Do you chose your special interests/hyperfixations or did they choose you?

[mysterionz]

Do the hyperfixiations/special interests you have involve you choosing them or did they come naturally/ choose you instead? I’m just curious as you may know me as the “South Parkie“ of the forums. I still don’t know why I have this special interest and I’ve had it for a year now with no signs of it slowing down.

 

[Outdated]

That's a good question, perhaps it's a bit of both. As far as the general public were concerned computers didn't exist when I was a kid, but in the early 80s I was curious about them and I bought one (second hand) just to find out what they were all about and how they worked.

That interested me for a while and then I forgot about them again, until the mid 90s when we started to get video games with more modern graphics, then my interest really took off. But it wasn't the games themselves that sparked my interest, it was the technology that powered the games.

Side note - I always loved Southpark too, my favoutrite though will always be the initial pilot - Jesus Vs Santa.

 

[mysterionz]

That's a good question, perhaps it's a bit of both. As far as the general public were concerned computers didn't exist when I was a kid, but in the early 80s I was curious about them and I bought one (second hand) just to find out what they were all about and how they worked.

That interested me for a while and then I forgot about them again, until the mid 90s when we started to get video games with more modern graphics, then my interest really took off. But it wasn't the games themselves that sparked my interest, it was the technology that powered the games.

Side note - I always loved Southpark too, my favoutrite though will always be the initial pilot - Jesus Vs Santa.

Have you seen the prototype versions of the four main boys in the first two pilots?? Wendy Testaburger (pictured below) looked wildly different (she was featured as a unnamed character sitting on Santa’s lap)

 

[Outdated]

Have you seen the prototype versions of the four main boys in the first two pilots?

No, but when I saw Jesus Vs Santa we didn't even know that it was going to be a series, it was just a funny email that went viral.

 

[Slime_Punk]

I feel like they're chosen, but something is almost encoded into our DNA to find them.

All of my deep interests are only a few years old, as I had some really unhealthy ones prior that definitely didn't seem chosen, but I feel that if I even knew they (the newer, productive ones) had existed at the time I would've gravitated toward them much sooner.

 

[mysterionz]

I feel like they're chosen, but something is almost encoded into our DNA to find them.

This is interesting. I want to hear more.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I was always curious about the ancient worlds. It was not a stretch to develop a special interest in fossil invertebrates, and ultimately, Trilobites.

 

[Slime_Punk]

This is interesting. I want to hear more.

Well, I'm not religious* but I think we're all kind of put here for a special purpose, and most of our interests really seem to drive what we do with our lives and how we find ways to help and relate to others. Sometimes it seems like everything that's good in life comes from someone's almost-insane passion project that nobody truly understands.

* = OK, technically i worship satan but that's a whole other topic

What do you think? Maybe I'm bonkers

 

[Outdated]

I was always curious about the ancient worlds. It was not a stretch to develop a special interest in fossil invertebrates, and ultimately, Trilobites.

This has always been one of my interests too, not a major focus but more than just an occasional interest. Perhaps part of it comes from childhood visits to the Flinders Ranges and having fossils pointed out to me, they're everywhere all over the ground there. Then noticing that at least for sea snails, there's fosils everywhere all over the ground throughout much of Australia.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

This has always been one of my interests too, not a major focus but more than just an occasional interest. Perhaps part of it comes from childhood visits to the Flinders Ranges and having fossils pointed out to me, they're everywhere all over the ground there. Then noticing that at least for sea snails, there's fosils everywhere all over the ground throughout much of Australia.

And, the most important find was in the Ediacaran Hills, the oldest complex life on earth. Given the segmentation of many, that is where the most highly conserved genetic elements, the homeobox genes, got their start.

 

[Outdated]

Ediacaran Hills,

Yes, northern half of the Flinders, and a huge area. They're still making new discoveries there today. It was also a bit of a cultural thing in my Mum's side of the family too. I didn't find out until after he died, but her father was half aboriginal, that explained a lot. He was always very attached to the land and it's history and it rubbed off on the rest of the family.

 

[330]

This is a very perplexing question @mysterionz , I have never thought of this , I think some are extremely natural for me ,in my DNA as mentioned by @Silhouette Mirage . And others are found and something resonates with us about it.

Natural interests for me . Music
My earliest memories are of this . When I was a child I felt like the outside world was foreign to me and quite honestly a blur. As compared to in my mind it was vivid with swirling sounds communicating to each other , like I can almost see the waves of vibrations and music like it’s a language my natural language.
As I got older and adults kept pulling me out of my dream states I was not able to be there as much

While be pulled out of my Autistic self and mind , I was taught to communicate properly with people around me with language . I felt I lost some of my first born language (music ) by doing this .

But I was able to sit at a piano with my grandmother who was a piano player before I could walk , and understand this as a tool to speak what is in my head .
And also just sitting organizing my matchbox cars listening my dad write songs and play guitar , especially lots of Jimi Hendrix , I would study the language of a guitar

So then as I got older , I taught myself the same concept on Guitars , Drums, Organs , Piano Mandolins , Bass Guitar . etc

And this started a special interest in studying anything musical from , bands , instruments, writing music , and 1000s of hours playing multiple instruments. And learning the craft of writing .

As where others like history . I got into by just being interested in it in school it helped me to understand people and cultures ,

The same with art , I like how pictures speak to me , like your art work here, and everyone else as well . I can feel something from the composition , colors and lines .

So the best way I can explain think it is both . Sorry for the rant

 

[Outdated]

Natural interests for me . Music

I was the opposite here. In primary school music lessons they sat me at the back of the class and made me play the triangle, and I couldn't play that in tune either.

As I got older though I began to notice the music in language. It's something the Brits and the Aussies share, different accents aren't just a matter of pronounciation, words are put in particular orders to keep a flow and a pattern to the music.

Sorry, just one of those things that fascinates me.

 

[330]

I was the opposite here. In primary school music lessons they sat me at the back of the class and made me play the triangle, and I couldn't play that in tune either.

As I got older though I began to notice the music in language. It's something the Brits and the Aussies share, different accents aren't just a matter of pronounciation, words are put in particular orders to keep a flow and a pattern to the music.

Sorry, just one of those things that fascinates me.

Oh yes I have noticed this as well actually learning the patterns of language helped me learn to speak . Speaking of Australia , I have to mention how much I really like Bon Scott . He seemed like a cool guy and a very unique singer.

 

[Outdated]

He seemed like a cool guy and a very unique singer.

It's such a shame that his mates didn't look after him properly when he'd had too many, but what can you do? Gone is gone.

 

[330]

It's such a shame that his mates didn't look after him properly when he'd had too many, but what can you do? Gone is gone.

I really agree with that . I read a book about him and it was really amazing. Have lots of respect for him .

 

[Outdated]

His death, and then their immigration to the US, was a fair kick in the guts to us. We understood, but it hurt. They dramatically lost popularity here after that, not because of their actions but because the music changed. Some would call it more polished and refined, but to us it was just more plastic and fake. The early albums were raw and visceral, they were real.

The first 4 albums had to be completely remade for the US market because the originals didn't pass US censorship laws. I have copies of both versions of them.

 

[VictorR]

I think my interests find me randomly, I get introduced somehow to something and it just clicks for me, and I run with it.

 

[Judge]

That's a very good question.

My best response would be, "I'm not sure."

 

[Progster]

They choose me I never make a conscious decision to start a new one. If I deliberately start a new one, I usually abandon it after a couple of days because I was never really interested in it in the first place.