I never really thought that I may do this... although the past few days of heated conversations with other people, has (using their terms) considered that I take everything Literally.

I began to wonder about that. Sometimes I wonder if what my perception of other peoples underlying feelings/thoughts interfere with my ability to understand literal expression or other?

I always seem to just "know" what others are thinking... but I cant prove it.
I wonder if it is just in my head half of the time... although I suppose I can recognize patterns very well,.. and those patterns pre-determine their actions... which I can tend to predicate pretty well.

As for the literal sense.... I am not sure if I cant determine the difference between literal and non literal.

If someone says something that implies something else that I may find offensive I can get upset about it...this is when they say I am taking it literally....but, if they just didnt use those words that are the implying type of words...then I wouldnt need to second guess their meaning.

I was told that I too... seem to have poor communication skills... I am dumbfounded.. I always thought I could comminicate myself well....

Although lately... I have recognized my failed attempts to do this accuratly.

I am tending to find, I REALLY AM saying things without first thinking them through..and thinking the best way to say my thoughts.

OF course I am suspecting certain people in my family having ADD as well, and noticing we are all saying implied things...and taking comments literally.

I feel like I am just opening my eyes to this... it is quite a surprise.

I have issues with my literal interpretation of people's comments/questions. For example, someone might ask me if the blood pressure monitor works. I answer yes. (now I make sure to say that it works - not broken - but it needs new batteries).

Another problem is that I try to apply the elements of logical reasoning to people's spontaneous remarks/questions. I am too literal. I end up avoiding the conversation and answering questions because I would need time to clarify the terms and correct the premises.

The lack of logic in commercials drives me crazy: "They are giving it away free?...it must be good!"

Another thing I do, when I see foreign movies, is to compare the subtitles to the audio and detect translation mistakes.

Still another thing, I notice, for example, when a store advertizes something for .29 cents (rather than $0.29 or 29 cents).

I do this too, but a lot of it has to do, IMO, with some of the skills in communication I learned in my many years of therapy.

Always/never...:eyebrow: oh come on! Really? Want me to prove ya wrong by giving ya an example of when it sometimes happens?

Everybody/nobody...same thing, different words.

Improper usage of black/white terms irks me and possibly always will, because I live in the grey areas, know what I mean? It bugs me, and I don't understand when people come back with "I was making a point, you knew what I meant!" :mad:. I knew what was said, and it was incorrect, and now its ON!


This is probably a bad habit of mine, but I don't know right now how to correct that habit. Life is not black and white and never will be, to my way of thinking.

Crazy

The lack of logic in commercials drives me crazy: "They are giving it away free?...it must be good!"

Okay this annoys me too I am always wondering if it is believed by the advertising professionals that the average consumer is really that stupid, do a majority really hear the above statement or equalvent and think it is logical?

Don't most know people: They can get trash for free all day any day. I realize that if this product was free( RRRealy free) the company would not be in business and be able to pay for this really annoying commercial . Money has got to come into the equation some time. I would prefer to be told straight up the cost.

Other time I wonder if I notice because I am that different. I have been know to ask (naturally) most say they never give advertisements any thought which is what I think advertisers are counting on (IMHO) = why they are stupid!


I always seem to just "know" what others are thinking... but I cant prove it.
I wonder if it is just in my head half of the time... although I suppose I can recognize patterns very well,.. and those patterns pre-determine their actions... which I can tend to predicate pretty well.


I look at actions more than words. If they say one thing but their actions say another then I go by actions. If I am really confused I ask guessing give me a head ache. . . I don't really get mad overly easy though. I do not have pre-conceived notions about how some one should or should not be I only decide weather or not I find their presence pleasant or not. . . .some people I converse with really well others do tend to allude me, but pleasantness isn’t always determined by ease of communicating (often just not always = Crazy~Feet) People who I find unpleasant I do my best to avoid or keep at a distance.

When pushed to the point it is obvious I can do goofy to super “witch” (with a brain) in .020 seconds. I do know this about myself :

By the time I say some thing to some one (as in to back them off ) a definite line has been obviously crossed. I am normally hyper but in a laid back sort of way (oxymorn I know)

My social klutz:

I am known for answering rhetorical questions :o because in my family there is no such thing!

Tammy,

Unfortunately, we have very sophisticated market research companies and those ads have a very specific (real, existent) target market. What I mean is that those people really exist and respond to the commercials. The segment is hopefully small, but obviously large enough to be worthwhile for advertizers.

