Poem: "As Varied as the Individuals"
Aug. 19th, 2021 04:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the August 17, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from ng_moonmoth and erulisse. It also fills the "atypical neurology" square in my 8-2-21 card for the August Intimacies: Time Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by ng_moonmoth. It belongs to An Army of One series.
"As Varied as the Individuals"
Over time, the Lord of Pr0n
has expanded his collection.
He still has all sorts of
videos and pictures about
sexcapades of all kinds.
He still has a cache
of food pr0n that
Sam the Gardener
often contributes to.
But that's not all.
The Lord of Pr0n
has stretched out
to collect anything
and everything that
people find exciting
or otherwise sensual.
Lately he's gotten
into what people call
whisper pr0n, although
not all of it is whispering.
The technical term for it
is Autonomous Sensory
Meridian Response, or
ASMR for short, and it's
a trick the brain does.
Some sounds create
pleasant tingles all over
the body that help people
to relax and unwind.
This is a precious resource
for people of atypical neurology,
who often find it hard to let go.
They even give a thrill to
the asexual and aromantic folks
who rarely feel physical passion.
These ASMR anchors are likely
as varied as the individuals
experiencing the tingles, but
there are recurrent themes.
Soft, calm whispering,
slow hand motions, and
sounds made by objects
are popular anchors.
The Lord of Pr0n has
audio recordings of
people reading poetry,
campfires crackling,
paper crinkling, and
keyboards tapping.
Thinking about it,
he realizes that
many of these are
background sounds
that reassure the brain --
you are not alone -- but
without any obligation
to provide actual company.
No wonder they're so popular.
Humming softly to himself,
the Lord of Pr0n tapes
a microphone to an engine
to record its reassuring thrum.
There's no telling what people
will request next, and he prides
himself on meeting all desires.
No matter how varied the individuals,
the Lord of Pr0n serves them all.
* * *
Notes:
"ASMR triggers are likely as varied as the individuals experiencing 'the tingles,' but there are recurrent themes. Soft, calm whispering, slow hand motions, and sounds made by objects are frequent triggers."
— Susana Martinez-Conde, 11 Awesome Facts About ASMR, The Phenomenon Behind Brain 'Tingles'
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a tingly, relaxing sensation that comes from some audiovisual stimuli. Not everyone experiences it, and those who do have a variety of different causes; what one person enjoys, another may find indifferent or even irritating. ASMR has mental and physical benefits similar to other relaxation techniques, thus putting it in that category of self-regulation tools. You can start your own ASMR channel on YouTube or another service. These are some common anchors that cause ASMR. Bob Ross is a famous example because his show The Joy of Painting combined many different anchors. Although some people say it's accidental, it's really not -- Bob deliberately used everything from a soft voice and timeless dress mode to a casual teaching style in creating a relaxed and encouraging experience.
ng_moonmoth and erulisse. It also fills the "atypical neurology" square in my 8-2-21 card for the August Intimacies: Time Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by ng_moonmoth. It belongs to An Army of One series."As Varied as the Individuals"
Over time, the Lord of Pr0n
has expanded his collection.
He still has all sorts of
videos and pictures about
sexcapades of all kinds.
He still has a cache
of food pr0n that
Sam the Gardener
often contributes to.
But that's not all.
The Lord of Pr0n
has stretched out
to collect anything
and everything that
people find exciting
or otherwise sensual.
Lately he's gotten
into what people call
whisper pr0n, although
not all of it is whispering.
The technical term for it
is Autonomous Sensory
Meridian Response, or
ASMR for short, and it's
a trick the brain does.
Some sounds create
pleasant tingles all over
the body that help people
to relax and unwind.
This is a precious resource
for people of atypical neurology,
who often find it hard to let go.
They even give a thrill to
the asexual and aromantic folks
who rarely feel physical passion.
These ASMR anchors are likely
as varied as the individuals
experiencing the tingles, but
there are recurrent themes.
Soft, calm whispering,
slow hand motions, and
sounds made by objects
are popular anchors.
The Lord of Pr0n has
audio recordings of
people reading poetry,
campfires crackling,
paper crinkling, and
keyboards tapping.
Thinking about it,
he realizes that
many of these are
background sounds
that reassure the brain --
you are not alone -- but
without any obligation
to provide actual company.
No wonder they're so popular.
Humming softly to himself,
the Lord of Pr0n tapes
a microphone to an engine
to record its reassuring thrum.
