The Dark Room Metaphor
"normally my life is me in a dark space with a candle therefore i can only see and concentrate on the object of my hyperfocus, then sometimes i get the use of a laser like flashlight where i can alway focus on objects at a distance to focus on i have very little ability to see around the room" ā 2023-09 | Meds Analysis
14 months before learning the word "monotropism."
The Visual
Monotropic (default):
- Dark room
- Single candle
- One object visible
- Deep on that thing
Polytropic (on meds):
- Lights on
- See the whole room
- Peripheral awareness
- Broad but shallow
What Ritalin Does
"taking ritalin 20mg lx feels like..."
It doesn't "fix" anything. It temporarily turns on the room lights.
The room was always there. I just couldn't see it.
The Theory I Didn't Know
Murray (1992) called this "attention tunnelling."
I called it a dark room with a candle.
Same insight. Same metaphor. 30 years apart.
ā Murray, Lesser & Lawson (2005)