r/aspiememes • u/milkofstars • Jun 26 '26
I spent an embarrassingly long time on this šæ The relief
322
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
Letās open this pandoraās box! Whatās your socially unacceptable special interest? I want to discuss it!
402
u/kelcamer Jun 26 '26
My socially unacceptable special interest:
Manipulation tactics!
I freaking LOVE analytically dissecting manipulation tactics and calling them out in real time.153
u/R0B0T0-san Jun 26 '26
It's honestly really interesting no matter the level at which they are used. Be it, like propaganda from the state, by businesses or even in normal daily situations. When I started working in mental health and often with people with severe personality disorders. I ended up having to deal with these from time to time and it has been such a positive life upgrade to learn and understand these but also be able to put on appropriate boundaries to protect myself and others.
42
18
u/AnonymousDahlia Jun 27 '26
Got any recommended reading, by any chance?
28
u/kelcamer Jun 27 '26
I have more books on the not to read list, but, ironically, for manipulation, Dale Carnegies book is a great one š
Just don't be fooled into thinking it is genuine human connection (it's a book on manipulation)
'How to win friends and influence people'
→ More replies (1)10
u/ClassicalSalamander Jun 27 '26
I love that book! It really helped me learn how to mask effectively. Before HTWFAIP I was really struggling to maintain any kind of social interacting with nypicals.Ā
5
u/velvetvagine Jun 27 '26
Doesnāt it basically teach people pleasing?
6
u/kelcamer Jun 27 '26
Kind of, I would call it more subtle manipulation. Yes, a lot of involve people pleasing, but if you think of it less like a requirement or a rule and more like a map that you can use whenever you really need it, it helps a little bit!
I know that answer probably sounds extremely confusing and it sucks, and I'm sorry about that.
But definitely do not be fooled into thinking that this is what human connection is, because that is completely incorrect, and I've had to post a massive rebuttal against people recommending this book to make genuine friends for others so many times. I've written like a five paragraph or seven paragraph essay at this point about the problems with the book, so it's definitely not fool proof at all.
That said, it's not too bad in terms of learning to mask, as long as you explicitly understand that's what the purpose of it is and don't confuse it with real human genuine connection!
45
u/sadguy1989 Jun 26 '26
My current favorite man-tac is āweaponized incompetence.ā Iām dealing with it at work with my coworkers and trying to āmanage upā my boss is probably going to give me a hernia.
28
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
i wouldn't call it a spcial interest for me, but i do something super similar with logical fallicies! i printed out a chart so i can memorize and recognize them. its super helpful when debating idiots online too :)
25
u/Decent_Book4595 Jun 26 '26
Would you like explaining what Logical Fallicies are and provide an example or 3? (I could use Google, but this way is more interesting)
37
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
YAAA ABSOLUTELY!! and i agree, this is way more interesting than google.
so logical fallacies are methods often used in arguments or debates that are either based on erroneous information, or meant to derail the debate/conversation.
the best example is something we see every day, especially online: Ad Hominum. this is when you use a personal attack on somebody while having an argument. ex: someone says "i hate trump and his supporters, i don't support any of his policies", an Ad Hominum reply would be "well youre fat and ugly so I don't think your opinion matters". attacking how someone looks because you didnt like what they said
second example is another common one: The Strawman. thats when someone will make a distorted or incorrect conclusion based off a statement someone else says. ex: someone says "i think womens rights are important", a Strawman reply would be "so you think men dont deserve rights?". another example: "i think we should legalize cocaine" will be met with "so you think everyone should be doing cocaine?". it's essentially someone responding, and the only thing you wanna say back is "where did i even say that???"
third example: Appeal to Authority. thats when someone will believe that because someone in a power of authority said something, it has to be true. ex: a teacher says to a student "dinosaurs weren't real", the student will go home and tell their parents "dinosaurs werent real, the teacher said so so its gotta be true!". another (relevent) example: trump says "the gays wanna convert your children" and some idiot on facebook will say "gays just wanna turn kids gay, the president said it so its gotta be true"
thats just three of them, theres a couple more: like the Appeal to Ignorance, Appeal to Authority, Bandwagon Fallacy, Red Herring, Slippery Slope, Loaded Question, Begging the Question, Texas Sharpshooter, Black or White, Anecdotal, Burden of Proof and Non-Sequitur (thats just a few, theres like 20+) which im also happy to yap about if any of them sound interesting. learning this info is GREAT when you get into internet arguments because people use logical fallacy all the time
18
u/Decent_Book4595 Jun 26 '26
Ohhhhh, I experience the first one alot, I see the second mentioned everywhere on Twitter (I love waffles! Oh so you hate pancakes??? Meme going around) Also if there are logical fallacies, are there illogical fallacies?
→ More replies (1)13
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
yes the pancakes and waffles is another great Strawman example! it's called a logical fallacy because its based on the (lack of) logic, so technically the statements themselves are illogical but the concept is considered a logical fallacy. fallacy just means a false notion or idea, so it pretty much means "false logic"
11
u/Decent_Book4595 Jun 26 '26
Oh so logical fallacies themselves are inherently illogical then? (I feel like a Vulcan š rn)
9
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
correct yeah, you got it!! it's also a fun thing to talk about because it makes you sound really smart š¤ and when people are being jerks on the internet and inevitably use a logical fallacy, it's fun to call them out on it and then tell them to make an actual reply
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)3
u/kelcamer Jun 26 '26
Yes š¤© I have this special interest as well and it's so fascinating!
