Can you be inspired by people?

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I can't. On TV I'll hear a promo for something on the news or a daytime talk show and they'll mention someones "inspiring story". I have never been inspired by the story. Even in times when I head about someone who has a similar personality to mine and by their own description have similar thoughts on things and are involved in thing that are of interest to me, I still don't feel any different. It's likely the impaired sense of empathy and lack of "theory of mind". I can't seem myself in anyone else even when details add up. Also the fact that they have accomplished something and I haven't means there must be something different about them that I don't know about.

Pretty much, no.

This is one of the reasons I thought I was strange compared to others. I had to write a timed essay about patriotism one time, what inspired me or whatever, nearly turned in an empty page till I started the BS faucet... I cannot see myself marching off to war for some cause that really isn't true, all the other "enemies" have a cause to fight for as well. Who's to say who is right anyway?

Maybe this different than what you mean, but I've similar thoughts running through my head.

I'm not sure what you mean.

Most of your examples are about hype, and of course it's all crap. They're just trying to sell a story. I doubt that the NTs even fall for it.

All that nonsense about the impaired sense of empathy and lack of "theory of mind" is crap, too.

But nobody at all? I see a few people in history that I admire. Does that count?

I think it counts Tahitiii, I look up to George Washington, John Paul Jones, Amedeo Avogadro, Danny Thomas and Iris Chang among others.

Aspies are way less impressionable/influenceable by the usual sensationalism than NTs. This is because we use logic and analysis first and foremost to process information, unlike NTs who are more influenced by non-verbals such as tone of the speaker, his/her position in the hierarchy, surrounding atmosphere, others' attituded to the speaker, how he's dressed, etc.

My parents say I have always been unusually impermeable to external influence. They say I was born following my own logic. As a child, my father used to commend me for having a "personality" and being my own person. Needless to say, I had no idea what he was talking about back then, because I didn't do it on purpose. My mother, however, hated this about me more than anything else.

Inspired? Oh my yes. I sought out mentors. It's like choosing a school. Most might go for affordability or the name or reputation, etc. I looked at the professors. In my case school wasn't a good option, but I still looked for my mentors, we shared a common passion. It was more of an exchange as they got to know me. They had the big degree's but were more of the maverick type, we hit it off well. I learned a lot and hope they did from me as well. But yes, they were inspirational. You wouldn't know their names, but you would if you were in their field of expertise.

Some talked very little and some you couldn't shut up, especially if we started on our obsessive passion. And we often disagreed on certain aspects, but we listened to each other. We played well together and knew when to give space, it was just not needed to be spoken of. Aspies? I have no doubt there were more than a few. And those that weren't, well most of them were of the maverick type anyway. And of course there were those that weren't and we butted heads a lot. I never believed in respect just because one might have a certain rank, they have to earn it. It was my job to be open minded enough to listen first.

I butted heads with one of my non mentors over the importance of a prehistoric site. He never worked on another prehistoric site without another PHD watching over his shoulder with that company. However having said that, he was amazing on an historic site. I'm not shy when it comes to my obsessions. I can be down right buligerant and because of it there is a extremely rare old feature, as in a paleo type, that was done correctly, because I stuck to my guns and wouldn't budge. Among others. But I learned from my inspirations first, my mentors.

I carried my aspie traits into it as well and the good bosses knew it, but my methodology was sound. Even if I did have the bad habit of rethinking what the feature was I might be working on, way to often. But my methodology was always sound, my science was good and even when I tried to give it a new interpretation, it still was done right. I hated it when they might say ok you guys work harder, but not you, you keep doing what you're doing. An outcast among the outcasts, gads!! I was anal about a lot of it and that actually is a good trait in some fields. Field notes are wonderful and fit my style of writing perfectly. Now I'm too windy.

And if you see a bit of bravdo in there, you were 100% correct. Ego is important, don't let the herd ever tear yours down.

And there I went on one of my obsessions and didn't know enough to shut up. But there are others out there like us and they can be an inspiration.

I laugh at that garbage. NT's around me get all weepy when they see someone they don't know, have never met and have nothing in common with "overcoming" some nonsense on a two-minute news filler, and they say, "Oh, wow, I can SO relate."

Man, these people wonder why I find them dull?

I have / had some people I was inspired by, but they were not the usual role models people choose. Not the most spectacular kind of people. In most cases it took some time to realize I was inspired by someone.

Famous people in management magazines never inspire me for some reason.

When I am inspired by a person I need to know exactly what I am being inspired by, this means that people that people that others are normaly inpired by I am unaffected by. But I do respect others, and I think I am pretty good at makeing that look like inpired.