the idea that Enthusiasm/Hyperfixation/Special Interest = Academic Rigor/Expertise is SUCH a baffling take. like these things can (and often do!) coexist but they're still separate concepts??
point 1: art is often considered something you do purely out of LOVE and PASSION, and as much as i truly do love to draw, i've done quite a few commissions and Art For Work type projects more out of discipline and obligation than true passion for someone's ttrpg character. it's not that i dislike doing them! but there is a difference between doing your craft in any kind of professional capacity and as a hobbyist. i do actually hope that experts and academics do their due diligence even on the days that they aren't really feelin' it.
point 2: honestly i WISH being really enthusiastic about something granted me instant knowledge and expertise. there are a lot of topics out there i am sincerely deeply interested in (anthropology, art history, art philosophy, languages, et cetera), but i currently lack the ability to sit down and research them widely and rigorously. i am often tired, dizzy and foggy-headed, and find myself easily overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. the ability to research CAN be learnt and trained! but it does require, well, some rigor and discipline. i find that i learn best when i have a structured environment of lectures much more than when i'm left to fend for myself, no matter how badly i want to learn more about something. that's not the case for everyone, of course! but i don't think that my need for a little bit of assistance makes my enthusiasm Lesser - or if it does, well, that's kind of a bummer. (if i am struggling to manifest riches with my mind, does it mean i do not desire them enough?)
point 3: you can learn information, crafts and skills without having lifelong, bone-deep burning passion for them. like, i always Liked clocks, but i didn't know much ABOUT clocks before i started watchmaker school, and in the beginning i was completely wracked with imposter syndrome and felt like a fake autist for not having a Special Interest in Clocks and would never be able to grasp how they worked. but guess what! i know how they work now!! i know a lot about clocks i didn't know before! i may even know more than many watch collectors and hobbyists do!
point 4: a lot of the language being used to describe Enthusiasm is "hyperfixation" and "special interest" which are words used by neurodivergent communities to describe neurodivergent experiences. this recipe didn't need a whole new can of worms and yet here we are! having autism or ADHD is not a superpower. being neurodivergent is a neutral trait. everyone has different brains, different bodies, different lives - we all have strengths and weaknesses and quirks and preferences. many academics and scientists are neurodivergent, but surely not ALL of them? and not all neurodivergence is the same! i clearly missed out on the "getting interested in a topic makes me go on an instant research binge" trait. i think acting like an autist with a special interest is inherently more qualified on a topic than a neurotypical expert who works in a field is not going to serve anyone in the long run.
i've seen a lot of really thoughtful discussion around the inaccessibility of academia and how there is a lot of genuine expertise outside of it, about the importance of science communication, and that of building bridges between academics and a layman population. i agree!! *i* gave up on academia after getting a bachelor's degree that i barely scraped together. that said, i think equating Passion and Rigor is complete nonsense that doesn't add anything to that particular discussion at all.