There's no telling what people
will request next, and he prides
himself on meeting all desires.
No matter how varied the individuals,
the Lord of Pr0n serves them all.
* * *
Notes:
"ASMR triggers are likely as varied as the individuals experiencing 'the tingles,' but there are recurrent themes. Soft, calm whispering, slow hand motions, and sounds made by objects are frequent triggers."
— Susana Martinez-Conde, 11 Awesome Facts About ASMR, The Phenomenon Behind Brain 'Tingles'
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a tingly, relaxing sensation that comes from some audiovisual stimuli. Not everyone experiences it, and those who do have a variety of different causes; what one person enjoys, another may find indifferent or even irritating. ASMR has mental and physical benefits similar to other relaxation techniques, thus putting it in that category of self-regulation tools. You can start your own ASMR channel on YouTube or another service. These are some common anchors that cause ASMR. Bob Ross is a famous example because his show The Joy of Painting combined many different anchors. Although some people say it's accidental, it's really not -- Bob deliberately used everything from a soft voice and timeless dress mode to a casual teaching style in creating a relaxed and encouraging experience.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-20 12:19 am (UTC)A friend recently tipped me to ASMR videos, and I enjoy them a lot. It also made me realize I've felt that tingly sensation before but didn't know what it was.
I also enjoy Bob Ross immensely, although I simply find him soothing and amazing, not ASMR-tingly. Still much fun to watch though.
Yes ...
Date: 2021-08-20 01:00 am (UTC)Thank you!
>> A friend recently tipped me to ASMR videos, and I enjoy them a lot. It also made me realize I've felt that tingly sensation before but didn't know what it was. <<
I've gotten tingles from various things.
>> I also enjoy Bob Ross immensely, although I simply find him soothing and amazing, not ASMR-tingly. Still much fun to watch though. <<
For me it's very drowsy-making. There are more things that will produce a drowsy, slowing, or muscle-slacking response than a tingle.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2021-08-20 02:19 am (UTC)Me too, some of them physical things.
>>For me it's very drowsy-making. There are more things that will produce a drowsy, slowing, or muscle-slacking response than a tingle.<<
I agree. I can have it on in the background while I do other things, or I can watch it as my only focus, but I can also falling asleep while it's playing, if I'm of a mind to have a nap. I usually can't tune out voices enough to sleep with the tv on, but I can do it with Bob if I turn the volume down a little lower than normal.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-20 12:59 am (UTC)It’s funny you mentioned Bob Ross - I’ve pointed out a number of times that he would fall into the ASMR category, even though the height of his popularity was decades before ASMR was a thing.
>> Thinking about it, he realizes that many of these are background sounds that reassure the brain -- you are not alone -- but without any obligation
to provide actual company. <<
This is a very astute point. Sometimes the brain wants connections, even when connections can’t be had. Fooling the brain into a degree of reassurance may not be the ideal solution, but i don’t see it as a bad thing either. It’s certainly helped me out a number of times.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-20 01:50 am (UTC)I don't get the ASMR tingles that are often described, but there are certain sorts of videos that I find very relaxing.. usually ones that don't have a vocal compolenet, or very little anyway, but DO have some sort of crafting, gardening or cooking in them. Mr Chickadee on youtube being the best example.
I wouldn't call it Pr0n but I can see how it might hit the same buttons.
Although...given what the Lord of Pr0n supposes is true, I wonder what ASMR would be like for an Ayes.
Thoughts
Date: 2021-08-20 04:18 am (UTC)Although...given what the Lord of Pr0n supposes is true, I wonder what ASMR would be like for an Ayes.<<
It really depends on the individual. Most people who aren't into sex have some other thing they're passionate about to a similar degree as sex for allosexuals. ASMR is a good candidate for that, but far from the only one.
Same with the AYES. They have individual interests.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-08-20 05:20 am (UTC)Watching /someone else/ manipulating data might be interesting to an AI.
And yes, that might include things like humans producing EM fields or brainwaves. Though I suspect a lot of them might be totally uninterested in our messy, chaotic software and gross squishy hardware.
To be fair, many humans, including myself, have the opposite problem with computers. Computers are too orderly to be massively engaging to my brain. (Computers are like beer - they serve an important societal function, but would be a lot less popular if they weren't addictive.)