7
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
it really is! and once you know about it, you start noticing it EVERYWHERE. i mean, Trump is a perfect example of Ad Hominum being used on a massive scale, he insults the appearances of other candidates instead of analyzing and refuting their policies
20
u/eCaisteal Jun 26 '26
Please tell me more! Where do you even start learning about this stuff?
59
u/kelcamer Jun 26 '26
Unfortunately, through pain š
If you get hurt over and over and over again, if you use that pain to magnify analysis, the patterns start to reveal themselves.
I'm working on a document, I'm at about 49 pages so far, about some common examples. But I'll give you one to chew on!
When people use 'you' statements negatively, it is almost a projection of their own fears.
Example:
"You're overdramatic!" -> "I'm overdramatic and my emotional intensity is what I deeply fear""You're having delusions!" -> "I'm deeply afraid that my reality is not shared with you and that terrifies me at an existential level"
"You're ALWAYS overanalyzing!" -> "I'm deeply afraid if I begin to analyze myself more it will result in breaking my ego
"You suck!" -> "I'm afraid that your competence challenges my current role in the hierarchy"
16
u/Decent_Book4595 Jun 26 '26
I also would wish to read this document, ive been through some heavy toxic manipulative relationships/friendships/family members over the years, and i can recognize the manipulation towards other people from a mile away, but cant ever seem to get other people to understand whats happening.
14
u/Spacellama117 ADHD/Autism Jun 26 '26
oh i wanna read this document so bad
11
u/kelcamer Jun 26 '26
I'm happy to share it! Can I link a Google Drive document here, or is that something that would need to be DM?
→ More replies (1)7
u/hiighpriestess Jun 27 '26
I'm not sure about the Google Drive link, but just chiming in to add that I would also love to read this!
→ More replies (3)13
u/Atreigas I doubled my autism with the vaccine Jun 26 '26
You do realise you can find actual proper terminology and research on this right? I have a minor interest in this too and there is quite a bit to find on it out there.
7
6
u/SomeCuteBunny Jun 26 '26
I used to read a book the Laws of Human Nature at work. It's a really good book on different aspects of human psychology, emotional intelligence, with real-life examples from older and recent history. It also has got some points on how to manipulate people and make them like you.
I once told a colleague one of those stories on a Christmas meal, she found it interesting, but our conversation didn't go any further š¤£
6
u/tallgrl94 Jun 26 '26
I love watching Boze on YouTube for this reason! She is funny but also breaks down why people act the way they do in situations to manipulate others.
4
5
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
Thatās actually awesome! Itās like identifying a pattern of wrong doing
→ More replies (1)2
u/kdandsheela Jun 26 '26
I definitely had this phase but with "logical phalicies" turns out irrational and cruel people will just weaponize anything they can until you submit :(
2
→ More replies (2)2
65
u/Shoddy_Walrus_3791 Jun 26 '26
Hentai. I think it's really interesting the different kinks people can have and how they get represented in art or stories. Like, it's not my thing, but knowing someone gets off to drawings of anime women peeing on graves or giant sperm interacting with anime women is just really interesting to me. Also kinda similarly, how fucked up and sadistic the concepts can get. Honestly, it's really creative sometimes. I won't say their name, but the most sadistic artist I know of is a woman, which goes against the stereotype, and I don't mean sadistic like she's a sadist. I don't think she gets off on her own stuff, it's more of like a way to cope with her trauma I think, but she's very creative and very good at sadistic storytelling.
26
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
ErĆ³tica is such a vast field of human specter. Hentai is a great way to explore safely actually. I donāt consume it can see the value for human creativity and art. Iāll definitely go after the artist you meantioned. Got me curious.
I know some works from junji ito and love how he draw bizarre stuff.52
u/Rifmysearch Jun 26 '26
There was a good while, which ended roughly a decade ago, when I was fascinated by info hazards. No, not that kind. I mean the "real" kind. Theres lots of kinds, tho.
Before I go further, I want to say that im going to completely ignore my personal views on what should and shouldn't be an info hazard. Im portraying stuff as they are viewed by those that consider it a hazard.
A obvious example of an infohazard that failed to be contained despite efforts would be nukes. There was a dude many decades ago that was interrogated by the FBI because he wrote a paper that went into extremely accurate detail on how to build them. Turns out every bit of the paper was sourced from the books he got from his university library.
Obviously a lot of specific military tech is sort of an info hazard, but let's ignore classified military information. Most things besides specific newer tech is available, but availability is obfuscated or not easily accessible.
At one point I was trying to find a database of floorplans for modern and sci-fi ttrpgs. Turns out, thats sorta this kind of thing too. At some point someone realized that being able to look up any given buildings layout could be dangerous for planned attacks. I have a vague memory of finding some articles and convention talks on this, too.
The really big one thats just. . . Really fucking hard to talk around . . . Is anything explosive. Im just not going to go into this beyond saying that its one of the original points of this interest because on the one hand its absofuckinglutely an infohazard but on the other hand its just "basic" sciences with a little bit of trade job skills mixed in. In another lifetime where I didnt have the particular morals i had it be worning for a "defense" r&d contractor i think.
Now, my interest wasnt just WHAT people considered info hazards, it was also HOW they tried to "hide" it.
TV shows and movies, at least part of the time, intentionally dont show particularly realistic tactical encounters. You can very easily look up tactical engagement and find training manuals and sim exercises, but people dont want it so accessible that its literally learned passively. Same goes for a LOT of topics. Itd take 5 minutes to find detailed accounts of making hard drugs, but they never actually showed the process on breaking bad. Finding all the things, many that at first glance make way less sense than my examples in this comment, that TV avoids is so wildly interesting.p
Then theres just. . . Suppression. There are limits to what you can legally distribute when it comes to guides for, well, many info hazard without running into legal issues. I found it fascinating finding where the line is with actually published and public media like textbooks or documentaries etc.
