What actually is attention to detail?

[Forest Cat]

Does attention to detail make one good at focusing on themes? For example if you're planning on designing a room with an aquatic theme you may be able to focus on the theme perfectly.

I would say yes, in a way. If you're able to focus on the theme and have attention to detail, you can make it look great. But if you can't focus, attention to detail won't help. I think. Details is what makes it look great. But people also say the devil is in the details, so who really knows.

 

[confused Hippo]

I`m willing to bet you are unsure about your answers because there are a lot of technicalities about the questions. All the questions are yes and no based. But I bet you want to answer them with "yes, but", "Yes, if", "No, because"
The questions seem inherently flawed because they have no simple answer.
I talked about this with my wife. And she does not see the problem.
If my above assumption is correct. You could see that as attention to detail. The simple answer is yes or no. But you want to elaborate. Or am I completely missing the mark?

one of the questions in either the AQ or a similar test is. "Has a problem filling out forms." I can fill them just fine. But the above discussion will take place with almost every point in a form. I need a 200 word textbox to feel I can fill in the form properly. So you could state I have a problem with it. Because I think the questions and possible answers are flawed.

Yes, that fits. It's quite often a "but if..." or "but in this situation..."

I can absolutely relate to the " filling out forms"-thing. And I think it might be attention to detail because it looks like focussing on different intricate situations instead of just looking at the general tendency/picture.

This desire to be clear (and thruthful) in itself is supposed to be typical in autism (according to the therapist).

 

[AspieChris]

My therapist recently suggested high functioning autism to me and let me take the AQ, I scored 43/50.

I'm not sure about a lot of my answers and think a lot about individual ones and am doubting the general impression ("I can't be autistic because I look people in the eye" that sort of thing). I now think that might actually be focus on details instead of the whole picture. Not sure, though.

I had to think REALLY HARD about all of my answers on the autism test. I have been masking for decades to the point that I barely know who I am or what I am.

Example: I always look people in the eyes. I have a sort of mathematical equation for the length of time that I maintain eye contact. So the questions on the test regarding eye contact were very difficult to answer honestly. “Do you avoid eye contact?” Yes/No. The answer is that I don’t ’avoid’ it, but I hate it.

 

[kenaij]

I had to think REALLY HARD about all of my answers on the autism test. I have been masking for decades to the point that I barely know who I am or what I am.

Example: I always look people in the eyes. I have a sort of mathematical equation for the length of time that I maintain eye contact. So the questions on the test regarding eye contact were very difficult to answer honestly. “Do you avoid eye contact?” Yes/No. The answer is that I don’t ’avoid’ it, but I hate it.

This is a very good example of what I was trying to say. In your situation the question is wrong. And if you would answer it honostly it would give a false result. If the question was: Do you avoid eye contact, or force yourself to maintain it knowingly? it would fit you better.
Maybe it has to be phrased differently, but you probably get what I mean. English is not my first language.

 

[confused Hippo]

This is a very good example of what I was trying to say. In your situation the question is wrong. And if you would answer it honostly it would give a false result. If the question was: Do you avoid eye contact, or force yourself to maintain it knowingly? it would fit you better.
Maybe it has to be phrased differently, but you probably get what I mean. English is not my first language.

I think I had something similar with the question "do you go on and on about the same thing". I don't, but I think I would if I wouldn't reign myself in and were more talkative in general.

 

[kenaij]

I think I had something similar with the question "do you go on and on about the same thing". I don't, but I think I would if I wouldn't reign myself in and were more talkative in general.

At home I do tend to go on and on about the same thing. But my wife told me I do and if I do she loses interest in the topic. So, unless I`m really really really enthoustiastic about it. Whenever I want to talk about something I enjoy I always start with. "Did I already tell you about .... today?" If the answer is yes I will use all my brainpower and willpower to keep it in.
Usually after about 15 minutes she will say something like: "you really want to tell me about it don`t you?" And then I usually just tell her about 10-20% of what I want to tell her just to get the edge off.

At work I have been told by some people I do, but since I don`t talk to that many people beyond work related stuff there are only 2 or 3 people that notice it.

But eversince people told me about it I try my very best to keep it in. Or to atleast try to see when they are bored of me talking about it. Which usually fails.

