ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2016-08-02 03:20 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2016-08-02 03:20 pm
Entry tags:
Poem: "Frob, Twiddle, and Tweak"
This is today's freebie, inspired by redsixwing. It also fills the "vindication" square in my 8-1-16 card for the Survival Bingo fest. It belongs to the series An Army of One.
"Frob, Twiddle, and Tweak"
"I love the society you people
are building," Darmid said as he
watched a bucket chain forming
to unload the supply ship, with
a very synchronized pattern
developing within minutes as
the workers copied each other.
"It's just frob, twiddle, and tweak,"
said Crank. "First you move things around
to see what they do. Then you guess at settings
for each of the parts. Then you fine-tune them
in relation to each other. I was surprised to find
how well mechanical concepts can apply to
social sciences, but I guess I just needed
to meet the right group of people."
"I'm impressed by how much you have
already accomplished here," said Darmid.
It makes me so excited for my son's future!
I've known plenty of social scientists and
mechanics, but none of them think
outside the box the way you do."
"Maybe it's just because we put
extra handles on our thought patterns,"
he said, flipping the frobs on his necklace
up and down. "I move this thing, and
my brain changes gears."
"Now I want one of those," Darmid said.
* * *
Notes:
Here's a basic description of "frob." I've always used this set of definitions:
Frob -- to move the parts or controls of an unfamiliar device very broadly to identify their functions/range.
Twiddle -- to move parts in smaller ways so as to estimate likely settings, usually one at a time.
Tweak -- to make fine adjustments in the settings, usually in relation to each other, to derive a final configuration.
Fidgeting is any pleasant, repetitive motions. It improves concentration, memory, and creativity especially for neurovariant people.
Stimming is an important part of neurovariant thought, identity, and culture. Unfortunately neurotypical people often disapprove and suppress stimming, sometimes to the point of abuse, even though neurotypical people do it too. Here are tips on how to stim.
Stim jewelry is designed to facilitate safe, effective fidgeting. There's even a blog for it. This chewable gem necklace has one or more silicone prisms to manipulate. Crank has this version.
redsixwing. It also fills the "vindication" square in my 8-1-16 card for the Survival Bingo fest. It belongs to the series An Army of One."Frob, Twiddle, and Tweak"
"I love the society you people
are building," Darmid said as he
watched a bucket chain forming
to unload the supply ship, with
a very synchronized pattern
developing within minutes as
the workers copied each other.
"It's just frob, twiddle, and tweak,"
said Crank. "First you move things around
to see what they do. Then you guess at settings
for each of the parts. Then you fine-tune them
in relation to each other. I was surprised to find
how well mechanical concepts can apply to
social sciences, but I guess I just needed
to meet the right group of people."
"I'm impressed by how much you have
already accomplished here," said Darmid.
It makes me so excited for my son's future!
I've known plenty of social scientists and
mechanics, but none of them think
outside the box the way you do."
"Maybe it's just because we put
extra handles on our thought patterns,"
he said, flipping the frobs on his necklace
up and down. "I move this thing, and
my brain changes gears."
"Now I want one of those," Darmid said.
* * *
Notes:
Here's a basic description of "frob." I've always used this set of definitions:
Frob -- to move the parts or controls of an unfamiliar device very broadly to identify their functions/range.
Twiddle -- to move parts in smaller ways so as to estimate likely settings, usually one at a time.
Tweak -- to make fine adjustments in the settings, usually in relation to each other, to derive a final configuration.
Fidgeting is any pleasant, repetitive motions. It improves concentration, memory, and creativity especially for neurovariant people.
Stimming is an important part of neurovariant thought, identity, and culture. Unfortunately neurotypical people often disapprove and suppress stimming, sometimes to the point of abuse, even though neurotypical people do it too. Here are tips on how to stim.
Stim jewelry is designed to facilitate safe, effective fidgeting. There's even a blog for it. This chewable gem necklace has one or more silicone prisms to manipulate. Crank has this version.
Re: STIM
Yay! I am so glad we could help.
>> it is very hard sometimes being neurovariant and SPD... <<
Yes, it is. Another challenge in SPD is that people don't notice all the variations that need different treatment.
