%% title = "my weird stim: writing with light streaks" % id = "01JG55KYCYD0CHXQ582XTAHMP6" - a long time ago my brain built up a [stim][] that it likes to perform when bored: I draw words with my eyes. [stim]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimming % id = "01JG55KYCY19W6ZJ4YVGPWZY5N" - what this means is, I [saccade][] my eyes in various directions while looking almost directly at a light source, to draw out words, which persist in my field of view for a short moment due to [persistence of vision][pov]. [saccade]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccade [pov]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_of_vision % id = "01JG55KYCYN2Q5H8ZKT1EF24AQ" - I don't exactly know when it started. I remember being enamored by how the human eyes are built & how they behave ever since I was little, so naturally one day I discovered you could use persistence of vision to draw out shapes, and therefore also letters. % id = "01JG55KYCY9M8KSWAD75819X3P" - soon enough it became a regular thing. % id = "01JG55KYCYAF89FVTNH6SHEYPC" - I tend to do this whenever I'm bored, there's a clear, point light source, and there's nothing else to do. (for example, when I'm waiting for a conversation to end.) % id = "01JG55KYCYDCKCBJJXE1ED6C8B" - if you ever see my eyes jerking in weird ways IRL, now you know why. % id = "01JG55KYCYGMR959WPD839Z4MH" - most likely, I'm just writing out whatever word my brain has fixated on at the moment with light. % id = "01JG55KYCY49JHG79S9XJA55A8" - and most likely, that word is whatever you just said. % id = "01JG55KYCYRR6MMFG7VRZXPBNR" - I've heard some people say it looks really creepy, and I believe them; unfortunately there's nothing I can really do about it. my brain cannot stand being bored, and this is its default remedy.