I think that is a very good point — there is a need to have something to be interested in to keep the mind stimulated and regardless of what the latest topic of interest is, its always good to have something to focus on. =)
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Going in really deep with your obsessions…
- Thread starter Owliet
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Yup with - History, Music oh and all things related to Autism .
The joke is on them though I found the forum here .
What areas of history do you like?
I am interested in all periods ,
But currently
American Revolution.
Anything about Thomas Pain
Industrial Revolution
Victorian Era
Europe 1300s to 1500s
And the history of mathematics and electronics
I have to teach the American revolution - It is a fascinating period.=D I like how it influenced the French Revolutionaries to rise up against their oppressive monarchy to the Extent that they copied the American Declaration of Independence with their own Rights of Man Declaration.=D.
I have less fun with the Industrial Revolution : I know its important but I have more fun looking at the Colonialism of Africa and the Americas.=D
I personally prefer more ancient history: Dinosaurs (one of my recurring favorite obsessions ), Romans, Greeks, Vikings, Egyptians, Medieval periods, Swiss History up until 1800s — then it gets boring.=D.
I also like the crusades and the Aztecs. Japan history is also a favorite…
(I Am a history teacher…)
I very seldom speak of my special interests, Covid my wife is my best advocate she has seen first-hand how correct I have been, she loves to converse with her social group on it.
thank you so much brain for making me hyper fixate on a funny squid game where kids are also squids, squids are also kids, and the immortal Kenny McCormick.
Is that a real thing?=D
Ok that is really amazing you have the chance to do that . It is a fascinating period I concur with this greatly. I admire the French for standing up to the monarchs and bourgeois at the time . Not a fan of all the violence. But that is part of human and thus part of history. It is fascinating the declarations they have made as well . I am sure you know Thomas Paine was in French prison as well during the French Revolution. Crazy right ?
I understand, I really like all of the mechanical things . And of course on of my older obsessions Nikola Tesla.I will have to read about Colonialism that pertains to Africa and Americas !
I personally prefer more ancient history: Dinosaurs (one of my recurring favorite obsessions ), Romans, Greeks, Vikings, Egyptians, Medieval periods, Swiss History up until 1800s — then it gets boring.=D.
Interesting I don’t know much about Dinosaurs. But intriguing .
Medieval that is amazing ! I don’t know much about it . But fascinated with all the weapons and craftsmanship, oh and building structures . I need to dive into that period more . And can’t wait until I do .I also don’t know anything about Japan and Aztecs . Another subject I should
I think this is Amazing you are a History teacher and commend you for doing so .
When I was younger I considered doing this , but I am not good with big groups and always was best with one on one teaching and learning for that matter. To many noises in school too . Plus I am not the best speaker verbally . Very mono tone and no facial expressions. Think I would confuse more instead of teaching
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100% yes. =D
I love poetry (classic forms) and writing. Where things hit a bit of a snag for me when it comes to talking about it, is the fact that writing is a very solitary process.
When people find out you like to write and actively pursue the craft all they want to talk about their work and solely their work. And no, this is not just an autistic thing, this is a writer thing in general, so I just don't talk about it unless I have a hyperspecific platform like when I did my presentation for my MA. It was one of the few time in my life I set my mask down and went into deep dive mode.
My professors and classmates were a bit shell-shocked after that presentation, but it was one of those moments that it was do or die so I did. Literally no one knew I had that much information and ability rattling around in my head. I know the impact I can have on people when I don't temper my skill sets (total overwhelm), or even when my mask slips just a little bit. It itimidates people, which is mildly ironic since I am all of 5'4" and 100lbs. Physically I'm pretty insignificant, but I'm not stupid or shallow by any stretch of the imagination.
And given how finite my interests are, I generally don't have an issue listening to others wax loquacious on their own interests and hobbies. I just don't like to talk about mine because it does require significant mental agility to keep up. Trying to reduce that to the lowest common denominators for a layman audience whose only understanding of poetry consists of hiaku and limericks is incredibly frustrating. Toss out a word like villanelle or tessellation or tercet and watch the eyes go blank.
I admit to being an intellectual Scrooge simply because accruing new skills and information in finite topics is a sensory high, just knowing you did it, and to the best of your ability, I'm not sharing that.
When people find out you like to write and actively pursue the craft all they want to talk about their work and solely their work. And no, this is not just an autistic thing, this is a writer thing in general, so I just don't talk about it unless I have a hyperspecific platform like when I did my presentation for my MA. It was one of the few time in my life I set my mask down and went into deep dive mode.
My professors and classmates were a bit shell-shocked after that presentation, but it was one of those moments that it was do or die so I did. Literally no one knew I had that much information and ability rattling around in my head. I know the impact I can have on people when I don't temper my skill sets (total overwhelm), or even when my mask slips just a little bit. It itimidates people, which is mildly ironic since I am all of 5'4" and 100lbs. Physically I'm pretty insignificant, but I'm not stupid or shallow by any stretch of the imagination.