* Your organs are fine but your mind scrambles the signals. You need to work on interpretation and integration, distress tolerance, and removing as many noxious stimuli as possible. This is among the harder things to fix and you may have to learn to ignore some things.
* Your organs are messed up. Adaptive equipment can help tremendously (i.e. photoresponsive eyeglasses). Removal or dampening of noxious input is more important; ignoring distress can cause damage. This is hard to repair but often easy to ameliorate. Science is your friend!
* You are trying too run way too much software on your wetware. You have a buffer overload problem. Either reduce input (earplugs, bodystockings) or reduce bandwidth demand (stop trying to multitask). Focus on training your brain to handle the input it gets.
* Your senses are actually fine but way way more sensitive than typical for humans. Congratulations, you have superpowers! But those have drawbacks. Dogs hear better than humans and sirens hurt their ears. You need to learn how to use your super-senses effectively, and how to dampen or remove intense input. Adaptive equipment and mental skills both help. Don't ignore noxious input, it can really injure people in this category.
>> add on the freaking out that happens over my bent toward "violent" stimming behavior... <<
People who freak out are not good for you. If they are friends/family they need to be educated (gently if possible, firmly if necessary) or replaced.
Health workers are responsible for maintaining a nonanxious presence; it is their JOB to not freak out. If they can't keep calm, fire them and get someone competent. Believe me, if they're fucking up the basics they are fucking up other things you don't even know to look for. A good doctor or therapist can save your life. A bad one can cripple or kill you. There ARE good therapists for SPD, but you may have to hunt around to find one -- and there may not be one accessible to you. None is better than bad, unfortunately.
On the bright side, there are many resources in books and online, especially for sensory diets and integration techniques. Try stuff. If it makes you feel better, do more; if it doesn't help or makes you feel worse, so something else next time. I highly recommend keeping records so you can compare different techniques. It can be as elaborate as an experiment report or as simple as a five-face smiley scale. After you've done a dozen or so things you start losing track otherwise.
>> and sometimes I just feel...
lost, I guess, alone. <<
:(
* You are NOT alone. Many people have SPD, or otherwise crave intense input. There are almost 8 billion humans here, nobody's alone no matter how far-out their experiences are.
* The best solution for this problem is a support group. Check around to see if there are any for self-harm or SPD. Certainly there are online forums for both of those. You will meet others with similar experiences, at different stages of their journey. Their ideas may help you solve problems in addition to creating a sense of community.
* Do your best to weed out unsupportive, critical people. They make you feel lonely and isolated, and that makes you less healthy. Seek positive people who make you feel welcomed, understood, and like your challenges are things you can handle.
>> I'm glad I'm not alone, hugs greatly appreciated(as long as they are firm and not light almost hug annoyances) I will also take a rumbly kitty. <<
*tight hugs*
If you like this kind of pressure, consider squeeze chairs or weighted blankets. You can buy or make your own.
For comparison, I've spent the last couple of months slapping myself all day. Our air conditioning has been broken, so there's a window unit in my office that lets in lots of bugs. After having bugs crawling on me, every time a hair moves it feels like a bug and I slap it ... even if it's just a string or air moving. Very distracting. And that is how some SPD folks feel all the time, except that nobody else knows or cares and just complains about the slapping. Right, let's see you "normal" people sit still with a bucket of gummi spiders dumped over you. >_<
Of course, I've had super-senses all my life so I've learned to cope. The sensitivity goes up and down somewhat; after we remove the window unit and the bugs stop, my skin will eventually stop interpreting everything as bug, and I'll stop slapping or frantically brushing myself all the time. But I would rather be this sensitive than not notice the bugs and get bit more often. Mostly what we have are moths but I don't need wingscales all over me either. 0_o
You are not alone. Your body is something you can learn to handle. How you choose to do that is up to YOU. Nobody else has to live with the consequences of your choices. You are not broken. You have some challenges; everyone does; those are different. You are doing the best you can with what you have. There are more resources that may help you do better. If people are being awful to you, get better people if you can; or at least realize that what they're doing to you is NOT OKAY. You have a right to be respected, happy, and comfortable.