What's wrong wih a little intellectual conversation?

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yeh i feel this way too at times. i can briefly discuss things with mates, but we never really get into 'meaty' discussions. I do find a lot of social situations so boring for this reason...

"Great people talk about ideas.
Average people talk about things.
Small people talk about other people."
--Anonymous

When I was a child, I kept waiting to grow up so I could finally be included in all the "important talk" I assumed adults secretly did.

In front of me, my parents and everyone else were always nattering on about whose dog pooped on the neighbor's lawn that day, which client was difficult, and the things they planned to buy; interspersed with unasked for progress reports of how hot/cold/tired/headachey they were feeling. Gossipy, anti-intellectual ephemera that filled me with an irritation that I had to hide.

Most adults would approach me as if I were merely a generic "cute kid" (in the way that generic people think all kids are cute), ask the same questions about home and school that all the other adults asked, half listen to my answers, then move on to praise/lightly interview the next "cute kid" as opposed to a developing person with a hungry mind.

Even NT kids tend to be curious about the world around them. But I suspect it's an NT skill to be able to comfortably lower one's expectations of others (and oneself) so one can fit in and look "normal".

I spent my twenties in the middle of just such a group and they were some of the best times of my life. We all had one friend whose house became a communal gathering spot and at any given time of day (and most of the night), you'd find anywhere from three to a half-dozen people sitting around stoned and talking about music and record collecting, theoretical physics, western occultism, comparative religion, movies and so on. But, life goes on, people hook up and get married, have families, move for jobs etc...boy do I miss those people...what I wouldn't give now for just one friend like that, but I guess that would require leaving my house and going...hmm...I have no idea...

You sound like the Archangel Gabriel in The Prophecy Willard.

Well, let's just say I tend to be the most talkative whenever there's some intellectual discussion going on.

Just for fun, try having an intelligent conversation on this site.

I know having aspergers makes everything more intense.

You feel more intense emotions ,have sensory issues which for me is every sense heightened. So perhaps we also think more intensely....

I know this for sure. My boyfriend says I'm the only one he know who likes talking about interesting things. And I'm also the only one he knows who understands most of it.

Ya ever think maybe it's because most people are just stupid?

Think about this for a minute: for "stimulating thought" they turn on the news, which is just recycled & churned propaganda over and over again. And it's always the same thing over and over again..which I basically just said.

Then they come up with "I like to be informed", or "I like to be better informed, so I can help others to understand better"...when they've just watched the same crap that everyone else just saw.

Then, when you actually examine what you hear on the news--and then actually compare it to history--you realize it's just people making stupid mistakes over and over again..and these are the folks that the majority look up to, and idolize!

Another thing I'd like everyone to consider is that, due to our emotional disconnect, we see things more logically, whereas the rest of the population is mostly fueled by their emotions.

They see a pretty visual distraction, we see the machine that's projecting it; get my drift?

You would probably enjoy visiting Boulder Colorado if you can deal with a bunch of stoner liberals. If anything, the Rocky Mountain sunsets are a must see.

As for people being like monkeys (as I've seen you quoted for saying), I knew a guy who thought people were like sheep. Mainly the herding instinct, but he believed sheep, like people, are so stupid they will be stuck in a fence trying to get food from the other side and rip their head off in the process. So therefore, he felt the purpose of people/sheep is to be deceived by the wolf because it's just too easy. Guess what he did for a living? He was a used car salesman....LOL.

Don't get me wrong here, but years ago, this here would put my sentiments exactly. But now I'm starting to realize that people are generally not stupid as much as they all (and I mean all, including everyone of us on this site) will do stupid things on occasion. Some people do more stupid things than others, but everybody seems to also have something intelligent to contribute to this world, even if it goes unrecognized.

I guess it's one of those things, just because man is capable of flight with an aircraft doesn't mean all men will opt to fly. We really can't knock a world of feelings and emotions if we claim to know very little about it. Maybe there's something cool about it since everyone else is doing it. Just because I might not naturally turn to my feelings on a subject, it probably wouldn't hurt if I tried on occassion just to see what it's like.

It's just that I noticed with the herding instinct, I've been trying to consciously incorporate that into my life. THe military had me started on it. You can't survive the military without learning how to follow the herd. But I never thought about it before til now. I'm noticing that it functions, in a very ingenius way. I guess everything has its pro's and cons, and maybe it would be a fun exercise for us to find the pro's in all these things we think are completely full of cons.

How would you start with feelings? I guess the first step is to get in touch with your feelings? Right? I totally get feelings and intuition confused when I'm trying to figure them out internally (like my feelings on the subject vs my gut feeling on the subject). I guess what I'm saying is that I tend to use my intuition as my feelings a lot (with the exception of anger...that one I got).

Herding instinct

Pros: I've got your back and you've got mine. United we stand- divided we fall.

Cons: If you step too far away from the pack, I will cease to have your back. You're on your own, buddy.

I can understand how being in the military would put that in the starkest relief. If you break from the herd in an office job, you increase your chance of friction with coworkers. If you break from the herd on the battlefield, you increase your chances for death and put others at great risk too.

The true point of a herd is survival. The cost of a herd is loss of some degree of freedom. Animals and people huddle together for mutual protection but anyone who wants to stay inside that protective huddle must play by the rules. WrongPlanet is an example of this herding instinct, displaying both its benefit and cost. Joining the herd of WP gives the benefit of mutual support and a feeling of protected belonging, as is true with any herd. The cost is the loss of freedom to say any old thing you want to say or you will be kicked out of the herd: banned from posting. The supercharged posts of the "Why Do NTs Turn Nasty" thread is evidence of that.