Autistic interests

[VoidCat]

I am autistic as y'all know. And a common symptom of autism is special interests. That's is intense interests that are very narrow focused. Autism was once called by Asperger "little professor syndrome" as it was thought autistics would have an in-depth knowledge of their interests that would rival professors. I wouldnt go that far but most special interests ive had I have an in-depth knowledge of. Some I no longer have as much knowledge on as I no longer find them interesting but probably did at the time it was an interest depending on my age. Some autistics have only one special interest at a time others have a few they cycle through. Here is a list of ones I've had both current and past that I still have some knowledge on feel free to ask me questions on any of these topics and discuss them with me drop some fun facts about them if you like...i thought it'd be interesting to list them then see if any of the interests still interest me. I will say some of these topics im not as knowledgable as i used to be and most of them are very broad topics and some of these i had when i was a kid so while I may have read multiple books and spent hours reading on the topic I wouldnt have the knowledge someone who absorbed much of the info as an adult would've but i still may know a lot on the topic and i may have forgotten some facts. Really i just want to discuss some topics im bored and cant think of just one so im listing **** I know some stuff on that I might be able to talk on. Id love to hear any interesting facts on any of these topics

Current or recent(as in been interested in the past year):
Religious extremism
Paganism
Witchcraft
Luciferianism
Cats
Early childhood education
Disability rights
Autism
Social justice
Developmental psychology
Abnormal psychology
Muse ARG
The civil rights movement
Systematic racism and history
Rape apologetics
Children rights
Advocacy
Herbal tea
Child abuse
Trauma
Advocacy

Past ones that I still know lots of info on and still find interesting but aren't current autistic special interests(tho were in the past):
World war 2(particularly things related to the holocaust)
Hate groups such as the KKK
White supremism
The great depression
LGBT identities
The civil war and slavery
Dog and cat training
Conspiracy theories particularly ones related to lsd and the 60s
Serial killers
The history of how sex has divided the US(from interracial relationships way back to birth control arguments to modern day feminism)
Quakerism
Sleep deprivation
Modern torture tactics such as as white room torture


Stuff I know lots of info on but aint that interested in anymore but might have restart:
Ancient torture tactics
Ancient China
End times prophecy and christianity(certain theories more knowledgable then others)
Ancient egypt
Drug use through history
Slugs
Sea creatures


Random special interest from the past that I occasionally get interested in and still can't wrap my mind around:
Space travel

 

[VoidCat]

autucally some of this might be ADHD hyperfixations rather then autistic interests...there is a difference...

 

[SomeRandom]

I sometimes wonder if I’m on the spectrum, tbh
Because I do tend to develop intense special interests. Which I tend to hyperfixate on. Among other factors
And I have quite a few family members who are autistic
(Not sure if that’s a factor. But it is my reality nonetheless.)
I’m likely neurodivergent, that much I’m sure of lol

 

[VoidCat]

I sometimes wonder if I’m on the spectrum, tbh
Because I do tend to develop intense special interests. Which I tend to hyperfixate on. Among other factors
And I have quite a few family members who are autistic
(Not sure if that’s a factor. But it is my reality nonetheless.)
I’m likely neurodivergent, that much I’m sure of lol

Autism is typically genetic so its possible you are autistic. Interestingly some theorize that one possible cause of autism has to do with the x chromosome as a disorder known as fragile X syndrome people with it often display autistic traits

 

[SomeRandom]

Autism is typically genetic so its possible you are autistic. Interestingly some theorize that one possible cause of autism has to do with the x chromosome as a disorder known as fragile X syndrome people with it often display autistic traits

Oh wow. I didn’t know that. That’s interesting

Informative frubal

 

[VoidCat]

Oh wow. I didn’t know that. That’s interesting

Informative frubal

There also was something i read another gene mutation cant remember what gene is mutated its been a while since i read it that is linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can also be linked to autism. Interestingly all three run in my family

 

[SomeRandom]

There also was something i read another gene mutation cant remember what gene is mutated its been a while since i read it that is linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can also be linked to autism. Interestingly all three run in my family

Hmm
I think it’s the same in my family as well

 

[JustGeorge]

autucally some of this might be ADHD hyperfixations rather then autistic interests...there is a difference...

