosis' here, minus the Borderline (but I think ALL women have at least a tad of Borderline Personality Disorder lol)! And I was also diagnosed as Bipolar but it turns out it was birth control pills and then the Norplant in my arm that was causing the huge mood swings. Now I just have ptsd, ocd, anxiety disorders, depression, agoraphobia (not like in the movies though... I can leave my house but I don't LIKE to and I don't do it often if I can help it), and the self diagnosis of AS.

Wow we have so much in common! How old are you? And how old were you when you got the AS diagnosis and how did come about? I am assuming it was when your daughter was recognized as having it?

You sound just like my boyfriend. Not only does he have a need to research stuff all the time, but when I see him looking at things I can always tell when he sees something that hits the interest spot, his jaw drops a bit and his eyes widen.. its just this look.

Myself I am more of a forum junkie, I prowl forums looking for new posts, check for new texts, or new emails.. I like forums and threads because there is a sequence and every post adds on to the last making the thread even more exciting...

I dont have a high post count for having been here for 2 years but people dont realise how much time I spend on here just reading.

I so relate to this thread! I'm an obsessive infoseeker/googler and spend hours following trains of thought/information throughout the internet. Whenever a question occurs about anything, I lunge for the computer to look up the answer right now... I have a habit of pausing DVDs or TV shows to go to the computer to look up some tidbit of info on whatever or whomever I'm watching. It's as if my little alien brain is compelled to suck up all the earthly info it can, and fast. Glad I'm not alone!