Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

spacedaily.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 119 posts

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#101

Post by 72deluxe »

gavinmckenzie wrote: post #23

As a high-functioning autistic person, the description of being “a half-step outside the frame” perfectly captures the way I live. I am, and have always been, aware that I am experiencing the world and my own sense of self slightly removed from how people typically experience the world. It is very much like playing a first-person game with the POV set so the view is through the character’s eyes, but you remain aware…

I am in the middle of trying to be diagnosed in my 40s, and am glad to have come across your comment because this summarises a life-long feeling. The complete inability to relate to what most people enjoy (communal activities where the joy is deduced from being in a mob) and inability to be understood 95% of the time (they hear things other than what I say, since they hear "intent") is extremely wearying. Masking means I perpetually pretend to be like everyone else and I feel like a passenger in my own life most of the time.

In very traumatic or severely stressful stages of life, the depersonalisation was very bad and I wouldn't really see "me" in a mirror or recognise my hand as being my own.

Avoiding people (and only being involved in quiet natural environments - I write this at home in the garden surrounded by plants) seems to have helped a lot but does anything else help? I have been doing things I enjoy more, even if they are mostly solitary. (My wife is very accommodating).

I find I don't emotionally engage with most experiences, so most of my memories are "seen" in the third person (I see myself doing the activities) and I am struggling to overcome this sensation. I film and photograph a lot so that I can "relive" the events, but if anyone has any alternative tips I'd appreciate them.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#102

Post by 72deluxe »

genxy wrote: post #76
sibeliuss wrote: post #71

Absolutely terrible AI writing. Do not read.

I came here to find this comment, I had this rising nausea, I thought it pass but it got stronger the deeper I got into the "article."

I would like to thank you for verbalising the feeling I get when online these days - "rising nausea".

I sincerely thank you for putting an expression to my experience.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#103

Post by throwaway2037 »

mastazi wrote: post #29

I used to spend weeks outdoors in the wilderness without ever entering a building (I would sleep in a small tent) and I used to have a similar range of sensations when coming back home and/or going into an enclosed building for the first time. This used to last maybe for a couple days. Two more things that I used to experience, which are not among the phenomena described in the article, is that I was hyper aware of h…

    > I used to spend weeks outdoors in the wilderness without ever entering a building
Ok, you nerd sniped me here. Did you ever write (or blog) about these experiences? If not, I would highly encourage it. Example questions that I have: Where/When/Why? What seasons? How did you eat? Toilet? It would be a star submission on HN and would surely generate lots of exciting commentary.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#104

Post by TimedToasts »

sandspar wrote: post #81
TimedToasts wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife informed me that I always comment on the hardness of the floor, regardless of where we are. (I will take off my footwear to stand on novel surfaces with my bare feet. Situationally, ofc.) Anyways, there's dozens of us!

Is there much variation in floors? I assume most people think floors are either hard or soft - maybe we're missing a whole facet of experience!

Like the other commenter said, you've got your various hard/soft combinations (there's definitely hard/soft carpeting, for instance). Synthetics and rubber are all over the place.

Outdoors: a wet field is definitely different than a soft field and a frozen field is different from a hard pack. You've also got your various snow amounts.

"Mushy" is almost universally bad, from wetlands to wood to computer lab removable flooring.

Good things I have found to stand on are large natural rocks, fine-grained beaches, and deeply carpeted bedrooms.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#105

Post by lanstin »

kakacik wrote: post #99
lanstin wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I would sign up instantly for such a voyage to Mars. I am probably too old but knowing why you are engaged in a heroic task makes one happy to tolerate all kinds of problems. Sure they might get a bit twitchy but gonna stay basically glued.

People assume they handle hardships one way, and then when SHTF and their mind starts coming off seams under severe stress and fear they often realize reality is someplace else. For many of us exposed to mortal dangers in one way or another via more or less extreme sports with little margins for errors, we realized our limits are often much further than we thought. Training and exposure hardens mind too. But it also…

I would never be chosen as an astronaut, but I have certainly had long periods of time doing difficult unrewarding and unrecognized work because I believed in the ends - as a stay at home parent, as a child that was being sexually and physically abused, and at a 1990s company undergoing sustained hypergrowth.