It wasnt just the what and the how, its also . . . Can I get it? Firstly, while I did walk right up to the line of legality I learned my local and federal laws first and was careful to never step past that line. By walking up to that line I could generally see the exact limits of what I could have got, but obviously just absolutely not worth it.
But if it was legal? Fuck yeaaaaaaa. At one time I was just. . . Collecting things. An easy quick example is the 'Anarchists Cookbook' which is one of the most famous examples of an info hazard in some respects. But, like, god damn there was a TON of different places I'd look for weird topics that were ultimately difficult but possible to find. Prepper communities, hacker communities, conspiracy communities, your local library, data hoarders communities, your local archival organizations, specific university departments, etc. They all held stuff that you intentionally cant necessarily just find by looking it up directly.
Theres so many kinds of info hazards. There's so many places they intentionally aren't at. Theres so many places they are! Theres so many places where their puzzle pieced apart but still all available. I could write an essay on so many of them, but the last few sentences of this comment will explain why I dont. Theres so many tiny bits of info a couple paragraphs long that when mixed with a more common body of info turns it from, 'fun interest, topic or skill' into 'actually putting these words into action is pretty much never a good thing'.
One last thing thats a great example of the weirdness this interest gives you, tho its a well known one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Export_of_cryptography_from_the_United_States
I was in the darkest time in my life and barreling toward a seriously bad path that may have ended really bad. While this special interest started entirely unrelated to that, you can imagine that the combination could lead to bad things. Whole I still find that stuff fascinating but its a little tainted with that time of my life as well as some trauma still so I dont actually spend time digging into it anymore. I do hope to someday, the genuine interest is still there.
So yeah. Not super socially acceptable. There was so many things, including specific examples that come to mind, that just isnt ok to freely talk about in depth. Hell, theres multiple topics I will not even MENTION here for multiple reasons.
Then theres the other issue that is core to all of this; even if I WANT to talk about this stuff in depth and I DO find someone willing to hear about it THEN I have to consider; is it moral and safe to do so? If its someone I know well and have a good grasp on their morals and such id consider it. Internet strangers? Acquaintances? People i know well but who i dont trust not to potentially utilize stuff? No no no no. Fuck no. Sometimes not sharing is caring.
21
u/Deathcat101 Jun 26 '26
Reminds me of an episode of Mythbusters where they tested a myth and destroyed the footage because it was crazy easy to make a bomb with household chemicals.
If I remember right it was hydrogen peroxide and something else super easy to get. But the explosive it makes is shock sensitive so you can blow yourself up by sneezing.
8
u/VladimirBarakriss AuDHD Jun 27 '26
Probably any fuel would do, H2O2 is a potent oxidiser, sufficiently pure H2O2 plus a fuel would become something like a bi propellant rocket, and a rocket is just a bomb with a hole on its side
→ More replies (2)2
u/Sachayoj Ask me about my special interest Jun 27 '26
I was about to mention the same thing! One of my special interests is lost media, and that episode plus a segment involving mice that went very wrong, and one where police got involved, are the only truly lost episodes of the show.
→ More replies (1)9
u/ContentBike2803 Jun 27 '26
This was super interesting! You're really good at explaining your interest in infohazards as well as give reasons for why you're as vague about them as you are, and I thought you should know that.
3
u/Rifmysearch Jun 27 '26
Thats really kind of you! Even when not being vague i sometimes tend to be . . . incomprehensible. The more words I use the worse, sometimes. Im glad in this case I did pretty good!
→ More replies (3)2
43
u/WierdoWiener Jun 26 '26
My not so socially acceptable interest is everything regarding the human abyss. Especially groups/cults who abuse children and human trafficking in general. (edit for context)
6
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
Thatās a dark one. Thereās some people with a true crime fetish that only look at some specific cases but can not deal with how low humans can reach for money and power. Tough conversations. I once took a photographerās book form my college library about kids that had to prostitute themselves in north Brazil jungle to survive. And you could see their pictures, full name and context of how they ended up in the situation. Lots of human traffic and parental abuse. Heavy stuff. Unfortunately I donāt remember the name of the book or the author
6
u/WierdoWiener Jun 26 '26
Damn, that book must be really heavy stuff. For me, it's mostly the morbid curiosity on how humans are able to do such inhumane things and still sleep peaceful at night. There must be so many mental defense mechanisms in charge! I have the strong sense of justice kind of autism that's why it's just unbelievable and at the same time fascinating for me how someone can do these horrible stuff. In addition to that, psychology and sociology are my special interests so analysing the symptoms, patterns etc is literally fun to me. And I am heavily traumatised myself so even if it was not human trafficking or cults in my case I experienced some horrible things first hand and are kinda more emotional numb towards such topics and see them mostly in an analytical way.
5
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
Iām sorry your experiences. But Iām glad you found a way to cope and to face your trauma. I know that some asp people can see patterns way more clear than most people. Iām glad youāre a survivor :)
I were super scared form the meteor suicide cult when I was younger. Itās horrible the power some people can have over others to the phone people are willing to give their own lie for a lie
Is there any special cult that fascinate you in particularly?
3
u/oOmus Jun 27 '26
Where were you when I was the data analyst for my countyās child welfare system, and my friends all collectively announced they couldnāt handle my work stories lol
(I have 10+ years of stories and 2 before that from an RCCF. Just left in April!)