BTW, the product in question is Focus Factor. ;-)

The lack of logic in commercials drives me crazy: "They are giving it away free?...it must be good!"I'll tell ya what bothers me more than that, snappy!!

It's the commercials that repeat everything over and over attempting to get it lodged into our brains! The most blatant one lately is the "Head-on" commercial!

Head-on! ...Apply directly to the forehead!

Head-on! ...Apply directly to the forehead!

Head-on! ...Apply directly to the forehead!

I'll will never ever buy their product just because they've annoyed me so much with their stupid commercial! LOL :D

Anyway, I think I'm the polar opposite of you literal folks. I seem to constantly analyze everything people say looking for the hidden meaning to what they are really saying and take nothing that is said literally!

Another thing I do, when I see foreign movies, is to compare the subtitles to the audio and detect translation mistakes.
Here I should assume that you actually speak the foreign language that you are looking for translation mistakes in, correct? LOL :D J/K

Have a great day! :)

Hi SEEK!

Thinking abou it...I take things literally....until I have time to think later on....then I do what you do - it's like an anal-retentive paranoia. :eek:


And yes, speaking the foreign language of the movie in question is a big plus! :p

Hi SEEK!

Thinking abou it...I take things literally....until I have time to think later on....then I do what you do - it's like an anal-retentive paranoia. :eek:


And yes, speaking the foreign language of the movie in question is a big plus! :p
:D LOL @ "anal-retentive paranoia"!! LOL :D

I hear ya! Maybe that's why I do it too! :)

I have experienced many times at the workplace where I have taken things LITERALLY - and was NOT supposed to. I also seem to need more "SPECIFICS" than most before I can carry out an order.

Communication - or better said: Misunderstanding - seems to cause so much conflict!! I can't stand to be around people who appearingly are intentionally misleading. (Does anyone know where I'm coming from with that last comment?)

Unfortunately, we have very sophisticated market research companies and those ads have a very specific (real, existent) target market


Oops another thing I have a problem with on occasion is :foot:

Now that you have mentioned it I am gathering the target audience isn’t people like me (surprise, surprise)

I have seen some of the marketing projections and advertising systems . I think I was looking up emergence for another thread but had to specify type of emergence because I got a lot of marketing stuff . . . . . .( I was looking more for evolution)




What I mean is that those people really exist and respond to the commercials.

Your statement is obviously true or there would be no such market.




I can't stand to be around people who appealingly are intentionally misleading. (Does anyone know where I'm coming from with that last comment?)

I do if your are meaning people who are manipulative or play word games.

Word games are cool if I know the person well enough to know they do this however I really don’t care much for manipulative people myself,

If the above doesn't cover it then my answer would have to be changed to no :p (for obvious reasons)

hmm, I don't even know what my problem is. I take some things literally, like if someone says, "I ain't got none". My response would be that they do have some because, they just used a double negative.

I, like Seek, am constantly searching for the hidden meaning. And, to top it all off, I take everything personally. This really doesn't work out well when I misinterpret what someone means or thinks and I think the wrong thing. I tend to assume sometimes that other people think like I do, when they obviously don't. For example, if I was brought up to believe something was rude, I take it real personally if someone does that to me, thinking that it is some universally "rude" thing and they have just intentionally provoked me. But, the difficult part is trying to learn to think otherwise, to try to not take things personally.:(

I tend to assume sometimes that other people think like I do, when they obviously don't. For example, if I was brought up to believe something was rude, I take it real personally if someone does that to me, thinking that it is some universally "rude" thing and they have just intentionally provoked me.

OMG!! I do the same thing so very often!! Lately, I've realized that I may appear extremely uninterested in other people because I don't ask them alot of personal questions. I was taught that it's RUDE to do so! Hence, I am always getting ****ED when people ask me stuff like "What do you do for work?" (especially now that I'm unemployed) and then if I say I don't work I get - "Wow!! Tell me how you manage THAT!!" or "Lucky YOU!" or "Why?!?" etc. - which is also something I don't want to talk about because it is VERY personal and humiliating (. . . I recently filed and have been awarded SSI . . . which is for another time and another post . . . ). But anyway - this is my FIRST TIME being unemployed. And even BEFORE this, I NEVER would ask people alot of personal stuff because I am sensitive to the fact that some people may not currently be in a "good place" and I may stir up bad feelings, etc. So I usually ask something more generic like: "What have you been up to?" Or - "How's life been treatin' ya??" But I know some very kindhearted people, and they DO often ask me very personal questions . . . so I NOW have started to think that just because *I* view such questions as intrusive, invasive, and RUDE - obviously many other people do NOT!!

