Taking things literally, or not

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Yesterday I was talking to my mom and I told her I had some chocolate left over from a few months ago because I like to make it last. She said it was awful that I didn't eat chocolate like normal people (meaning quickly). I knew she didn't actually mean it was awful, but I still found myself asking her why it was awful and started listing the reasons why it was a good thing. She told me she was joking and asked me if I could tell when she was joking. I didn't know what to say. It's like part of my brain knew she was joking, but another part took it literally. Thinking about it since then, I can think of other times when I have done this. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what I'm talking about. I know that taking things literally is common but what about taking things literally while at the same time knowing that they're not?

Where are we "taking" these things? j/k

Yes, I do that! Somehow I am suspecting that the person might be joking, but it is as if another part of my brain is already filing the incident under "Literal Truths."

Awww yes lol. I have a boss at work with a knack for saying things *just* wrong, then complaining that I'm pedantic and that I knew what he meant. How am I supposed to know what he meant when HE didn't know well enough to SAY what he meant?

know what you mean. i have a pretty immediate self-awareness (at times) of my perceptions or behaviors being off, but that's my truth and it goes like that anyhow. occasionally when someone is joking i recognize it straight off but find it unfunny and am annoyed that they are not saying something serious.

LMAO ^5

I always do this. Gr.

Happens to me on a daily basis.
Today there was an incident: my boyfriend told me after having looked at some silly pictures me and some friends shot of me: "My God, you're not good at taking just pretty pictures, are you?" I knew he was kidding. He would never tell me, I'm ugly I'm sure. He frequently calls me cute, pretty, etc. But it hurt me so deeply and made me wonder: "why would he say something this horrible?"

People say such strange things. It's difficult to accept that one is bound never to know what anyone truly means. ):

Sometimes I do this. I usually take things completely literally, but sometimes someone says something that seems so absurd or unlike something they would mean seriously, I suspect it is a joke; however, part of me still takes it literally.
One example was when some acquaintances jokingly told me they had given my phone number to a male that was infatuated with me. This person was very forward with his flirting and did not seem to understand that I was not interested. Because of his insistent advances when we had to be around each other in person, I was quite concerned that he would bombard my cell phone with calls and messages. Part of me figured they would not violate my privacy so much by giving out my phone number without my permission, but most of me took it seriously and considered smacking the main joker. When I look back on it, I do actually find it a little funny.

Hahaha. Good one.

And I do this. Then I look dumb because I took it literally when they were joking.

I do this all the time. It isn't that I don't know when someone is joking. It happens because I don't know how to respond appropriately. NT's are always able to magically come up with some clever comeback without even thinking. Since I can't think of anything better I respond literally in a sort-of unthinking knee-jerk fashion. I can attempt to cover myself by pretending that being literal is just my own dry sense of humor but that doesn't always go over. Often people still feel the need to tell me "I was joking" and then I have to reply with "I know" .

My inclination is to take it literally , albeit unconsciously , but I have to filter that out cerebrally , and I'm torn between the two ,( as above^).

But sometimes the filtering doesn't work , as when I'm a little tired, and I will act like' KING LITERAL'.

One can read my about my crown of " LITERALNESS" by checking my previous postings on this topic.

I use this tendency just to annoy people. I know damn well what they mean, but insist on taking it literally just to frustrate them for not being better at stating things more clearly. Say what you mean and mean what you say, dammit. They don't always find it so funny, but little kids get it.

There are times I honestly think of a word or phrase's double meaning in my head and purposely take it literally and try to joke. I remember talking to someone about computers and the JAVA updates that comes up. I said something like, "They think you really like coffee, right?" knowing very well what it is. The person did laugh, sincerely thinking it was funny.

I know this is kind of different, but other times I won't catch myself and take something literally when not joking around.

I've ended up always doing this. :\

Even now, there's that little doubt in my mind that someone's being literal or not.

It can get humorous. I like doing what Capper7 says; taking something literally on purpose. Like driving down the street and seeing a "for rent" sign on a swing suspended from a tree. I fantasized about asking how long I could rent the swing for, and would they serve lemonade while I sat there?