What are the differences?

 

[VoidCat]

What are the differences?

ADHD hyperfixiation it's harder to pull yourself away and can sometimes be distressing. Sometimes the hyperfixation isnt something you even find interesting. Special interests are soothing and you lose track of time but often can pull yourself away if needed.


And if you hyperfixate on a special interest that's how you get two weeks worth of stuff done in two days but forget to eat and sleep.

 

[VoidCat]

And if you hyperfixate on a special interest that's how you get two weeks worth of stuff done in two days but forget to eat and sleep.

I once did a 40 slide powerpoint on autism in 5 days cuz I was hyperfixated and autism is a special interest.

 

[Ella S.]

I used to be obsessed with occultism. I actually wrote an entire book on the history of Satanism, tracing it throughout Western tradition and pointing to a number of various "folk satanisms" around the world, mostly due to Catholics conflating a local pagan underworld deity with the devil and the indigenous people there continuing to worship that deity, anyway.

The earliest forms of Satanism were actually tied to Greco-Roman and Jewish necromancy, which started before the formation of Christianity; I found some historical references of Jews condemning the practice of summoning Beelzebub in a circle during the Second Temple period. Technically, this makes Satanism older than Christianity, although it wasn't called Satanism until the 16th century, where "Luciferianism," "Diabolism," and more broadly "necromancy" and "witchcraft" were still the preferred names for it.

The diversity in modern Satanism was a lot easier to write about, since I knew of Diane Vera's site, BALG, Daimonosophy, Anticosmic Satanism, Dukante Generational Demonolatry, Fraternitas Saturni, Ben Kadosh, Michael Aquino, Kenneth Grant, Alice Bailley, etc.

I had a particular interest in Hermetic esotericism, with a passing interest in Theosophy, New Age, and New Religious Movements. The Kybalion is not Hermetic, but it is New Thought, which is a precursor to New Age.

Now I'm obsessed with rationality. I'm doubling down on my study of logic, game theory, and Rationalism.

I'm also obsessed with offensive security, and luckily I might be able to make a promising career out of that one. Since this industry is constantly changing, I figure it's an obsession that I can probably have for the rest of my life.

My obsession with occultism lasted several years until I knew more than any professor I could find on the subject, at which point I got bored of it. I also realized I didn't believe in the supernatural in the way most occultists do and was tired of the small niche of naturalistic occultism.

I am autistic and I'm actually in regular contact with quite a few professors that I've had higher-level academic discussions with over the years, who have treated me with the academic respect they often reserve for peers. My knowledge tends to be broad rather than narrow, though, so I wouldn't say that I'm anywhere near doctorate-level depth on anything since doctorates require you to make new discoveries in the field.

I almost did that by piecing together that "Satan" has historical ties to the Canaanite underworld God, "Mot" and traced the etymologies of the character's epithets back several centuries, but now I think this is common knowledge. I think someone else realized that in the 60's and it just wasn't widely known until I started blabbing about it in occult spaces, lol.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Well, I have one both broad and narrow interest.
How do we know that we know?
The rest is close to 30 years of reading and debating of what that concept of knowledge really is?!!

 

[VoidCat]

I'm also obsessed with offensive security, and luckily I might be able to make a promising career out of that one. Since this industry is constantly changing, I figure it's an obsession that I can probably have for the rest of my life.

I feel similar about early childhood education. It's a field that is changing constantly I possibly could end up interested my whole life

 

[Ella S.]

