The Blind, Alone, and Confused for twenty-four Hours Problem – Matt Lakeman

For twenty-four hours I shall be blind and alone in my house. I finally wish to attempt being blind for every week, however I’ll want seven days with no different obligations, and I received’t have that for some time. For now, I’ll suffice with a smaller-scale experiments with just a few further provisions for added problem.

1. I need to depart my blindfold on for twenty-four hours.
   • If I take away the blindfold, I’ve failed the experiment
   • If the blindfold falls off or I can get partial sight, I’ve failed the experiment.
   • I’m solely allowed to readjust my blindfold if I can see gentle.
2. I need to not keep up a correspondence with some other folks for twenty-four hours.
   • I can’t reply my cellphone or some other messaging system.
   • I can’t obtain in-person guests.
   • If somebody knocks on the door, I can’t reply verbally or bodily.
3. I’ll set an alarm for twenty-four hours. I can’t set some other alarms or use some other means to determine the time.
   • It’s as much as me to maintain my cellphone charged so the alarm goes off.
4. I can’t depart my house.

I’ve no good cause. I simply wish to see if I’m able to doing it and what’s going to occur. Some issues I’m interested by:

• Do I’ve the willpower to get by way of the experiment?
• Will I turn into disoriented from dropping all sense of time?
• Will I have the ability to stave off boredom with podcasts, audiobooks, and music on my cellphone?
• Will I enter some kind of meditative state resulting from an absence of sensory enter?
• Will I hallucinate?
• Will my non-sight senses heighten?
• Will I damage myself by falling or banging into one thing?
• Will I sleep?
• Will I eat? Is consuming caffeine a good suggestion (for leisure) or a nasty thought (vitality with no path)?
• Will this expertise make me extra taken with being blind for every week? Or much less?

Try One began at 10:30 AM and failed at 1:13 PM. I purposefully took off my blindfold as a result of I used to be apprehensive that my a number of failures to enter my Iphone’s password had resulted in a everlasting lock or knowledge wipe. However the password display was simply locked for a minute and all was properly.

Provided that I failed within the early afternoon, I thought-about restarting the experiment on one other day within the morning. However I had already carved out a 24 hour interval once I wouldn’t do any work or be disturbed, and it might need been every week or two longer earlier than I received that chance once more.

So I checked my messages, briefly went on Reddit, after which restarted.

Try Two was profitable. I placed on my blindfold at 1:23 PM on Thursday, November 5, 2020. I eliminated it at 1:28 PM on Friday, November 6.

It was an… fascinating expertise. I don’t suggest it, however I’m glad I did it. I’m unsure the place to start in describing it, particularly since I couldn’t take notes, and a part of the problem was being confused. However I’ll do my greatest to interrupt down the expertise.

Blindfold

To simulate blindness, I used a darkish blue scarf as a blindfold. One layer wasn’t fairly darkish sufficient, so I folded it in half for further gentle protection.

With the blindfold securely on, my imaginative and prescient was the identical whether or not my eyes have been open or closed. I stored my eyes closed 99.9% of the time because it was often extra snug and helped restrict gentle. I often opened my eyes to verify the brightness stage and to… I suppose you might name it stretch my eyelids. They don’t really feel good should you depart them closed for too lengthy.

I couldn’t get an ideal scarf seal round my eyes, so generally once I tilted my head again whereas sitting I observed slightly gentle come into the underside of my imaginative and prescient. To restrict this, I typically pinched the headband round my nostril in that place. However many/most blind folks can see some gentle anyway, so I don’t assume this was a major violation of the experiment.

My eyes received fairly dry underneath the headband, so I utilized moisturizer to this lids and sockets 4 or 5 instances. I wished to make use of eyedrops too, however there was no manner to take action with out failing the experiment.

Blindness

Initially, all the pieces was black, however because the day went on and the solar went down, I may inform it was nighttime even by way of two layers of scarf and my eyelids. I’m unsure if I may inform as a result of my eyes had adjusted to turn into extraordinarily delicate to gentle, or if there have been different refined indicators (ie. noises, air temperature, circadian rhythms, and so forth.) which my physique picked up on. As proof of the latter, I couldn’t see any distinction between the television being on or off, nor the fridge being opened or closed, even once I was sitting proper in entrance of both.