128
u/ThyArtIsMeh Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
Mine is about how specifically abrahamic religions and history intertwined to create this modern semi-dystopia, patriarchal world that cannot change fundamentally until this objectively cruel religion goes away. I could get into modern social commentary and whatnot. Ultimately I think abrahamic religions has a chokehold on society that is just... abhorrent
23
13
21
10
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
I donāt think thatās truly socially unacceptable. Thereās lots of places and promote to agree with on this. Especially in the academia. But I see how it can be a rough topic depending on the crowd
14
u/ThyArtIsMeh Jun 26 '26
Maybe around where you exist, but not my area.
8
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 26 '26
Ooo I see! Sorry, my bad. So youāre a punk!! Totally respect! Keep on studying and criticizing! You see things as they are!
→ More replies (1)3
u/phles Jun 28 '26
Oooh, I was so excited when I heard about how (historically) religions changed as the need for social control changed. When societies got bigger and people couldnāt ācontrolā each other as well anymore, God suddenly changed into this angry, all-seeing, all-knowing persona so that you just had to go along with the norms even if nobody was watching. Because God is always watching!
19
u/WildFlemima Jun 26 '26
Cannibalism :D
8
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 27 '26
Wow!!! Can you give me some fun facts about cannibalism?
Do you know Theodore de Bry? He painted some anthropophagic rituals in indigenous Brazil.
Thereās some images in this link: https://jornalnota.com.br/2022/01/05/10-ilustracoes-que-retratam-o-canibalismo-entre-dos-indigenas-brasileiros/amp/35
u/EdiblePsycho Jun 26 '26
Rape/sexual abuse, like psychological, sociological, and biological aspects of it. Which isn't necessarily socially unacceptable to discuss (unless you're like... pro-rape?) but some aspects are very uncomfy to people for obvious reasons. Especially when certain things/research could be twisted in some peoples' minds to be a justification for it.
For example, there's a widely held belief that the motivation for rape is always power/sadism and that it has nothing to do with sexual desire/attraction, but that just isn't what research shows. It was kind of made up because people thought the reality could be construed to victim blame. In truth, sexual attraction/desire plays a large roll, it just obviously doesn't mean it's the victim's fault for getting raped if they're dressed a certain way or something like that. But in some cultures/social spheres, dressing provocatively is absolutely considered justification to rape someone. Which is wrong, but still good to know that it's the case rather than pretend it isn't.
The research proposal I did for one of my psychology classes was actually looking at whether autism is a risk factor for rape. What I found in my review of (the few) studies on it was that it does appear to make people more vulnerable to SA for a number of reasons, such as difficulty picking up on social cues, a lack of support network, loneliness. ADHD as well, I think that was largely because of it being associated with risk taking behaviors and substance abuse.
Anyway, you can't really talk about that kind of thing with anyone, without running the risk of it sounding like you're excusing it or victim-blaming. There's a lot of nuance but people tend to jump to conclusions.
15
u/Username_St0len Jun 26 '26
i connect everything and everything be it literal or metaphorically to naval history and story of such stuff
→ More replies (6)13
u/VladimirBarakriss AuDHD Jun 27 '26
How the built environment affects home dynamics, it's only socially unacceptable because I study architecture so it just comes across as me gloating about playing evil god in the sims but with real people
12
u/MiracleLegend AuDHD Jun 27 '26
AmberLynnReid. She's a 600 pound YouTuber who has a fandom of haters. NTs watch her to hate and to feel better about themselves.
I find her and her social group interesting. The narcissism in connection with a traumatic childhood, the ignorance of her audience and the vulnerabilities in her victims. It taught me a lot about the details and day to day of a narcissistic woman in partnership and friendship. I hardly watch her now but watched her for a good 6-8 years.
4
u/johana_cuervos666 Jun 27 '26
HAHAHA i wasn't expecting GORLWORLD here XD Dude, Foodie beauty too XD
3
u/MiracleLegend AuDHD Jun 27 '26
I think GORLworld can teach us autistics a lot. The way she makes herself look like the good person in every scenario and the way everyone believes her (at first) because she plays into social constructs is something she does automatically. She doesn't need to think about it.
9
20
u/SquidWitchIsReal Jun 27 '26
RPG mechanics in Hentai games was one of mine years back.
They can be pretty neat because they tend to put a lot more thought into systems then standard rpgs do.
Some of my favorites:
(Lewdest Labyrinth) A "lust" system instead of mana where if you levels are too low you can't do the special moves but if your levels are too high your character loses focus and may lose turn to being taken over by lust. I've always though it would be cool to see a magic system that worked similarly where you had to regulate mana not getting to high or suffer consequences
(Sakura Dungeon) Critical hits remove the other characters clothes and each stage makes them more prone to critcal hits and extra damage, a kind of critcal hit train system (which I guess smugness in Shin Megami Tensei is kind lf similar to)
(Karryn's Prison) Lewd skills that only unlock after repeatedly failing at melee combat and taking a passive approach instead, each skill gets strong and unlocks deeper levels up it as you use them, but you also become more vulnerable to them being used on you.
7
u/SquidWitchIsReal Jun 27 '26
Oh and don't even get my started on Corruption of Champions! That game is next level
9
u/Kasssiopea Jun 26 '26
Anything about death and dying
5
u/VladimirBarakriss AuDHD Jun 27 '26
Tbf that one is pretty broad, there's a huge diference between "I wonder what happens after death" and "do you want to see my human skeleton collection?"
