Poem: "Frob, Twiddle, and Tweak"

[ysabetwordsmith]

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.

Comments

[redsixwing]

Love it! <3

Ooh, chewy gem necklaces. I like jewelry that can be turned and flipped, so those look nice - with chewing as an added bonus. (And now I want to chew things. Poetry with side effects!)

STIM

[(Anonymous)]

NOW I NEED TO FIND A GOOD FIDGET TOY!

I started messing with my face while reading this...*sigh*

[chanter1944]

Re: fidgeting and creativity/concentration: OOOOOHHH that explains so much! Rocking chairs and swings are creativity-enhancing catnip to this lady here, and now I understand at least part of why. :)

[alatefeline]

Yay! Awesome! "Extra handles on our thought patterns" is SO true to my experience even though I would never have thought to phrase it that way, and yet I can also see it applying to many very different autistic, neurovariant, and neurotypical people! I like Crank, too. And Darmid. :)

[eseme]

Yay, stunning and yay Army of One. I have, by the way, ordered from Stimtastic, and the shipping was super fast and they took a custom order (3 different colors of gems on a neckalce) with ease. They also have amazing prices.

[mdlbear]

Yay!

One of my favorite fidgets is a pair of Chinese exercise balls. They're also good for developing finger strength, which is useful for a guitarist.

[rhodielady-47.livejournal.com]

"Stimming is an important part of neurovariant thought, identity, and culture."
I wonder if playing with sticky tape counts as stimming?
I've done that all of my life.
:^}