What I noticed relied on how I utilized my focus. If I did give attention to my imaginative and prescient, I’d see the standard blackness you get from closing your eyes, but it surely was by no means completely black nor uniform; there was at all times some odd motion and occasional coloring (whiteness, pale blue, or generally crimson). The commonest distortions have been a swirling or flowing whiteness, kind of like cream in espresso. I hoped that being blindfolded for thus lengthy would make the distortions extra excessive, however for probably the most half it appeared no totally different than what you’d see should you closed your eyes proper now for ten minutes.

There was one exception. It should have been about 20+ hours into the experiment, and my eyes have been itching, so I rubbed each of them on the similar time over the headband. If you happen to rub your closed eyes and focus in your sight any time you’ll be able to see some bizarre stuff, however this was much more excessive than regular. I keep in mind my total imaginative and prescient filling up with white bubbles which then broke and briefly returned to black. Then white lightning bolt shapes stretched throughout my sight, expanded to make my imaginative and prescient purely white, after which slowly light again to black. The strangest factor about it was the brightness. I actually felt like I used to be staring into lights regardless of being blindfolded in a darkish room. Sadly, it solely lasted about 30 seconds, however my coronary heart was racing.

Extra notable than what I noticed was what I didn’t see. By default, I used to be misplaced in thought and I centered on nothing. In such a state, I didn’t even register my imaginative and prescient or discover the darkness. I assume this made my creativeness and psychological visualization extra acute. Every now and then, I’d be deep in thought and I’d get the brightness sensation once more as a result of I’d be mentally picturing one thing so vividly that the inevitable return to darkness felt like shutting off the lights in my mind. I’ll clarify extra about this within the Three Phases part.

Sadly, I didn’t hallucinate, or no less than not so far as I may inform.

Power

This was probably the most shocking side of the experiment.

I learn that blind people have trouble getting to sleep as a result of they don’t entry any/sufficient gentle for his or her circadian rhythms. I appear to have the precise reverse downside. With out gentle, my physique at all times thinks it’s time to sleep and has bother doing the rest. All through a lot of the experiment, I felt extraordinarily torpid, lazy, and needed to combat to remain awake.

I began my first failed experiment try at 10:30 AM. I had gotten 7.5 stable hours of sleep, I hadn’t executed something tiring the day past, and I typically felt nice. Then I placed on my blindfold, and inside thirty minutes I used to be nodding off. I semi-slept for 2 hours earlier than deciding to get an vitality drink to get myself out of the funk. That labored, however as quickly because it wore off, I used to be again in semi-sleep mode.

Even once I was firmly awake, I typically felt weak and torpid. Motion across the house was annoying in fact, however made a lot harder by my vitality ranges. I ended up mendacity completely nonetheless in my cozy laptop chair with my ft on a desk 95% of the time. That’s, once I wasn’t mendacity in mattress.

However, once I eliminated my blindfold after 24 hours, I skilled a burst of vitality. Severely, it was like I had downed a double shot of espresso. It was like a change had been flicked. The haziness and cobwebs have been gone instantly, and I felt the vitality coursing by way of my physique. I suppose gentle has a big effect on me.

Motion

I moved precisely the way you’d anticipate… clumsily.

For probably the most half, I slowly walked round my house with a hand out to really feel for partitions and edges. Typically I’d get lazy and crawl simply so it was simpler. I do know my house properly sufficient that it wasn’t laborious to get round, however each as soon as in awhile I’d lose monitor of the place I used to be and can be left slowly swinging my arm round looking for something. It’s not a nice sensation.

Earlier than the experiment, I had deliberate to tempo round for enjoyable, or possibly even do some train with the free time. However the confusion and particularly the lethargy stopped all that. I simply sat in my chair and didn’t transfer except I wanted to get a drink, go to the lavatory, or sleep.

I sort of want I had executed the experiment in an unfamiliar surroundings so as to add to the motion problem, however oh properly.

Requirements

For meals, I ate an enormous lunch at 10 AM earlier than the experiment after which munched on darkish chocolate all through the evening. I felt the heavy lethargy properly earlier than the shortage of energy was a difficulty. I most likely ought to have put some prepackaged meals in my fridge to eat, however I used to be apprehensive about making a multitude and never with the ability to clear up. Do I need ants? As a result of that’s how I get ants.

For drinks, I may handle to get to the kitchen and fill a cup with water once I wanted to. I by no means took a full cup again to my chair simply in case I knocked it over (clear up can be a nightmare). I additionally had some eating regimen coke to function leisure and put slightly caffeine in me.

