How do you conduct your interests?

Post Reply New Topic

I get the impression from reading in this forum that interests almost exclusively involves an addiction to collecting information. As in facts/absorbing everything that ever is written about the specific topic. But from other sites and sources I've read/heard that interests for people with Asperger's syndrome (and maybe ASD) involves something more similar to "originality and creativity, combined with the heightened sensitivity and the different view of the world". And this is not as rigid and "mechanical" as the first mentioned direction one can take.

So, are people with AS/ASD (like you for example) only prone to retrieve concrete information out of subjects, or can they also be experimental and innovative? Is this something that draws a line between being on the spectrum, and not being on the spectrum? I don't understand how this rigid way of pursuing ones interests are so widespread, because I have always found myself trying to be unorthodox and experimental, usually with the abstract sides of the subject.

I definitely agree that there is an artistic element to obsessions and special interests. At least from my perspective and personal experience. For example there are a few things I have always loved:

Fantasy

Musicals

Drawing

All of my interests revolve around these genres. One of my latests obsessions (which has dwindled) was the game dragon age origins. It fit all three categories. It had good background music, it was fantasy oriented (elves, dwarves, magic, etc.) and had great art and weapon skins.

I played the game repeatedly through different combinations of races, classes, casts, etc. And even did fan art of the game as such:


This is a portrait of Cyrne my favorite avatar created for playing DA origins and whom I beat the game with


This is my interpretation of the dragon age logo
[img][800:723]http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/249/e/2/dragon_age_fan_art_by_tempertempest-d5dr5wa.jpg[/img]

Special interests have slowed down. I am in a "period of transition" from one interest to the next, but I think Two Words is gonna take that spot. I have already dedicated 12 hours to that game in two days.

I tend to obsesses over peoples personal perceptions of my special interests. For example, when I was interested in religion, I wanted to know how people interpreted and applied specific religious aspects to their lives, and what the outcome was. Now that I'm more interested in psychology, I like to spend a lot of time reading forums (like this one!) and interacting with people regarding their personal experiences (and sharing my own). This does involve factual research, but mostly only so that I can apply it to my understanding of personal encounters that I read about.

I do have artistic special interests too though, and they're more hands on. For example, right now I'm obsessed with digital photo editing. That tends to manifest with me just staring at my computer for hours and hours clicking away. There is a social aspect to that as well though, because I love to hear what people think of my work.

I like to know things about my special interests, and I like to think about them and make up theories, and I like to make things related to them too. I pursue them in eberry possible way, not just collect facts about them. The only that I don't do that much is talk about them with other people in person, but I do it online moar.

I have always conducted my special interests (which have always revolved around TV shows or movies) by incorporating characters and elements from them into my imaginary world. My imaginary world is like a cinematic video game or anime with the best graphics that you can imagine.

I also express my interests through artwork. Although I am mediocre at it, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, so I will never stop.

I've always conducted my special interests through music. I like to listen to my CDs and music on YouTube.

Custom-design and construct 40K armies and other models, research things related to interests and fire various types of weapons. As for art, besides custom sculpting 40K models, I draw, paint and nearly everything else. In the way of drawing, I have been recently (past 3 years) doing cut-aways of humans and the various objects they interact with. One such drawing was a man firing an M2, with half of the man being reduced to muscle, tendon, bone, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels and half of his gun in cross-section.

This is how I conduct my special interests as well....through my fantasy world........and I have done since I was a kid. Also my interest is reading fantasy novels right now and so I'll spend a lot of time actually reading the novels........but not so much time collecting facts about the novels or author or anything.

when i was young it used to be drawing houses....i still have some of the houses i drew..though not all of them...i would just sit and draw houses made up from head head over and over...and think about mansions i could draw all day...
I also had an obsession after that with writing poetry....would sit and write for long periods of time...and would think in rhymes often....
Nowadays....its technology/computers/video games/alternative medicines/pharmeceuticals...and just collecting information.
Also buying electronics from goodwill...and either using, taking them apart, or selling them.
So...for me interests can be more active (involved doing/using things) or simply seeking out information.

I tend to obsess about performance with my interests and have to complete the item perfectly. I get trapped in it sometimes like with minesweeper where I would spend thousands of games shaving seconds off of my time. I get frustrated when my results are in any way based on odd rather than skill, like expert minesweeper coming down to probabilities or lag on online games.

I will collect info on things of immediate interest, like a health problem, or I will look up stuff that grabs my interest for a moment, but generally don't obsess about collecting info on things. I do enjoy "doing" my special interests, instead of the collecting of info, although both methods are valid ways of partaking of one's interests.

My interests are few. I like to read, watch TV--which has been broken for about a year and a half. I am getting a new one soon. I also like to keep up with sites of interest to me on the I-net, and I have always had a very active daydream life, with many "universes." I also like to listen to old radio shows. There are several stations I get that play them late at night. I also own some on cassette. I sometimes take out cassette or DVD versions of old radio shows or books from the library. I also take out books, videos, and DVD movies from the library, on those rare occasions when I am rested enough, and energetic enough to venture out. One of my health problems is sleep apnea, so I am tired all the time.

So, my interests are not much of a collecting nature, but rather a "doing" of mind based interests. Others have interests that involve "doing" hand based or other wise physically "doing" an interest.

My interests have always been well regulated by the fact that most of the time I am flat broke.

Eh, I try to be within reason regarding mine; given that I love too many things, it's hard to go get entirely satisfied.

With my interests, it has always been 'my motto' to "take in as much information as I possibly can; this was the case for my more historical or cultural interests, in the past as well as the present e.g the Ancient Egyptians, languages and Judaism. The one exception of my interests would probably be Medical tv shows, where I would just frequently watch them.