I only listen to one very specific type of music. That’s all I have on my iPod. This, despite the fact I have a PhD in music and over the years have played, studied, heard, and loved a vast array of musics. Reason for the focus now - I’m learning a new instrument and there is only so much time in the day. If I want to get half-proficient, I need to focus solely on this. No, it doesn’t get boring. No, as it is strategic, I’m very happy with my choice.
I just want to opine that it confuses me too. It’s like with Joss Whedon where it’s like, “Yeah his cinematography is pretty bad. He hires actors who are pretty medium range. His stories are sort of comic book repeats. The production values are behind the times. But man he has some good sarcastic quips in his dialogue! Joss makes the best stuff ever made!” Where I suppose I should just feel happy that the person is easily pleased and has found a source for that one, pointed desire, but it still seems like they need to be beaten over the head for having such low standards for everything else in the world or for not realizing that it’s unlikely that most other people will agree with “best thing ever!” when they’re discounting almost everything that people generally use to rank something by in exchange for a single, specific strong point.
IMO the “worst” people are the ones that don’t seem to have ANY interest.
Yeah, I may think your stamp collecting or Furby collection is crazy compared to my “interesting” interest…but in the end IMO as long as you don’t get crazy about it, to the near exclusion of everything else, whatever it is, more power to you and enjoy yourself!
OTOH, I have meet a few people who just don’t seem to get enthused or interested in ANYTHING. I always wonder what keeps folks like that going besides grim determination…
I guess I fall into the narrow interests camp.
How can anyone hope to get past superficial without being narrow? There’s just too much information available.
There are lots of topics I just refuse to take any interest in, because to do so will tie up precious bits of my limited intellect. I try to tune out celebrity gossip, gardening, lawn care, fashion, political biography, dance, reality television, crime fiction, most spectator sports, and anything about vampires. Except for real vampire bats. Those are cool!
I have become something of an expert on mountain bike trail construction. The only meaningful measures I can offer you is the park manager I work under gives me a great deal of freedom to do my own designs. Also, some riders will drive a long way to ride “my” trails.
There are people who are professionals and I’m not one of those, but a lot of that has to do with using very expensive power equipment and living in an area with enough Federal land to support a career making trails. There are few people who do this kind of work as an avocation. I’ve met some of them, and we have conversations that I find fascinating, but even among mountain bike enthusiasts, few people are interested. Sigh.
Walt
I was wondering that myself - it seems like anyone who wants to become really proficient at something must by necessity focus their interests. There are only so many things I have time to think about if I want to be really good at any of them.
I’m sure this isn’t true of everyone, but I suspect that some people who believe they have broad interests just don’t realize the absolutely incredible amount of stuff out there that you could potentially be thinking about.
I don’t have time to post here - I’ve nearly finished working out my theory about how the world can be controlled through Spirograph.
People, please, allow me to translate. **Stoid **isn’t actually wondering what it’s like to have in depth knowledge and interest in limited subjects. She merely wanted to compose an OP that states, “I am wordly as shit, y’all.”
I thought we established the new phrase for threads/posts that are a front for self-congratulation: sneak-bragging.
Ah yes, a phrase coined by our dear friend, Nzinga Seated, and one I rather like.
I have a BIL that likes football, drinking, and hunting. he said there just isn’t time for anything else.
Yeah, I did get that impression from the OP. I’ll need to remember the expression sneak-bragging - I’m sure I can use it in real life.
:dubious: Being interested = being worldly? My understanding of “worldly” is someone who has been and done a lot. I wish. I’m a homebody, so much so one might think I’m almost agoraphobic. I’ve lived my entire life in LA, between two points all of 56 miles apart. I’ve lived my entire 52 years in LA and I’ve never even set foot in San Francisco, I don’t have a passport and I don’t think I’ve had what normal people call a vacation (going somewhere else just to enjoy it and relax, without having it be about business or visiting someone) in 29 years.
I take in vast amounts of information, I know a little bit about a ridiculous range of things and a lot about more than a few and as I say, practically everything is at least a little bit interesting to me. But I’m pretty much the opposite of worldly.
And I really am curious… I’ve often talked with friends about how none of us can begin to fathom people who say they need a job because otherwise they would be bored. Not they need a career to be fulfilled… people who need to have someone else give them something to do 8 hours a day because if they were faced with that much time to fill they would become bored. That is so beyond my understanding it’s like someone speaking Martian to me.
And I think the narrow interest thing is along the same lines, except that the people I’m thinking of who seem to be narrowly focused on one or two subjects at least manage to fill up their heads and lives with those one or two subjects, rather than having empty space they need someone else to fill.
I used to think it was a function of intelligence, but then I met someone who actually has a very good brain, she just had a crappy education and a shitty chikldhood that ignored her mind and left her bright, bored, and without any idea how to deal with it because she’s just not interested. It’ts weird and heartbreaking. I love her and I feel for her and I am completely stumped about how to help, because I don’t relate.
Do you ever wish you had the focus and attention span to properly learn about certain subjects rather than dabbling a bit in everything?
I’m not being snarky. Just curious. I tend to be somewhat of a dabbler myself and I wish I had more discipline when it came to learning new things.
I don’t get this at all. What one or two subjects is this person interested in? You seem to be conflating no interest in learning with only interested in learning about one subject. I also don’t get how you ever thought that someone only interested in birds or cinema, for instance, was not intelligent rather than maybe a little boring.
I’m with HazelNutCoffee. Focus, attention and a specific passion aren’t in everyone but that’s just how some people are. I don’t think many people choose to focus on a subject because it’s “liberating”.
Worldly =/= traveled.
Yes, yes, I know.
I think I can answer this one. Actually, you sort of answered it yourself.
It’s not that I’m not interested or enthused in anything. It’s that the things that I enjoy studying or collecting or whatever are really boring to talk about, or really confusing to someone who’s not familiar with the topic. So I try to avoid talking about things I’m interested in. Which makes me sound kind of boring.
Are you kidding? Totally.
Because of this thread I now have no idea if the scope of my hobbies and interests is broad, or narrow.
Then why is it you seem to almost pity them in this thread? I get that impression from:
Especially if this someone is who inspired you to start this thread.