And given how finite my interests are, I generally don't have an issue listening to others wax loquacious on their own interests and hobbies. I just don't like to talk about mine because it does require significant mental agility to keep up. Trying to reduce that to the lowest common denominators for a layman audience whose only understanding of poetry consists of hiaku and limericks is incredibly frustrating. Toss out a word like villanelle or tessellation or tercet and watch the eyes go blank.
I admit to being an intellectual Scrooge simply because accruing new skills and information in finite topics is a sensory high, just knowing you did it, and to the best of your ability, I'm not sharing that.
Unfortunately, for me I seem to really enjoy the Reign of Terror. Once tried to get the kids to make a guillotine but we ended up pretending to take King Louis XVI to trial and then “execute them”.=D It is amazing how much terror and violence was sparked following his execution.
It is such an interesting period.=D
My current kids are researching an inventor to write an essay on the inventor’s impact back during the Industrial Revolution and comparing the impact to today. Some of found some really good information too.=)
Yes, I have a pdf on a book on the History of Africa if you are interested, I am happy to share it. =)
It is what sparked my love for history off. =D Favorite dinosaur is an allosaurus and I was fortunate to see a replica skull of Big Al is the museum here, since the Swiss team that uncovered him Worked in partnership with the American team.=D Swiss paleontology pride.=D
Love most of the topics of this period. During this time, switzerland had different Cantons and wasn’t Switzerland. So we had a lot of wars.=D
I like the English kings and queens, some are very fascinating.=D
And I enjoy the Black Death. A little bit too much. I think for me the gory parts of history are the most favorite.=D
Yes, Japan has a really interesting period, not just during the feudal period but also during their battles against the Mongolian invasion led by Kublai Khan. It is where the term Kamikaze is first used.=)
Aztecs for their pure human sacrifice is most fun.=D
Yes, it was surprising that I have chosen this path. I think when I was younger, I would not have been able to do it. It is still problematic at times, and I have to mask a lot so I am often exhausted after teaching But I really enjoy educating young people in history And inspiring them to like the subject rather than consider it to be boring. =D
If you are interested in following some sort of path, you could look to volunteering at your local museum as an educator/tour guide. I have done this, and it was very fun.=)
Wow. That is very funny.=D Not in a bad way.just didn’t expect that.=D
I think it is one of those balancing acts of trying to ensure that nothing is totally overwhelmIng with information. I used to have to balance my information dumps of history topics to not go into too much depth to not overwhelm people — it is especially more of a challenging when you have a variety of ages that determine the type of information shared and how much depth you should go into — when all you want to do is to just go into depth and talk about it as much as possible. It is especially exciting when you have another who is into the same topic as you and can speak on your level. That type of high is something that I personally really enjoy and like interacting with — alas it is very rare if I find someone like that.=(
I was in my element back in 2019 on a tour in Morocco's Anti-Atlas with geologists and interested amateurs. Lots of great discussions and a focus on my favorite interest, trilobites. I did not need to worry about boring people.
That’s cool ! I am sure the kids liked that .
I bet , and it’s good that kids are finding this stuff interesting. In America sadly lots of kids and Adults in general find history annoying and useless. To compare the impacts is a productive way to bridge the generations.
Sure anything you want to send me I will read .
That is fantastic !
I was not aware of that
I agree with that ! I forgot to mention I did go through a period when I was 10 obsessed with Ancient Greek Culture and mythology. Back way before the internet, the library was my favorite place to be .
Lol - I get that , I just haven’t talked to a history teacher or professor who was interested in all the darker and death part of history. At least not that I was aware of . It’s really intriguing that you are .
Interesting! I never knew that . Thank you
That I was aware of . But wasn’t sure historically how accurate it was . With you mentioning it , it means it is accurate.
I understand it must be hard . But it sounds like your reward is well worth it .
I should if I was a better at speech . I would be best at research . But maybe I can learn better speaking every 10 years it feels I have got much better with it .
Geology is such a huge interest. I did the Moh’s hardness test once with a group of students with a various types like diamond (on a 10 scale of hard) with various tools to test it out, and they had a lot of fun.
You’d love the dinosaur museum here in Aathal, there are lots of trilobites in the collection.=D
Yes, it’s one of the most important things about history, people need to understand that it may have happened in the past but it is still relevant for the present and future.
I’ll get up the resource.=). It is a PDF.
I think I am a bit of a special breed when it comes to the gory bits of history. Its not like I greatly enjoy the suffering, I just find it really interesting…maybe that‘s a bit weird..I dont know.
Yes, i do recommend it. I think it really helps to practice communication too. I am still learning, and I do make mistakes. I may be considered as “authentic” too but it is because I dont hide what I say and try to be as honest as possible. I think kids need that more direct approach — they seem to prefer it anyway. Its just colleagues that I find difficult to deal with.=(
Oh yeah, I get super obsessive. I have my obsessive hobbies and overall interests of course, and I also tend to develop character obsessions. Any of that can be very, very strong. And that's putting it mildly...
