NTs also have "narrow interests".

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Take my sister, for instance. She spends most of her talking time talking about her gym workouts, regardless of who's listening, who she bores, etc. The only difference is that she doesn't 'specialize' in her subjects of interest, she just likes talking about her experience with them.

Like her, her friends are practically the same. Would be talking about who's with who on Big Brother constitute as narrow? Or who's with who in real life? Gossips?

Do you know any NTs like this? Overly preoccupied with social topics to the point of only talking about them?

Yes...to a certain extent...I am straining to think of an example because there are so few NT's who's lives I am privy to. I know at least one, who's narrow interest basicly seems to be self promotion/worship....

Narrow Typical topic

My ex-husband's nutbag relatives are constantly harping about their fundamentalist views and trying to shove them down everyone else's throats. I call them Fundamental frantatics of the far-fetched faith. Unfathomable, to me.

We are all creatures of habit?

That we are, but why is it something that's slightly pathologicalized in our case?

No one ever mentions how limited NTs can be in their topics of choice.

As a scientist, I know plenty of fellow scientists (NTs) with narrow interests - science itself being one of them, but one person in my lab is very interested in philosophy, several in playing musical instruments quite obsessively. These are very socially able people, so I dont think that narrow interests are limited to Aspies.

In fact often I think that I have less narrow interests than many of the NTs that I meet. We all get wrapped up in our individual science projects to the detriment of real life (Its part of being a scientist). One difference is that these people seem to really like doing the things that they do and so focus on them willingly and if they dont feel like doing them they dont, whereas for me, I like music and philosophy and science etc to a certain extent but I like the idea of them more and often force myself to obsessively spend time doing them regularly when I dont actually want to. I am not sure that most people would do this. Often I dont actually enjoy fulfilling my interests - it just feels to me something that I have to do because I have decided that these are my interests and I like the idea of having done these things even if its not what I feel like doing at the time. Even things like walking in the mountains which I am obsessed about and do enjoy most of the time become something I HAVE to do rather than just doing it for the enjoyment - I will plan to go certain weekends then have to stick to my plans even if I am tired and would rather stay in bed and at home.

I think this is how my interests differ from NTs - rather than the intensity or the enjoyment it is the obsession, the necessity to do these things despite often not enjoying them much and the disappointment in myself and irritation if I cant do them.

I've also noticed that they also seem to have narrow interests, as well. If they talk about how good they are, others will listen.

I know plenty. Some of them in my family are pre-occupied with non-social topics as well, such as cooking, or dogs. My friend was always obsessed with 'getting p****', doing drugs, or playing pool. But merrymanscientist mentions they only research them when it interests them.

Since my areas of interest fail to ever bore me, I can't say which category I fall into.

i don't know which category I fall into, and I'm new to this place, but one thing I've been complaining about most of my life about most people in general (I guess you'd call them NTs) is that their conversations usually average on a 3rd grade reading level or a less than normal IQ, especially in arguments. For me, I have such a broad range of interests that I will find something in any topic that I am knowledgeable about and can enjoy talking about, but most people aren't interested in listening in general anyway. Usually they enjoy most talking with someone who doesn't say much and asks a lot of questions. If they are the quiet type, they usually don't like the silence interrupted unless there is a good reason. Even worse, if you are stupid enough to volunteer information, like in a workplace, they always find a way to use it against you in the future. For whatever reason, I have a hard time keeping things short, to the point, and shutting up, and that's usually what most people hate about me or thing odd of me. I will say the easiest way to recognize this problem I have is listening to my conversation like it's a movie or play (like record a conversation and listen later), and then I realized that I'm one big monologue rather than dialogue, or I don't say anything at all. But, I find pleasure in talking to two people I found on this earth. My husband is one because he can actually ignore me without my notice, so I think he's listening until I realize later and get upset, but for that moment, I really think he's listening, so it's cool. Then, my friend will actually listen to me and not argue with me about it, so I have my selfish conversations with her, and try to have enough so that all my other conversations are selfless or get the job done oriented (like calling the cell phone company with a question about my bill). I do have moments where I will talk the ear off of the bill collector, but they get paid to listen, so I don't mind putting them through that. The cool thing about the bill collector is that you can talk about anything you want, and if you are really lucky, they'll argue with you too so then you can let off some steam or have some fun. I do agree that most people will tell me my conversational skills suck like they are masters of conversation.

My NT brother is obsessed with the US Marine Corps. He's collected a ton of official Marine Corps merchandise, and is very adamant about wanting to join when he turns 18.

People say dat only aspies have narrow interests but NTs also have narrow interests too so its not necessary dat only aspies have narrow interests.

My NT brother was into space and planets. But wouldn't narrow interests be focusing on only one thing, eg, instead of being interests in planets, an aspie is only interested in one planet. That is narrow.


Someone having a narrow interests about sports, they are only into one sport or certain sports.


My narrow interests were London and dalmatians. Dalmatians are a narrow interests because it's being focused on one breed and London, I was only focused on certain places that were in 101 Dalmatians and only wanted to do those things.

I don't think I have narrow interests anymore. If I had such narrow interests, I would only go to Spokane and do the stuff that is only in Benny & Joon and leave, do nothing else. Is me eating only at Ferguson's when it's open classify as a narrow interest?

So, reading a lot on and researching astronomy extensively wouldn't constitue as "narrow"? How narrow is "very narrow?"




My sister talks about muscle building, the treadmill and her personal trainers. Is that narrow?

I agree with you.
Plus Isn't Football and other sports a ''narrow'' interest. My dad always talks about it even to the degree it becomes boring. so does my older brother.
plus society thinks if boys dont like football then they are weirdos.,,,

Would you say that those who talk about themselves all the time (and I'm talking about people who are really self-absorbed) had narrow interests (i.e. themselves)?

Silver_Proteus, what constitutes as narrow?

I've always had this problem in the meaning behind "Narrow Interests". I'm into politics and history. Let us say my interest is the Middle East. What would be a narrow interest in this particular study? Would me being interested in the bedouin be narrow? If I were to study about their language, their culture, their origins, the many tribes that are a part of bedouin lifestyle, their music, their relations to other neighboring tribes, religion, etc.

I wouldn't consider that narrow at all. Then again, that is my thought.