I feel similar about early childhood education. It's a field that is changing constantly I possibly could end up interested my whole life

I think we are very lucky to find a way to essentially monetize doing what we enjoy, given that society forces us to spend so much of our time performing tasks for monetary reward.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I think we are very lucky to find a way to essentially monetize doing what we enjoy, given that society forces us to spend so much of our time performing tasks for monetary reward.

Well, I ended up with psychiatric disability pension, so I am free to do what I like.

 

[Ella S.]

Well, I ended up with psychiatric disability pension, so I am free to do what I like.

I've had to live that way due to severe C-PTSD. My therapist has been doing trauma therapy for decades and they told me that I had the worst case of repeated trauma that they had ever heard of.

I'm still struggling with that right now, but I'm working towards a meaningful career. I'm in training right now still, but I've managed to land a few freelance consulting jobs here and there. My therapist tells me that I'm not quite ready to work full time, but I'm making progress and there's hope that I will be able to soon.

I hate living on disability. It makes me feel like a worthless parasite. I feel like there's so much more I could do with my life to contribute to the world. It's not even that I was born mentally ill that's holding me back. I've just had a lot of really terrible experiences that were out of my control. Sometimes it feels like God has personally set out to prevent me from making something more of myself by manipulating fate against me.

I know that's irrational and I don't really believe that, but even the professionals I see have commented on how wild my life has been. I hate that because I don't want that to be what defines me. I have to work extra hard to define myself the way that I find meaning in.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I've had to live that way due to severe C-PTSD. My therapist has been doing trauma therapy for decades and they told me that I had the worst case of repeated trauma that they had ever heard of.

I'm still struggling with that right now, but I'm working towards a meaningful career. I'm in training right now still, but I've managed to land a few freelance consulting jobs here and there. My therapist tells me that I'm not quite ready to work full time, but I'm making progress and there's hope that I will be able to soon.

I hate living on disability. It makes me feel like a worthless parasite. I feel like there's so much more I could do with my life to contribute to the world. It's not even that I was born mentally ill that's holding me back. I've just had a lot of really terrible experiences that were out of my control. Sometimes it feels like God has personally set out to prevent me from making something more of myself by manipulating fate against me.

I know that's irrational and I don't really believe that, but even the professionals I see have commented on how wild my life has been. I hate that because I don't want that to be what defines me. I have to work extra hard to define myself the way that I find meaning in.

Well, I am in all likelihood born with a part of it, but it didn't make it better that I had a sub-optional childhood. As far as I can tell, nowhere near as bad as you, but it still has its impacts to day in some automated responses in some situations.

 

[Revoltingest]

I think we are very lucky to find a way to essentially monetize doing what we enjoy, given that society forces us to spend so much of our time performing tasks for monetary reward.

Society doesn't force you to work for money.
It's your desire to eat, surf the net, & sleep
indoors that compels you to seek remuneration.

Anyway, about hyperfocus...
A friend from school was working on his PhD in
plasma physics. The Sun really interested him.
His wife told me that one day they went grocery
shopping, & she realized he wasn't with her.
He was still in the car, staring straight ahead.
She urged him to come along.
He said "I'm not done yet.".

I once had a job designing a novel kind of aerial
refueling system. Another worker there saw me
leaning back in my chair, with my feet up, just
staring blankly into space. He angrily said "I wish
I had your job!". Little did he know that I was busy
designing it. Sometimes it's easier to imagine
things...to ruminate...by shutting out visual input.

Such projects can be consuming. I'd dream about
solving problems. But I have to be careful to not
think about them before falling asleep. Sleep can
become elusive. That's why the TV is useful.
Listening to Futurama beats counting sheep.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Society doesn't force you to work for money.
It's your desire to eat, surf the net, & sleep
indoors that compels you to seek remuneration.
...

Yeah and if you can't do that without help you are worthless and I just laugh at you, because that is funny.

 

[Revoltingest]

Yeah and if you can't do that without help you are worthless and I just laugh at you, because that is funny.

I've surmised that she's capable of working for a living.
So working is a choice.
Does someone have a chip on his shoulder?