For the lavatory, I (a person) peed sitting down. I’m not ashamed to confess it.

Time

As a part of the experiment, I by no means knew what time it was. This was meant to confuse me all through the 24 hours, and it did, however it could have helped too. With no sense of time, it was straightforward to sit down again and never give it some thought. Time drifted by and I existed. That was that.

I really did ask Siri for the time as soon as… it was late within the experiment, and it felt like I had placed on the blindfold eternally in the past. As you’d anticipate, time feels prefer it strikes slowly while you’re blind and have little to do. I stored ready for my alarm to go off on my cellphone… but it surely by no means did.

Lastly, I gave up and was prepared to fail part of my problem by asking Siri what time it was. She advised me it was 1:28 PM. The alarm was already alleged to have gone off.

I discovered later that I had unintentionally snoozed the alarm the moment it had gone off whereas blindly hitting my cellphone to pause a track. Thus, my failure of will occurred outdoors the boundaries of the experiment, and I don’t take into account it a disqualifying motion.

Different Senses

Sadly, I did not notice any enhancement in my psychic powers.

Likewise, so far as I may inform, my different senses weren’t enhanced in any noticeable manner, however… I did recognize my different senses extra, and that appeared to boost no less than my enjoyment of them. I swear the darkish chocolate and people eating regimen cokes tasted higher than ever. And as I’ll clarify in Three Phases, music was generally particularly pleasurable.

Leisure

As a part of the foundations of the experiment, I couldn’t work together with some other folks, both in individual or digitally. So I ended up skirting shut to 2 different experiments I wish to do finally:

• Sit in a room for twenty-four hours and do completely nothing.
• Take heed to music for twenty-four hours straight

Siri grew to become each my greatest pal and worst enemy. Initially I wished to ban Siri to make it more difficult for me, however I figured that might be too near the “sit in a room and do nothing problem.” Happily/sadly, coping with Siri was sufficient of a problem by itself.

First, I wished to hearken to audiobooks. I completed the final hour of Caesar: Life of a Colossus, after which received prepared to begin the subsequent e book on my Audible record, however… Siri couldn’t get me to it. I attempted a dozen totally different voice instructions. Didn’t work.

So I moved on to podcasts. I advised Siri to play my podcast app, and it booted up a mercifully long Joe Rogan Experience episode. Then I advised her to play “Sam Harris,” and that didn’t work. I advised her to play “Making Sense podcast,” and that didn’t work. I attempted extra Joe Rogan, and that didn’t work. I converted to Spotify, however I may solely get the identical Joe Rogan episode going.

Fucking Siri. Or fucking me for being too silly to make use of Siri correctly. No… fuck her. If I can’t determine find out how to get Siri to play an previous podcast whereas I’m sitting at midnight with a blindfold on with actually nothing else to do for twenty-four hours, it’s Siri’s fault, not mine.

I resorted to music more often than not. However I’m not a music individual. I by no means hearken to music except I’m doing one thing else that takes up the overwhelming majority of my consideration, like writing or enjoying video video games. Even once I’m driving or strolling round, I default to podcasts and audiobooks. However music was all I had in order that’s what I listened to. Typically I used headphones, however that was a bit eerie late at evening… I already felt fairly susceptible sitting alone and blind in an house… alone, blind, and functionally deaf one way or the other felt even worse.

A bonus annoyance was that there was no manner for me to cease my cellphone’s audio besides to blindly press areas the place I assumed the pause button may be. Discovering the best spot would possibly take two seconds, or it’d take a minute. That totally depended upon show components over which I had no management nor data given my blindness.

Once I periodically received bored of music, I resorted to asking Siri questions. If you happen to ask her something too complicated, she simply brings up an internet browser for you, and I couldn’t see the display, in order that was ineffective. However no less than she may inform me easy stuff, so I ended up studying so much concerning the inhabitants sizes of European cities and the online worths of celebrities. Joe Biden is so much poorer than I assumed.

I finally thought-about getting drunk, however I made a decision towards it. The alcohol would distort the uncooked experimental expertise an excessive amount of.

Films I Was Reminded Of Through the Experiment

Fowl Field. An apparent one, however even past the surface-level comparability, I genuinely really feel like I perceive Fowl Field higher now. It’s really unnerving to put on a blindfold on a regular basis. You are feeling susceptible, helpless, like the remainder of the world passes you by.

