Why do people find certain things interesting and other things so dull?

[Windows XP Home Edition]

This honestly fascinates me. What exactly drives or pulls people away from different hobbies and interests? Could it be because they find something interesting because of where they live? What makes them happy? Or could they hate it because somebody forced them to do something they didn't want to do? What interests you and why?

 

[themasterlurker]

This honestly fascinates me. What exactly drives or pulls people away from different hobbies and interests? Could it be because they find something interesting because of where they live? What makes them happy? Or could they hate it because somebody forced them to do something they didn't want to do? What interests you and why?

Probably finding people with similar thoughts and values, or it's something interesting, odd, bizarre

 

[Bongocat]

If you're talking about broad categories of topics or careers, the simple answer is probably evolutionary. The more varied peoples' interests are, the more needs of the group get potentially accounted for. It's probably a similar reason to why diseases don't affect everybody in the same way.

Also RNG in upbringing. Somebody might have a natural attraction to a myriad of hobbies but gets pushed down one particular path due to more or less random life events.

The exception being kids loving dinosaurs because dinosaurs are fucking awesome and if you don't like them, you don't have a soul.

 

[User names must be unique]

Current interest is the age of sail specifically Napoleonic era, years ago I'd sat though documentaries and films around it, even got dragged around a museum ship of the era as a kid by my grandad. Nothing got me hooked until I listened to the Hornblower audiobooks and read more about the real madlads of the era.

 

[ColtWalker1847]

Current interest is the age of sail specifically Napoleonic era, years ago I'd sat though documentaries and films around it, even got dragged around a museum ship of the era as a kid by my grandad. Nothing got me hooked until I listened to the Hornblower audiobooks and read more about the real madlads of the era.

Have you read the Aubrey-Maturin series? It's basically a fictionalized biography of Thomas Cochrane.

I've heard the Rampage novels by Dudley Pope are pretty good too. But I became lame and gay and stopped reading cool adventure novels set in the age of sail for some reason.

As to why I stopped reading this stuff it's probably because I got TV and decent internet. I used to get home from work and read every day until bed. Stop and buy books from the used book store during lunch hour. At any given time for like a decade I would be reading two-three books. One of them would usually be some kind of adventure novel for funsies.

 

[Samson Pumpkin Jr.]

everyone is a blank slate ergo all differences come from upbringing

 

[BingBong]

either they learn to like things based on their upbringing, or it's hardwired into their DNA. idk which.

 

[JustFuckinaDude]

An excellent question that I don't think has any one good answer. There's definitely a nature
(TL;DR white and gray matter distribution patterns) and a nurture portion, in my experience, but personal choice will always play a role. I went to college with people in "soft" sciences that could easily have gone into the "hard" sciences and exceled; likewise, there were some in the hard sciences that "brute forced" their way through the classes, giving up a social life to study relentlessly. The opposite was also true. Why did they take those paths?

Because their choice meant enough to them to take the way that was contrary to their nature. Choice is all it is. Some people just want to be social workers or counselors because their life was shitty and they want to help others. Some people want to make a lot of money and go be engineers or whatever. Some people just like fucking around with computers and go that direction. Some people just go into medicine because they feel the need to show compassion to others.

Whatever makes them happy.

 

[VIVIIXI]

If I'm reading this right, you are effectively trying to find an objective answer to the nature subjectivity itself.

Good luck with that.

 

[AMHOLIO]

everyone is a blank slate ergo all differences come from upbringing

Therefore gender classes mandatory from birth until the final genital surgery is done

 

[Gloomy guest]

Psychic connections are why I love Cher. I feel vindicated because I heard her earlier today, she said "we are blessed". It's true. We connect on a psychic level that other people are unaware of. She did answer my devotion. I am obligated to reveal this.