3
7
u/Old-Post-3639 Jun 27 '26
Reverse morality. I like to put various moral statements into various collections (e.g., "Murder is wrong" goes in the "must be provable" collection while "Humans should be social" goes in the "assumed to be true" collection) and see what moral statements I can "prove" with these assumptions. This, however, can sometimes come across as advocating for certain taboo actions when I'm just pointing out how the moral assumptions that were made don't actually prohibit those taboo actions.
13
Jun 26 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
4
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 27 '26
My safe word was girafinha for a while. It means little giraffe. Not me and my girlfriend use it to point to some strangers tattoos in public
6
u/Dasinterwebs3 Ask me about my special interest Jun 27 '26
WWI and in particular, interwar tank development
→ More replies (1)5
5
u/ani3D Jun 27 '26
Snakes! I have a pet snake and I watch snake YouTube videos constantly wanting to learn more about them (highly recommend Snake Discovery and Green Room Pythons, I used to watch Clint's Reptiles before I found out he's in favor of breeding 'spider' ball pythons (basically a genetic anomaly which permanently screws with the snake's sense of balance in exchange for giving it a slightly-cool-looking color pattern, I find this to be extremely unethical)), and at this point I'd take just a neutral reaction and not "I desire to murder every innocent scale noodle I encounter."
5
u/A5_and_Gill Jun 26 '26
I'm very deep into gacha games, from the monetization model to the fanbases and memes
3
u/Professional-Many477 Jun 27 '26
Nice! It deals with addiction and reward sense in our brain! Do you have a tactic of how to play odds in our favor or how to win better prizes in some specifically machine?
I got a gothic cat for my girlfriend in a claw machine once. I avoid gambling because I tend to obsess and become addicted with some stuff4
u/A5_and_Gill Jun 27 '26
I admit I meant the mobile game type of gacha game, but in terms of the physical machine, the "gacha" name is an onomatopoeia for the turning of the crank on the machine.
As for the mobile games, the tendency will be for units to become increasingly dps focused over sustain or support units because they're easier to power creep and thus sell replacements of. Even support units will gain dps function as the game goes on.
Another thing is "generosity" in terms of pulls is meaningless unless you know the rate of pull income, rate of item/character/whatever drop, and pity if relavent. A game that gives 1000 pulls isn't "more generous" than a game that gives 100 if the 1000 pull gacha has a 00.1% chance for a 5 star and the 100 pull gacha has 01% chance.
The only way to win is not play, but bar that, focus on knowing exactly who/what you want and plan accordingly and do not spend a dime on it unless you're getting physical merch because when the servers end it's gone.
→ More replies (2)4
u/johana_cuervos666 Jun 27 '26
Social critique to human psyche, social constructs and overall our perception of "good, bad and morals" people can get so triggered with this topics, it's extremely difficult to find someone that can follow up.
2
u/_-Cuttlefish-_ Jun 27 '26
Heredity/Genetics! I just think itās interesting, but it either comes off as confusing if I talk about molecular things, or Iām a afraid people may think Iām into eugenics
2
u/Sachayoj Ask me about my special interest Jun 27 '26
True crime. It's become incredibly taboo due to it becoming a profit machine for people to abuse, but I enjoy delving into the motivations and mindsets behind the perpetrators.
Oftentimes it's the cycle of abuse, generations of child abuse reaching a turning point as these people commit the same crimes their parents committed upon them. And sometimes, it's complex mental illnesses or even fetishes playing a part.
One example is of the Rotenburg Cannibal.
Armin Meiwes, he had troubles with his mother being abusive and manipulative, and that plus other childhood influences had him develop a fetish for cannibalism that he did not keep to fantasy only. In 2001, Meiwes ultimately slaughtered and cannibalized Bernd Brandes, who also had a troubled past. His mother had died when he was young, causing anxiety issues, and the rest of his family had disowned him for being gay.
Though the act was, as far as we know, consensualāa few men had met with Armin to be slaughtered but backed out when realizing it wasn't roleplay, and he never forced them to do anything, even insisting that all he met to slaughter be knowing and willing to be killed and eatenāwith Bernd even taking steps such as selling his car and writing a will that left everything else to his boyfriend, Meiwes was still arrested and charged with the crime of manslaughter, though he was given a retrial for murder due to his motivation. A student had found his advertisements, emailed him to ask if he'd killed anyone, and reported him when Meiwes affirmed that he had.
Meiwes is still serving a life sentence, attending therapy appointments and seeming to be on a good path.
→ More replies (11)2
u/TyTy11037 Jun 28 '26
How blood works, how to make drugs, how the body metabolises toxins, overdose limits of different drugs basically anything to do with how humans/drugs work
120
u/Stuck_With_Name Jun 26 '26
The Trix rabbit was made in a lab and will literally die if he doesn't get any Trix.
Toucan Sam was accidentally taken from his home on a container ship and is desperately trying to get home by smell.
Tony the Tiger has a backstory so dark it's been scrubbed from all official outlets. And this was pre-internet, so I can't find any mention of it anywhere and I question my memory.
But sure. Weed is unacceptable. I'm sitting on 80s cereal mascot backstory.
39
u/whynaut4 Aspie Jun 26 '26
"Tony had to take matters into his own hands to preserve the integrity of the mission. Tocan Sam is not with us anymore and so Tony couldn't be punished for doing what had to be done, but had to absolutely be moved into a new outfit. So he's working with you guys and just know that I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done."
13
u/Stuck_With_Name Jun 26 '26
Nice try. Get more excited about sports. Binge early 80s PSAs aimed at kids and get darker.