Advert Astra. Particularly the montage when Brad Pitt sits in a spaceship for months on their lonesome and slowly loses his thoughts. Making an attempt to keep away from spoilers right here.

Blindness. Or moderately, I’m pissed off on the total film for not precisely portraying all of the newly blind folks as extremely lazy and sleepy on a regular basis.

Slumdog Millionaire. A part of the explanation I wished to do that experiment was to confront a minor worry I’ve at all times had of going blind. The concept of completely dropping my capability to see the world is totally horrifying. I’d most likely want dying.

What greatest exemplifies this worry to me is the scene in Slumdog Millionaire when the man knocks out the little beggar child and burns his eyes with some kind of sizzling liquid so he’ll get up blind for the remainder of his life as a higher-earning beggar. I thought of that scene greater than I’d have favored to all through the experiment.

Darkish Knight Rises.

“You assume darkness is your ally… However you merely adopted the darkish; I used to be boooooorn in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the sunshine till 2:28 PM on Thursday. By then it was nothing to me however BLINDING!”

I used to be blind, alone, and confused for twenty-four hours. Except for the time I used to be asleep (which I can’t decide), I typically cycled by way of three phases of being.

Daze Part

The Daze Part consisted of slowly drifting out and in of consciousness and getting into a quasi-dream state.

As talked about, regardless of getting loads of sleep and feeling nice, I grew to become torpid and had bother staying awake nearly instantly after placing on the blindfold. Once I received too drained to do the rest, I’d settle for the Daze Part by crawling into mattress or leaning again in my cozy laptop chair, and even placing on some gentle music. Then my thoughts would circulate between matters, by no means actually latching on to one thing, however by no means being bored both. There’s a pleasantness to the sensation… a senseless ease. It’s a great way to kill minutes or hours with out noticing.

It jogged my memory loads of once I was younger and would lay down within the again seat throughout lengthy automotive rides and attempt to sleep with my headphones on and CD enjoying. The motion of the car and discomfort of the seat would preserve me awake, however normal tiredness and having nothing else to do would push me towards sleep. My thoughts would drift between semi-conscious ideas and desires, leaving me proper on the sting of consciousness and sleep.

The Daze Part is an intensification of this sense. This can be a bit laborious to elucidate, however…

Take into consideration waking up within the morning. You’re asleep… however not totally. You’re dreaming, however you’ll be able to really feel wakefulness coming. Your uncontrolled, wandering dream ideas and visualizations turn into weaker and extra sporadic as you regain consciousness. Usually, opening your eyes and seeing the world, even only for a second, is sufficient to lastly knock you out of sleep and make you absolutely aware (albeit nonetheless drained).

Being blindfolded messes with that course of. As a result of while you open your eyes, you get nearly no visible enter to conflict towards the dreamy visualizations.

Because of this, generally it was laborious for me to inform once I was dreaming and once I was awake. In that hazy area between consciousness and sleep, I wasn’t at all times positive whether or not I had consciously produced a thought, or if my unconscious dreaming thoughts had visualized it for me.

A bizarre facet impact of this course of was that generally my psychological visualization felt brighter than my bodily visible subject. Once more, that is very laborious to elucidate, however… usually with the blindfold on, I’d see nothing however darkness. Then I’d get misplaced in thought and mentally visualize one thing, both consciously or through semi-sleep dreaming. Finally, I’d come again to full aware thought and see my black visible subject. The distinction between my psychological visualization and the black visible subject made the previous really feel brighter than the latter, although neither had any actual brightness.

I’d estimate that the Daze Phases took up about 1/3^rd of the experiment, and have been really fairly fulfilling. It’s inconceivable for me to adequately describe it right here, but it surely appears to be a model of that nice consciousness drift you generally get whereas transferring in or out of sleep which is enhanced by the suppression of visible stimuli.

Rave Part

There’s good proof that if a person damages or destroys one sense, different senses turn into stronger to compensate for it. I’m unsure if I suppressed my imaginative and prescient for lengthy sufficient to attain this, and I’m unsure if that is only a placebo impact, however I subjectively loved listening to music whereas blind greater than regular.