And to be fair, an actual AI might be genuinely engaging; I've just not knowingly met any so I can't say for sure.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-20 05:10 am (UTC)And I was reminded of this music - while it's not ASMR, I was reminded of the concept when first hearing it:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ok898uB-ZQ
>>These are some common anchors that cause ASMR.<<
I suspect the stimuli activate the mirror neurons.
I also suspect that human brains are hardwired to respond to this stuff - thinks like crackling fire, humming, someone doing handiwork has likely ment "safe" for well over two million years.
>>Although some people say it's accidental, it's really not -- Bob deliberately used everything from a soft voice and timeless dress mode to a casual teaching style...<<
I wonder if you could pick up some of these skills by accident, or cultural osmosis?
Thoughts
Date: 2021-08-20 08:13 am (UTC)Possibly, but some of the effects could be there and just not something you've noticed separately. The tingle is distinctive, but if someone feels a notable relaxation, their metabolism usually drops with it. My suspicion is that certain things activate a cluster response, and not everyone may have all the parts of that response, but they're orienting on the tingle because it's less common and more identifiable than things like abrupt muscle relaxation, which is what I use to identify things that are strongly soothing for me.
>> I suspect the stimuli activate the mirror neurons. <<
That's an interesting hypothesis. If I think about what nerves are affected, I'll put my money on the ones that wrap around hair follicles, which are closely connected to the relaxation and pleasure systems -- and the tingle effect starts at the scalp and runs down the back of the neck.
>> I also suspect that human brains are hardwired to respond to this stuff - thinks like crackling fire, humming, someone doing handiwork has likely ment "safe" for well over two million years. <<
I agree.
Hell, every spacer responds to low engine noise as a safe/sleep sound. Even in another life, similar sounds will do it -- a car engine, a dryer, etc. I've known folks who made a loop tape of the Enterprise engine sound for sleeping.
>> I wonder if you could pick up some of these skills by accident, or cultural osmosis? <<
Some people can, especially those with a strong social intelligence. Bob built his from scratch, deliberately. He hated what the military did to his life are personality, so he chucked that and took purposeful steps to replace it with healthier choices, like never raising his voice. If you look at interviews or other writeups of his work, he revealed reasons for a fair bit of what he did, like choosing a plain studio and casual timeless clothes to minimize distractions.
I didn't realize how much of his teaching style I had absorbed until fans started asking me to write about him, and I went back to look up things. Really quite a lot, it turns out. I teach people that poetry isn't hard, anyone can do it, and it doesn't have to be Great Literature as long as it makes you happy or accomplishes the task you intended.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2021-08-20 01:04 pm (UTC)Maybe. There are certain religious traditions (think meditation but not exactly) that I can find very relaxing but they are usually conducted without audio stimuli. Maybe I'm just not used to going for the same sort of relaxation with background noise?
>> If I think about what nerves are affected,...<<
[Laugh] Don't think so /small/! Yeah, those nerves probably /are/ heavily affected, but you'd also get spillover to nerves connected to your hands or voice, or possibly other things, depending on specific stimuli and if you have corresponding body parts.
Remember, they found the things by noticing that a nonhuman primate observing a researcher eat had his brain light up exactly as if he [the primate] was eating - and eating involves multiple connections, taste, texture, kinesthetic of moving limbs and coordinating mouthparts...
Now I wonder if human mirror neurons would activate to things like cat purrs, engine noise or computer signals where we don't have the bio-hardware [or bio software] to produce the stimulus. Maybe it depends a bit on our software updates and empathy?
>>Some people can, especially those with a strong social intelligence.<<
I am from a subculture which has been doing the "chill and nonthreatening" bit for a very long time. And I suspect we attract compatibly-inclined personalities. So I suspect I learned some of the skills there.
I'm pretty sure being raised in that environment got me a nonstandard set of "Respect everyone, treat 'em as people, and therefore important," which tends to involve people [especially those who are on a similar personality wavelength or somehow 'different'] orienting towards me like sunflowers. Plus the whole calming nonviolent presence skillset.
And adding the social anxiety...maybe I'm like that empath dragonfly from Sector General, who tries to make the emotional radiation 'as pleasant as possible.' I certainly dislike emotional friction.
AMSR from an odd source....
Date: 2021-09-13 12:57 am (UTC)Oh, and I got this one from a friend.. they call it "The Long March." It's autogenerated, and it basically sounds like a caravan of vardos heading to winter camp...
https://mynoise.net/Community/user.php?submission=36a583d6ad320235dfd11c101614015084