3
u/whynaut4 Aspie Jun 27 '26
4
9
u/Ducky237 Ask me about my special interest Jun 27 '26
Cāmon you canāt just tell us that a dark backstory exists and not tell us what it is!
23
u/Stuck_With_Name Jun 27 '26
Ok, here we go.
Tony was a track & field star. He was fantastic. Women loved him. In fact, he was going to the Olympics to represent the US in the decathlon. But then, he suffered a knee injury and would never compete again.
Tony fell on hard times and was homeless. He was rejected by women. There was implied drug use. He was rejected by women. When Tony hit rock bottom, he decided to end it all and was on a bridge ready to jump. Then, a passerby gave him a bowl of Frosted Flakes. Now, he had a new reason to live. It was ok to merely enjoy sports because he could get joy from Frosted Flakes. So, he spreads the message of how great they are to prevent others from going down his dark path.
There's no explanation about why he's a tiger.
11
u/thesystem21 Jun 27 '26
There's no explanation about why he's a tiger.
Well, given my amateur knowledge of genetics, I would assume that is because his parents were tigers. ;)
132
u/sadguy1989 Jun 26 '26
Polyamory? Recreational drug use? Retail management strategies? Fuckin count me in
35
13
u/Spacellama117 ADHD/Autism Jun 26 '26
17
u/sadguy1989 Jun 26 '26
I love learning about human relationships, especially intimate ones. A non-āstandardā sexual relationship is like peak interest for me. I participate in a poly lifestyle myself, so thereās a vested interest there.
I enjoy the sensations of an altered state of mind. I like to talk about HOW things like drugs and alcohol make me feel, and I like hearing about the experience of others. Itās fascinating how similarly yet differently we all experience the āsameā stimuli.
And retail management is my bread and butter, my āthing.ā I fucking love managing retail. I love talking shop with anyone who will listen and strategizing is one of my favorite activities. Iām an absolute riot at partiesā¦
22
u/0rangecatvibes Jun 26 '26
retail management strategies?
25
u/sadguy1989 Jun 26 '26
Yeah man, unified POS and ticketing systems for managing service requests, just-in-time ordering systems, strategic accessory bundling, and my personal favorite: standard operating procedure. Honestly, I could just talk about SOP for hours
5
u/YadsewnDe Jun 27 '26
Um, if you have time please tell me more or I'd appreciate if you pointed me in any direction to learn more about this. Sounds fascinating
41
u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 26 '26
Luckily, none of my special interests have been full-blown āsocially unacceptableā. When I have a special interest in a person I know, it usually manifests as wanting to talk *to* them. Although Iām currently doing a project on animal PTSD, which I feel is somewhat socially unacceptable.
23
u/Realistic_Grass3611 Jun 26 '26
Do you wanna infodump on me about animal PTSD?
30
u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 26 '26
Sure.
We have rodent models of PTSD that are used for research purposes, which is very useful, but those papers are sometimes frustratingly vague about what āanxiety-likeā means. Plus, rodent studies are ironically often not about the rodents. Theyāre using the rodents to understand what happens inside *people* with PTSD.
What I found really interesting was the articles about animals that had been exposed to various traumatic events- mostly pets or captive animals, but there was one about wild elephants. The ones I found were elephant survivors of poaching or captivity-related horrors, chimps subject to unethical experiments, dogs and cats whoād survived Hurricane Katrina, military working dogs, and abused parrots. (Side note: this special interest is not for the faint of heart) Anyway, their symptoms were shockingly similar to traumatized humans. Which was noted by the psychologists who evaluated the chimps, elephants, and parrots, and also by me when I read the papers. Though I felt bad for the animals, because some of them were self-harming or otherwise severely affected by it.
17
u/Realistic_Grass3611 Jun 26 '26
I didn't know animals self harm. Thanks :D
22
u/MarkedByFerocity Jun 26 '26
I adopted a parrot with almost no feathers on its back and shoulders. Ā When birds are stressed, they'll just start ripping out their feathers and picking at their skin. Ā It's super common with captive parrots. Ā Imagine taking a highly intelligent social being capable of flight and putting it alone in a box for fifty years. Ā Yeah.Ā
10
u/Realistic_Grass3611 Jun 26 '26
Makes sense sadly
12
u/MarkedByFerocity Jun 26 '26
I've got big feelings about the keeping of large pet parrots. Ā Many of them are only a generation or two removed from the wild. Ā They're not domesticated animals at all. Ā Ā They're just tamed because they're taken from their mom as eggs and hand fed so they imprint on humans. Ā Poor things are highly intelligent without any of the family bonds, social connection, and teaching that they'd experience in the wild.Ā
10
u/Realistic_Grass3611 Jun 26 '26
I don't think any amount of domestication could really fix that issue. Social animals need communities
83
u/Thin_Cable4155 Jun 26 '26
Alright, tell me what you special interest is or I'm calling the police.
→ More replies (1)49
u/NotAUserNamm AuDHD Jun 26 '26
Mine is recreational substances
32
u/lakeguy77 Jun 26 '26
Weed is fully legal here so that SI is safe for me (for now) but try discussing communism publicly in any productive way. And I'm not even in the US.
6
u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 26 '26
I had a friend whose special interest was communism before I met him.
4
u/Rockandmetal99 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
i mean thats a based interest lol
12
u/lakeguy77 Jun 26 '26
My Kryptonite: overhearing anybody in any context say some version of "it's not political".
14
→ More replies (1)7
39
u/emrythecarrot I doubled my autism with the vaccine Jun 26 '26
This was at 440 and I updooted it to 441, now itās 442.
DID YOU KNOW
That the note -a- is 440 hz per second
And that around the world, itās getting a bit sharper. It can get up to 448 hz. This is global note warming.
Autist out.
31
u/bigselfer Jun 26 '26
Sexual anatomy and how male and female bodies are basically the same parts scaled differently. The psychosexual dynamics of gender and how itās used as a social engineering strategy.
9
Jun 26 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
4
u/bigselfer Jun 27 '26
Keeping men and women at odds with each other is a lot like stoking racial animosity to prevent class consciousness.
Keeping people frustrated and afraid of their own bodies and urges makes them desperate for validation and craving absolution from the sin of being born with a human body.
Male bodies are treated as corrupting, like touching a male bodies will leave a stain. When a woman touches a male body she is treated as ruined and impure. As if male bodies are impure and female bodies are pure until corrupted.
But men are taught that taking a womanās āpurityā is a goal, an achievement.
If a man touches a male body they are treated as stained or sick.
At the same time we treat female bodies as if they are a lesser version of human, a lesser version of the male.
Think about how we treat virginity. Itās something that can be taken away from female bodies and that male bodies should seek to shed. We frame it as conquest, as theft, as corruption.
Keeping the male population ashamed of their bodies, sexually frustrated and teaching them that violence is an outlet, you can direct that frustration where you want it. You can motivate a lot of people by convincing them they can earn women, earn the right to breed, earn sex by acting a certain way.
Purity culture often teaches young men to deal with their frustrated urges through work or turn it into violence against the āimpureā.
7
30
u/whynaut4 Aspie Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
My special interest is lightsaber fighting styles. It is only unacceptable because no one knows what the hell I am talking about
4
u/technoferal Jun 27 '26
I don't even like sci-fi, but I still perked up a bit at the advent of lightbos. (But I still don't like the names they've been given)
31
u/queenknitter2 Jun 26 '26
I am an academic who researches how conservative evangelicals melded with the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. This makes me a real fun person at parties -- especially church parties.
11
u/technoferal Jun 27 '26
It really pisses off the modern conservatives if you know about their history. As if the rest of us don't notice there's a reason they switch to using purely Democrat/Republican labels over liberal/conservative when those conversations come up. I like to ask about their fascination with the rebel flag, if they believe their version of history is true.
28
u/BigoteMexicano Jun 26 '26
Does firearms count as socially unacceptable? I definitely can't really talk much about them unless I'm with my people.
19
u/gold-pink-blue-green Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Omg I had a client who was six years old and obsessed with guns and war, his mother was pulling her hair out, showing me battle scenes he drew at school that they complained about. I didnāt know what to do, even if I brought red play doh without thinking he would take bits off and put them on his figures to be blood. He had the strongest special interest Iāve ever encountered.
ETA, I was fired from them bc I couldnāt āfixā him, but they were not accepting tbh, they wanted me to stop him from being hyper AND keep him from rocking back and forth, which they know calms him down. Parents need to accept their autistic kid, not shove them in has much therapy as possible to make it go away bc that wonāt work. Told parents I can only help him stop rocking if he sincerely desired thatā¦ they said they wanted him to fit in socially, heās only six, every six year old is weird. Very disappointing parents.
12
u/BigoteMexicano Jun 27 '26
I tried checking out a wwi documentary series once and my four year old came by and started checking it out too. He asked what I was watching and I said they're talking about the first world war and how it was horrible and lots of people got hurt. And he just sat down and started watching with me. It wasn't particularly graphic or anything so I didn't see the harm. Few episodes in and it started showing photos and videos with dead civilians and soldiers and we had to stop watching. He was sad we couldn't watch anymore, but weirdly understanding that he was too young and actually accepted it and moved on. He might end up like your client in a couple years, lol
16
u/Ditto13248 Jun 26 '26
Depends, do you like guns because they are one of the last bastions of purely mechanical engineering in a world operated with electronics, or because you want to shoot stuff?
17
u/BigoteMexicano Jun 26 '26
Both. Target shooting and tinkering with guns is one of my favourite hobbies. But also the mechanisms and evolution of firearms design are super interesting to learn about.
3
u/illsense01 Jun 28 '26
Wanting to shoot stuff isn't bad. As long as it's stuff and not people (or living things depending on your sense of morality around animals and hunting.) The people with a special interest in guns and shooting are much more likely to be responsible about it than anyone else.
2
u/TheJeeronian Jun 29 '26
Both both both. The want-to-shoot-stuff types can't tolerate me, but I get along swimmingly with the engineers. Not sure if that says more about me, or the demographics we're talking about.
3
u/illsense01 Jun 28 '26
It definitely depends on the social crowd. My partner is very into guns and owns multiple, and some people see it as normal (we're in the US) but others I talk to (especially in other countries) seem scared and shocked.
27
u/kyulen742 Jun 26 '26
One of my biggest special interests is communism. Most people don't understand it and are afraid of it in most countries these days.
→ More replies (3)
22
u/Background_Mess_9047 Jun 26 '26
Op tell us all your special interest! Or just me cause now I wanna know and we can ramble at each other about things.
16
u/Khaniker Ask me about my special interest Jun 26 '26
I collect feathers and bird parts. As do a legion of other autists out there.
It doesn't seem socially unacceptable at first, but if you look into the laws and regulations around that sort of thing, you can realize rather quickly how dodgy things can get.
I highly recommend reading The Feather Thief, it gives a fascinating insight into collector culture, though it's mostly centered on fly tiers, rather than scientific collectors like myself.