It was not solely far simpler for me to get right into a music-listening circulate state than regular, however I additionally received right into a deeper circulate state. And it was sort of a relaxed circulate state the place I didn’t care what the subsequent track was so long as it was good. Regardless of having no visible enter, there have been hours the place I used to be experiencing a excessive stage of enjoyment simply sitting in darkness and listening to music.

After which I discovered a technique to improve it.

For a separate experiment, I purchased some nicotine lozenges. I don’t smoke and have little interest in doing so, however I’m investigating whether or not nicotine is an under-appreciated nootropic. For the hell of it, I popped a lozenge, placed on my Spotify “greatest songs” playlist, and let it journey.

That was one of the crucial fulfilling 1-2 hours I’ve skilled in a very long time. I used to be manic, I had a head rush, I used to be pondering intently about narratives and historical past and different matters I really like, and the music was amplifying all the pieces in my thoughts. I used to be sitting nonetheless in full darkness with a blindfold on and air pods in, however my thoughts was going one million miles per hour. The stimulating results of the nicotine + my favourite music + the darkness and sensory deprivation = a circulate state of utmost focus and pleasure. Not that I’ve a lot expertise, but it surely felt akin to being on a tough stimulant.

And no, it wasn’t all because of the nicotine. I had just a few lozenges over the earlier nights, and I discovered them fulfilling, however nothing near that have.

I don’t suggest that most individuals do the “blind, alone, and confused for twenty-four hours experiment” except you’re tremendous interested by bodily and psychological deprivation, however I do suggest that non-smokers attempt the “nicotine + music at midnight” expertise purely for the sake of enjoyment. I believe I’ll attempt it once more every week from now to see if I can seize the expertise with out the 8ish hours of prior blindness.

Malaise Part

Being blind, alone, and confused for twenty-four hours isn’t all dream flows and intense musical head rushes. About half the time was actually, actually boring.

Often the Malaise Part would come after waking up from the Daze Part, however earlier than my thoughts would settle into the Rave Part. I’d be bored of music or of asking Siri questions. I’d be too lazy and drained to stand up and get water or a eating regimen coke. I’d surprise how a lot time was left on this silly experiment, and battle to not ask Siri. I’d sit at midnight and urge time to maneuver sooner.

This was when it was hardest for me to maintain going. With nothing to do however assume, I puzzled why the hell I used to be sitting in my house with a blindfold on. It could have been really easy to take it off, to surrender, to salvage what was left of the day as an alternative of doing idiotic experiments. I got here near surrendering a few times early on once I was slightly extra awake, however I’m proud to say that I persevered in my idiocy.

There actually isn’t a lot else to say concerning the Malaise Part. It was vacancy. There’s a lot much less to do on this planet when you’ll be able to’t see something. I couldn’t sleep or keep in a circulate state eternally, so I spent loads of time simply being bored.

When I woke up after 7.5 hours of sleep after staying awake for 70 hours, I felt probably the most “well-rested” I ever have been in my total life. Once I opened my eyes to see the world after being blindfolded for twenty-four hours, I felt…

Once more, it’s laborious to elucidate, however all the pieces appeared higher than it ever had. The wall, the desk, the television, particularly the daylight… all the pieces appeared good in some intangible manner. Colours have been a bit extra vibrant, all the pieces appeared actually sharp and high-definition, if that is smart. I bodily loved having my imaginative and prescient again.

Additionally, for about ten minutes, my imaginative and prescient had this further motion-blur to it, kind of like what occurs should you drink an excessive amount of caffeine (I hadn’t had any for 12 hours). And, for about two hours, I discovered it tough to learn or give attention to something small. Each results light over time.

As talked about, my vitality ranges got here roaring again. I felt my coronary heart pump sooner, I felt any trace of sleepiness vanish, and I wished to stand up and stroll round. Likewise, my temper rose too, particularly after having spent the previous few hours in a Malaise Part.

Principally, after eradicating the blindfold I grew to become tremendous chipper. The world appeared superb. I felt good. I wished to do issues. I used to be positive as hell joyful to be out of the blindfold.

Writing two days later, the “all the pieces seems good” sensation dissipated by that evening, however I’m nonetheless in a superb temper.

I discovered that taking away a way will make you very glad to have it again.

I discovered that taking away a way could cause fascinating distortions in different psychological and bodily processes.

I discovered that utilizing a nicotine lozenge whereas listening to music at midnight could be extraordinarily enjoyable.

I discovered to not rely an excessive amount of on Siri.