I said:
I can't stand to be around people who appearingly are intentionally misleading. (Does anyone know where I'm coming from with that last comment?)
Meadd replied:
I do if your are meaning people who are manipulative or play word games.

Word games are cool if I know the person well enough to know they do this however I really don’t care much for manipulative people myself,



Manipulative! Yes! THAT'S the word that describes it! I don't like that. And who I was thinking of when I posted that is my family.

Sometimes my family members will PRETEND not to understand something I'm talking about (and it's usually a very GENERIC topic I'm talking about - one which ANYONE would understand - even a child). Anyway - it seems that they just don't want to have any sort of conversation with me (or to even be in my presence???) - so they try to ignore me and if I say, "Did you hear what I said?" They'll say, "Yes." And I'll ask, "Well, what do you think?" Or "What is your answer?" (or some other question) and they just say, "I have NO IDEA what you are TALKING ABOUT!!!!" Ughh!! It really irks me!!

And I'm talking about my dad and stepmother whom I ONLY ever see once in a while for just a FEW minutes. (Like maybe 3 or 4 times a year.) It's not like I'm a constant pest or always around them. But they often act like just 2 minutes around me is too much. Ugh!

Is it possible to search for hidden meaning and to take words literally?

I mean sometimes, people say the wrong things... or use the wrong words.. those words they use, mean or imply other things.

This is where I always look for the hidden meaning.

I also seem to take things more personally then I should.

I think that when you know certain people and just know their personality it becomes easier to search for that hidden meaning.

For example... someone I know well says.. "Well, no one told me"
It isnt the words exactly... but the tone... the word usuage in the sentence, followed by the way the sentence is used during and after that person has said the sentence.

As simple as those 5 words are, there is a meaning beneath them which caters to the individual which spoke them. This really bothers me, because, I could be in a group of people... and know EXACTLY what is meant.

Then I may respond asking (just because) for clarification. I dont want to interpret what they just said in the way they just said it.

If clarification is not achieved, I may pounce. I will respond typically depending on the "hidden meaning" Others around us... will NOT have a clue why I reacted the way I did.

This really bothers me. I hate that people will not just say what it is that they REALLY mean... and will expect you to just "get it" I find this process incredibly exhausting.

Then if you dare, tell them exactly how you mean, they take offence by taking the things you say literally.


Perhaps... this only happens with my family.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It's funny, anyone who knows me makes fun of my always saying "Do you know what I mean?". But, what else can I say when I constantly get the deer in the headlights look. If people don't know what I mean, I get flustered and start to sound like a mad scientist or something as I feel the smoke blowing out of my ears....

Also, I do understand the tone thing. Anything a person says can be interpreted more in depth by their tone. If you ask someone how they are doing and they smile and say "Fine", you would assume they are good. But if they shrug their shoulders, look away and say, "Fine", you might think something is wrong. I don't get why people display their emotions in their tone and then get ****y if we take the bait and ask about it.

"Did you hear what I said?" They'll say, "Yes." And I'll ask, "Well, what do you think?" Or "What is your answer?" (or some other question) and they just say, "I have NO IDEA what you are TALKING ABOUT!!!!" Ughh!! It really irks me!!

And I'm talking about my dad and stepmother whom I ONLY ever see once in a while for just a FEW minutes. (Like maybe 3 or 4 times a year.) It's not like I'm a constant pest or always around them. But they often act like just 2 minutes around me is too much. Ugh!
There isn't much that is worse than someone who won't respond. That makes me physically violent. :mad: I would avoid your dad and stepmom too if I were you. If you ever want an answer, you can always pm me and I will respond.;)

I had a tendency to take statements very literally when I was younger, though the tendency is much less today. I'm very good at recognizing patterns, but I think the main issue with me was lack of experience. If you're highly inattentive, you're not absorbing as much pattern-laden data, and thus may be less quick to pick up on the abstractions that most people use. This ability to sense the true meaning of others is learned (only when taking into consideration of what is spoken.... I believe non-verbal cues such as eye-contact, facial expressions, and body language are quite intrinsic), at least I would think, and if one is less attentive, it is natural to assume that we would have a harder time being receptive to such. With time, though, some of us may be come superior in this aspect as the fundamental capability for pattern matching may be higher, though is simply impeded by inattention.

Well, then that about wraps things up for me then :D I am just being a literal PITA I suppose. I know the difference and refuse to allow it.

Crazy :cool: