My childhood was dominated by having a succession of specialist interests, or as my parent's would call them "obsessions". I'm not a fan of that word though as it has negative connotations. The most prominent one, which came and went in cycles was about cars. In fact my parents have home video footage from 1993 at the Worthing Motor show, of me giving a running commentary of all the cars displayed, reciting their specifications. I remember in July 1995 walking into my local newsagent on my own and buying a copy of What Car magazine, and while all of it was interesting, the bit that really excited me was the whole specification list at the back. I wanted to know which models had electric windows, central locking, maximum speeds etc.
Very often my special interests were driven by some sort of fear. I remember as a toddler hurting my hand trying to open the door of my Grandparents S Reg Renault 5, and I remember being rather afraid of travelling in a Fiat 126 because I was told they were very noisy, and I thought the noise might give me a shock.
Other childhood interests included clocks and watches, and the weather.
Today, I still have a passing interest in my old specialist interests, and will happily pick up a car magazine in the dentists waiting room. However I couldn't even try to recite offhand the car specifications as of 2019! The reason is because I don't have any kind of emotional attachment related to cars that I did when I was younger and other more pressing concerns have taken over.
In fact as a 10 year old I used to imagine I'd want to drive something like a 10 year old Saab 9000 when I grew up. Of course, insurance and finding a parking space weren't really on my mind back then! As things happened, since I eventually passed my driving test at the late age of 31 (having regarded home ownership as a greater priority) I have only ever owned a Ford Ka and a Nissan Micra. It would be nice to try driving a larger vehicle at some point, but it would be totally impractical to own a big car given my flat location and driving habits.
The weather does remain a much more prominent interest for me today. In fact usually the first thing I do after work is make a cup of tea, grab a few cookies, and watch the latest forecast from GavsWeatherVids. I work outdoors, and certain types of weather can have a real impact upon me. My interest is greatest in winter and summer when there's the risk of extreme temperatures. One thing I do to relax is go onto accuweather.com, and browse forecast stats for different parts of the world and see how I'd fare in a different city.
In general if you ask me about the weather forecast, there's a good chance I could give you a detailed answer about the possible scenarios for the next few weeks.
There can be great advantages to having a mind that's wired up for specialist interests. However it can also be socially isolating. But more about this in a future post.
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