The problem though is that any given obsession can become... corrupted. That's the best word for it. If anything causes any sort of forced disconnect between me and whatever it is, if something prevents me from being able to access whatever it is or interact with it in the right way, the whole thing becomes extremely negative (when normally, my obsessions are very positive in a lot of ways). At that point, the mere sight or mention of X thing, whatever it is, will send my mood spiraling down really fast. There are certain things where, the obsession is still there, the desire and need is still there... but I cant get at them now. Any reminders of those things is mental torture, so I'll purposefully avoid anything that might contain such reminders. And I *definitely* wont talk about them. Basically the opposite of an info-dump... when the connection is positive and I can get at whatever it is, I wont shut up about it. When the connection has been severed, all you'll get outta me is a vocal void, because I now cant handle it. And then anger, lots of anger, if you keep pressing me on it (nobody does that though, fortunately). There are currently two things that fall into this category, both are driving me crazy. But, let's get away from those here...
There's positives though, too. A strong enough obsession can get me to do things I normally wouldnt. And I dont mean small things like "call someone on the phone". I mean really major things, like "travel out of state by myself for the first time". One personality trait of mine... which probably isnt very positive... is that once I decide I want something, I *will* have it... whatever it takes. I'm a spoiled brat (though I'm not a kid) from a wealthy family... you do the math on that one. Can be positive, though. The "travel out of state" bit really did happen, for instance, and was a very positive thing. Some skills were learned over time due to wanting to go after various things too. It's the primary reason I can use computers so well, even (because of my gaming hobby, it used to be that games on PC could be... argumentive, so getting them fully working required a lot of effort in some cases, and that meant learning more and more).
Now, as for normal infodumping though... I just dont do it. Usually, I dont see the point. I mean, yeah, if you do get me talking about an interest/obsession (which is still in a positive state), I indeed wont shut up about it, but good luck getting me to the point of starting that. I've gotten so used to people around me clearly not being interested that I now assume this to be the case 100% of the time, and simply will avoid such discussions due to seeing them as a likely irritating waste of time.
I've lost track of whatever else I was going to say here.
The problem though is that any given obsession can become... corrupted. That's the best word for it. If anything causes any sort of forced disconnect between me and whatever it is, if something prevents me from being able to access whatever it is or interact with it in the right way, the whole thing becomes extremely negative (when normally, my obsessions are very positive in a lot of ways). At that point, the mere sight or mention of X thing, whatever it is, will send my mood spiraling down really fast. There are certain things where, the obsession is still there, the desire and need is still there... but I cant get at them now. Any reminders of those things is mental torture, so I'll purposefully avoid anything that might contain such reminders. And I *definitely* wont talk about them. Basically the opposite of an info-dump... when the connection is positive and I can get at whatever it is, I wont shut up about it. When the connection has been severed, all you'll get outta me is a vocal void, because I now cant handle it. And then anger, lots of anger, if you keep pressing me on it (nobody does that though, fortunately). There are currently two things that fall into this category, both are driving me crazy. But, let's get away from those here...
There's positives though, too. A strong enough obsession can get me to do things I normally wouldnt. And I dont mean small things like "call someone on the phone". I mean really major things, like "travel out of state by myself for the first time". One personality trait of mine... which probably isnt very positive... is that once I decide I want something, I *will* have it... whatever it takes. I'm a spoiled brat (though I'm not a kid) from a wealthy family... you do the math on that one. Can be positive, though. The "travel out of state" bit really did happen, for instance, and was a very positive thing. Some skills were learned over time due to wanting to go after various things too. It's the primary reason I can use computers so well, even (because of my gaming hobby, it used to be that games on PC could be... argumentive, so getting them fully working required a lot of effort in some cases, and that meant learning more and more).
Now, as for normal infodumping though... I just dont do it. Usually, I dont see the point. I mean, yeah, if you do get me talking about an interest/obsession (which is still in a positive state), I indeed wont shut up about it, but good luck getting me to the point of starting that. I've gotten so used to people around me clearly not being interested that I now assume this to be the case 100% of the time, and simply will avoid such discussions due to seeing them as a likely irritating waste of time.
I've lost track of whatever else I was going to say here.
I spend much of my spare time outside of work doing various things related to photography
I probably take more photos in one weekend than many people in one month, it's a bit obsessive sometimes, but I feel it's a good thing overall... And I have been very active with it for ten years now
One negative thing I have noticed is that sometimes I forget to do basic chores I should do because I'm so wrapped up with the photography
I probably take more photos in one weekend than many people in one month, it's a bit obsessive sometimes, but I feel it's a good thing overall... And I have been very active with it for ten years now
One negative thing I have noticed is that sometimes I forget to do basic chores I should do because I'm so wrapped up with the photography
Going in deep with an interest is cool, because you get to see things that 99% of humans don't even know about. They might know the 'surface' version, but holy crap, they have no idea how crazy it gets.
Most of my interests are uncomfortably close to each other. At that rate, I just call it a life purpose
Most of my interests are uncomfortably close to each other. At that rate, I just call it a life purpose
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