Can you explain the reasons behind your interests to others?

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Yes, but I feel like they only really want to know about it until I explain, and that's sort of damaging for my self-esteem.

I don't. It never comes up and nobody ever asks. I like it that way.

no i can not. other people can not fathom my level of interest in things they find trivial.

one example is i watched a youtube video of a jet engine spooling up to maximum power about 30 times before i satisfied my appetite for it.

no one i showed it to could bear to watch it for more than 30 seconds before they claimed that they had "got the idea", but the fun starts at 2:15 when it is thrusted to maximum power.


here is the video i am talking about
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waDeveWle54[/youtube]

i am enthralled by the atmospheric conditions around the fan, and i can not get enough of it.
if i play this video in it's entirety to a visitor to my place, their eyes will be glazed over with boredom when i look at them after the video is finished. if i attempt to play it again, they will strenuously object, and little do they know that i previously watched it 30 times in a row before i was filled by whatever mental nutrient it provided to me.

i can pay attention for hours to minutia and i can be mesmerized by my own mental appreciation of what appears to be insufferably boring to normal people.

i can not be bothered to share what i am interested in with other people mostly because i know that they will never understand in the way i do, what i see in it.

I explain them quite well to myself, but some others don't get it from a poorer sense.

That can still fit into the definition. Usually it'll be close relatives that will be anguished by this, and if the person with the obsession knows it gets in the way, they will undoubtedly still be distressed by it, even though they enjoy the obsession.

_________________
THINGS I LIKE
Parasaurolophus, Plesiosaurs, Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, Music, Tuna, Chocolate milk, Oreos, Blue things

Parasaurolophuscolobus. Parasaurcolobus. Colobusaurolophus.
....And Nunchucks are my friends.

Can someone actually explain to me what makes an interest a 'special' one? I'm currently doing some research on myself for my AS appointment and the whole special interest thing is something I'm confused about. I have one or two interests I pursue on a very regular basis - read about, research, talk about, experience, etc, but I'm not sure if it'd be classed as special. In the AQ test it also said whether I'd be upset if I couldn't pursue them, and I'm really not sure about that... An interest that comes to mind is the music of Paul McCartney... and if someone told me I couldn't attend a show he's doing in London because I needed to do something else I'd be very very very pissed off and upset because I simply must be there, but if someone interrupted me reading about him or discussing him on a forum I wouldn't be bothered that much.

People have reasons beyond, "this is interesting and I want to know more" or "isn't this so cool?"

I only have reasons beyond that for one of my interests - that being the one centered on my cat. However,I've been to some degree like that with animals in general before getting my cat too.

A lot of my intense interests aren't unusual enough that I have to explain them, but there is one.

I am obsessed with bags/pockets/backpacks/boxes and folders/binders and finding collectibles and sheets of paper to store in them. I haven't really told anyone and I don't understand why I do it but if anyone asks/notices I can just say "It's an art project." or "I'm just trying to get organized."
I just feel like it's an instinct, like a squirrel will gather acorns and bury them, I find stuff to store things in, and like to make hidey holes. I can explain it, but I really don't have any reason for it, because I've -always- been that way. In other words, if there's a real reason for why I'm obsessed with those things, I don't know it.

Explain why something tastes good to you that doesn't taste good to others. If someone kept asking you, you could BS some sort of metaphorical or psychological reason behind it, but the truth is, to you it just tastes good and that's that.

So that's how I can explain it to others but not myself.

I can explain them, the question is would anyone stand still and listen long enough. The problem I've found is that while there's always a way that they fit within the framework of who I am making that clear to someone else often involves explaining a significant chunk of that framework. Not something most people are up for.

I've also gotten much better at giving superficial explanations after years of not being able to see that it just isn't that important that someone else really understand *all* of whats going on. The other thing I struggle to remember in the moment is that if someone is interested in hearing more, they will usually ask.