The icy stare of deep thought

Frozen but not stalled

Thanks for reading another one of my Friday essays. I appreciate you for being here. Please be sure and check out my latest YouTube video too - Maker Project Updates. ~JRC

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Freeze-frame…or is he thinking?

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Approx. 650 words; four minutes read time

Much of making involves sitting and pondering what to do next. It's often a trance-like state for me, where minutes fly by like seconds. Soon, an hour is gone, and I have nothing to show for it, save for an idea.

I've filmed myself while doing this, and, well, it looks odd. One moment I am working away and then - nothing. Stalled in my tracks, I sit so still at times that it seems as if the video has frozen. But inside, I am anything but still.

In these moments, my mind is in overdrive. It's as if I have no mental room to do anything but think. And think, I do. I'm like a computer set for computational performance; all but data-processing functions are paused.

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These times of 'still thinking' are not the only way I problem-solve. Another way that works well is moving about; I love going for a long bike ride to sort things out. As with my still moments, I can get lost in 'active thinking' and not be aware of my surroundings. It's akin to the trance we go into on long car trips, often referred to as "highway hypnosis."

But it's still thinking that works best for me. When it happens, that is.

If I need to figure something out, rarely does sitting down and thinking work. I have to get up, move - do something - to problem solve. This feeling is familiar to many - ADHD-types embody active problem solving more than others (e.g., through fidgeting). I fall into this category in many ways, which makes my moments of still thought all the more intriguing.

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Lately, I've been thinking more about these moments. As mentioned, I've captured myself doing it several times on video. I've also noticed my son doing it from time to time. And I recall one of my graduate advisors did something similar. But those I've seen 'still thinking' are rare; the behavior doesn't seem to be common. Or at least most of you hide it better than me.

I wasn't able to find much on the subject when I looked it up. I did learn it's a form of disassociation, in my case brought on by deep thought. Disassociation is often observed in traumatized people who go blank to repress or avoid terrible feelings. But this isn't it, for me. I am not completely gone when it happens. Rather, I'm focused on one thing. And some people freeze in the face of danger, but that's not it either. I tend to react in hazardous situations. Regardless, it’s not in response to anything bad anyway. It happens when I am challenged to solve something big.

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I find that 'still thinking' often occurs when I am solving spatial problems. For example, when I have a limited amount of wood for a project, I try and optimize how I will use it. This takes a lot of doing for me, as my twisty-swirly thoughts get entangled in such calculations. But instead of solving it on paper, I first build a mental picture of the final product. I then work backward until I need to do some actual math. Somewhere in all that, my body freezes. But moments after, be it seconds or minutes later, I stir again. And what comes out with me on the other side is a plan.

Maybe you think I'm weird. Or perhaps I am sharing something you experience also? After all, hypnosis is known to induce moments of clarity in many people. And we all problem solve, one way or another. Reasoning and trance-like states could be a continuum. And for those like me, it's simply more noticeable.

Or maybe I am just weird.

The icy stare of deep thought - frozen but not stalled. Whatever it is, 'still thinking' gets the job done.

JRC