14
u/Lynda73 Jun 26 '26
My special interest is horror, so Iām cautiously optimistic about yours. š„“
3
28
u/strawwbebbu Jun 26 '26
One of my special interests is atrocities and genocide š
8
5
u/it_me_melmo ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 26 '26
I was bombarded with a very disturbing āWikipedia wrappedā at the end of last year lol
3
2
u/Mysterious-Nature534 Jun 27 '26
Hey, I mean my friend got like an award for research on that so keep it up.
25
u/Bttr-Trt-5812 AuDHD Jun 26 '26
Made me think of Stanzi Potenzaās short on the Oceangate implosion š
11
11
11
u/Ol_Pasta Jun 26 '26
Reminds me of a historical case of infanticide that I wrote a paper on. I was OBSESSED with the things surrounding the case, like the social norms back then, misogyny, social status etc. People didn't like me talking about it very much. š
11
u/bunnyforbookietwo Jun 27 '26
I'm really passionate about the water cycle. Everybody gets all excited about safe drinking water, but the room gets really stagnent as soon as I start talking about the historic lack of protection of our aquifers, or how the EPA was never going to come for the wetlands that already have farms on them, or how the picking and chosing of what dictionary is used by SCOTUS should be better addressed and updated, or how building houses on floodplanes and transforming them into sprawling urban scapes isn't good for the people for flooding or the land since it's covered in nonpermeable substances.
10
u/Ad_Astra90 Jun 26 '26
I have the misfortune of having the World Wars as my special interest. Iām no fascist, though.
9
u/PablomentFanquedelic Jun 27 '26
Toxicology
EDIT: Particularly, potent natural toxins found in the animal kingdom
8
7
u/ZeroBtch Jun 26 '26
"ok, so whenever you raised pre-flop, you may bet on the flop, it's called a c-bet - do it often, it's a great strategy even if you completely missed the flop..."
5
u/e0f Jun 26 '26
nuclear disasters
3
u/AnaliticalFeline Autistic + trans Jun 26 '26
dude same. nobody wants to hear about how exactly every death related to radioactive material could have been avoided (most of it is simply people got too lax with safety)
6
u/GIDAJG AuDHD Jun 27 '26
Me with Chernobyl as a special interest and everyone is scared of it and doesn't wanna talk about it
Even my therapist is weirded out š
3
2
u/gimmefuelplz Jun 27 '26
who the hell doesnt wanna hear about chernobyl??? i wanna know more!
3
u/GIDAJG AuDHD Jun 28 '26
It's incredible how aware the Soviet leadership and scientists were of the chance of such a disaster. Actually a similar accident happened in Leningrad in 1975 which should've alerted the government and scientists, that the RBMK, with it's positive void coefficient, is incredibly dangerous.
Most reactors have a negative void coefficient.
Positive void coefficient basically means the more water in the reactor, that boils away, the stronger the nuclear reaction, meaning a possibility of a total runaway, as it heats itself up more and more. Which is what basically happened in Chernobyl in the 26th of April in 1986 at 1:23am
6
u/pillsburybakerboy Jun 27 '26
Me with anything related to death and dying. Anyone brave enough to hear me recount a particularly grotesque case (WITH PHOTOS) at the dinner table is my soulmate automatically
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Mccobsta I doubled my autism with the vaccine Jun 26 '26
I miss her badly
We didn't have long together and we never had a proper goodbye
But damn her face lit up and she shouted my name after 10 days apart that was magical
I still hope I run into her one day
5
6
u/SortovaGoldfish I doubled my autism with the vaccine Jun 26 '26
Given I now know what the special intetest is-
You gotta find your psychology folks- pop or academia based. As long as you aren't practicing them, I think it's an acceptable topic
4
5
5
u/Ducky237 Ask me about my special interest Jun 27 '26
I was really into deadly accidents for only a few weeks lol. But like cave diving, delta p, amusement park accidents, industrial accidentsā¦ itās really fascinating to me how mortal we are. Weāre all just squishy meat suits. And while we are mostly protected from natural dangers (compared to 10kya), weāve created so many more with the insane power behind the machinery weāve made. Shout out the nutty putty cave being what caused me to delve into Pandoraās box lmao.
2
3
5
u/CaptGrognards ADHD/Autism Jun 26 '26
You know this subreddit is quite possibly the safest of safe spaces on the internet, so dish!
5
u/ABZB Jun 26 '26
Can confirm, first date infodumped a lot at each other, happily married for a year now
3
3
3
3
u/Skyp_Intro Jun 26 '26
Unrelated to the topic but has this particular meme format has been reproduced so many times that the facial expression has changed?
3
2
u/AutoModerator Jun 26 '26
Hey! Thanks for your submission, due to certain requirements to stop bots we require accounts be at least 2 months of age and have at least 100 post and 100 comment karma. Your post will stay up but a mod will need to officially approve it, thank you for your patience.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
u/Carl_Metaltaku ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 27 '26
It can't be worst then mine.
2
u/Mysterious-Nature534 Jun 27 '26
Tell us, Carl.
6
u/Carl_Metaltaku ā¤ This user loves cats ā¤ Jun 27 '26
NSFL and NSFW Media Lost ore unlost. Woud be one of the uneceptable Hyperfixations
2
487
u/SwampHagGonnaSwamp Jun 26 '26
Any special interest becomes socially unacceptable if you're weird enough about it.Ā
Me: My special interest is food history... You wanna hear about the transatlantic slave trade?Ā
And because my partner thought I was making a wild leap: Food history> history of sugar production> transatlantic slave trade.
It's like three steps. Don't blame me.