I have a lot of experience with operating with reasonableness and equanimity despite extreme fear and lots and lots of boredom.

No way to know of course what a Mars trip would be like, but i do confidently know myself and my ability to specifically handle long duration of isolation, boredom, and exacting operational requirements.

For sure I would volunteer. As would many.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#106

Post by SoftTalker »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #93
SoftTalker wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't take life advice from Joe Rogan.

This seems like a non-sequitor. If the original post had attributed the quote to Stephen Speilberg, would you have responded similarly? I doubt it. My point: It's a great quote and some good life philosophy to consider. It doesn't really matter who said it.

I think so. As a rule, the lives of celebrities are pretty fucked up when you get behind their public facade. I'm not saying anything specific about these two, as I don't know either of them. I guess I'd amend my comment to say don't take life advice from celebrities. Unless, perhaps, you aspire to be a celebrity.

The "be the hero of your own movie" advice is pretty cliche as well.

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#107

Post by red-iron-pine »

kakacik wrote: post #99
lanstin wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, I would sign up instantly for such a voyage to Mars. I am probably too old but knowing why you are engaged in a heroic task makes one happy to tolerate all kinds of problems. Sure they might get a bit twitchy but gonna stay basically glued.

People assume they handle hardships one way, and then when SHTF and their mind starts coming off seams under severe stress and fear they often realize reality is someplace else. For many of us exposed to mortal dangers in one way or another via more or less extreme sports with little margins for errors, we realized our limits are often much further than we thought. Training and exposure hardens mind too. But it also…

> People assume they handle hardships one way, and then when SHTF and their mind starts coming off seams under severe stress and fear they often realize reality is someplace else.

to paraphrase a Lt Colonial I used to work for... "everyone is a tough guy until the mortars start getting close"

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#108

Post by red-iron-pine »

SoftTalker wrote: post #64
firasd wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a popular clip from Joe Rogan out there where he says "Be the hero of your own movie. If your life was a movie and it started now. ... What would the hero of your life’s movie do right now? Do that. Do those things." So it's interesting that this cognitive state is helpful for some people to visit in a transient or metaphorical way but becomes weird when it's persistent. But it does seem potentially related i…

Don't take life advice from Joe Rogan.

[flagged]

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#109

Post by red-iron-pine »

lanstin wrote: post #31
mstank wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment lead me down a rabbit hole of space micromanagement. OSTPV (onboard short-term planner viewer) is the software they use to basically schedule every minute of your space flight. Basically every day someone from earth decides what you do, when you eat, when you exercise and will make changes in realtime. Great read here with a video of someone using the actual software: https://blogs.esa.int/iriss/2015/09/…

Skylab third (longest) mission the astronauts went on strike at one point. Just started ding solar research till NASA put in some flexibility.

balsy strike given every facet of your existence is controlled remotely

Re: Astronauts describe persistent 'observer' sensation after 6 month missions

#110

Post by Willish42 »

cmehdy wrote: post #77
recursivecaveat wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You gotta fight for time to use the restroom even: https://idlewords.com/shepard_pee.htm I mean it makes sense in a way. It's probably more cost effective to have 100 people on the ground spreadsheeting out your entire day to the minute than have 1 astronaut hour spent planning, but it would probably drive me completely insane. Reminds me of that story about the earring that slowly absorbs your mind as you let it mak…

That earring story, as some commenters pointed out, is an alternate version of Greg Egan's short story "learning to be me", now easily found in one of his short story compilations. If you haven't yet read Axiomatic as well as Luminous, I highly recommend both.

> Greg Egan's short story "learning to be me"

I read it and it is indeed quite good!

link for the lazy: https://gwern.net/doc/fiction/science-fiction/1995-egan.pdf

Post reply on HN