 

[Misty Avich]

I think I notice details with some things but I don't think it's an actual trait of mine. I think I have a bit of OCD, because if something is out of line I have to point it out nearly every time I see it and I find it hilarious. Like when I stayed in a hotel one time and there were 4 coat pegs, 3 were red and one was green. I had to comment on it a few times throughout the vacation. If two were green then I probably barely would have noticed but because only one was a different colour I was in distress (but not a negative distress). My husband is used to me laughing at things like that and thinks it's cute.

I think I have to make extra mental effort to notice details at work, for the sake of getting the job done properly and approval from my coworkers.
But otherwise I don't always notice things. Like today there was a load of leaves scattered outside the door at work and I walked by it not even noticing, then when a coworker walked by she was like "ugh, look at all those leaves", and got out a broom.
I don't always notice mess either. Sometimes when I get home if I'm distracted I'll dump my purse down anywhere and not know I did it, then my husband would say "hang your purse up, what's it doing in the middle of the floor/couch?" But I literally wouldn't have noticed I'd put it there until he said.
Sometimes when I'm bored and have nothing else to do I might arrange my DVDs in order but this has never been a habit of mine and it doesn't bother me if my possessions aren't arranged neatly in order.

 

[AspieChris]

This is a very good example of what I was trying to say. In your situation the question is wrong. And if you would answer it honostly it would give a false result. If the question was: Do you avoid eye contact, or force yourself to maintain it knowingly? it would fit you better.
Maybe it has to be phrased differently, but you probably get what I mean. English is not my first language.

No, your English is perfect.

All questions are sort of subjective. And tests like this are usually written by a person who doesn’t have the problem that the test is intended to diagnose.

 

[AspieChris]

At home I do tend to go on and on about the same thing. But my wife told me I do and if I do she loses interest in the topic. So, unless I`m really really really enthoustiastic about it. Whenever I want to talk about something I enjoy I always start with. "Did I already tell you about .... today?" If the answer is yes I will use all my brainpower and willpower to keep it in.
Usually after about 15 minutes she will say something like: "you really want to tell me about it don`t you?" And then I usually just tell her about 10-20% of what I want to tell her just to get the edge off.

At work I have been told by some people I do, but since I don`t talk to that many people beyond work related stuff there are only 2 or 3 people that notice it.

But eversince people told me about it I try my very best to keep it in. Or to atleast try to see when they are bored of me talking about it. Which usually fails.

I have the exact same experience, with my wife and my coworkers. I have been consciously holding back my urge to ramble on about things I’m interested in for so many years that I barely notice myself doing it anymore.

 

[AspieChris]

I think I notice details with some things but I don't think it's an actual trait of mine. I think I have a bit of OCD, because if something is out of line I have to point it out nearly every time I see it and I find it hilarious. Like when I stayed in a hotel one time and there were 4 coat pegs, 3 were red and one was green. I had to comment on it a few times throughout the vacation. If two were green then I probably barely would have noticed but because only one was a different colour I was in distress (but not a negative distress). My husband is used to me laughing at things like that and thinks it's cute.

I think I have to make extra mental effort to notice details at work, for the sake of getting the job done properly and approval from my coworkers.
But otherwise I don't always notice things. Like today there was a load of leaves scattered outside the door at work and I walked by it not even noticing, then when a coworker walked by she was like "ugh, look at all those leaves", and got out a broom.
I don't always notice mess either. Sometimes when I get home if I'm distracted I'll dump my purse down anywhere and not know I did it, then my husband would say "hang your purse up, what's it doing in the middle of the floor/couch?" But I literally wouldn't have noticed I'd put it there until he said.
Sometimes when I'm bored and have nothing else to do I might arrange my DVDs in order but this has never been a habit of mine and it doesn't bother me if my possessions aren't arranged neatly in order.

Me too. I have a mental checklist that I go through when I get home. It’s mostly from many years of marriage and getting into trouble for leaving things out of order in the house.

My garage and my van at work (a large work shop on wheels) both look like a tornado went through them. I know where absolutely everything is, but everything is everywhere because it’s my space and there’s nobody to be bothered by the confusion.

 

[Misty Avich]

I find that if I put things away I can't find them again. I tried labeling my artwork drawers at home but each drawer ended up containing different things that weren't on its label. I just find it so hard to keep on track even if I use sticky notes and labels and journals.