There I was just walking down the road...

I was walking through the city centre this morning with my earphones in with some Iron Maiden blasting away and I took pause for a moment to realise what I was doing.

I realised that I was scanning the area around me - not just the immediate area but several hundred yards ahead, the buildings I was passing, the skyscrapers a half a mile away, the traffic on the road, the traffic on a road passing underneath, the shops and stalls, the beggers and the police and hundreds of padestrians.

A lot of the scanning was subconcious but I was aware of the situation, the risks, alternate routes available, potential risks moving into the area and, err, a rather attractive lady walking towards me.

It is hard to describe how the processing feels, but it is not unlike something from Terminator where the environment is scanned and theats assessed, although it is much faster than shown in the films.

This was an example of the lack of filters in neurodivergents that allow us to take in a massive amount of info at the same time and work out what is a threat, what has changed since the last visit and what is moving potentially into our path to be avoided / accommodated.

In case you are wondering why the attractive lady was a risk, lets just say that if my wife caught me looking then I would be in for a world of pain. She has very strong views on me checking out the competition shall we say.

When I am walking with someone else I have noticed that they seem mostly oblivious to their surroundings or - if they think there may be a threat - very anxious and nervous, making them look quite unnatural. I tend to have my stoney faced look firmly on while navigating all the chaos at a decent walking pace and staying out of harms way.

Sao Paulo has its fair share of threats, whether stoned homeless guys on the street looking to rob you (luckily not common), pushy beggers, corrupt police, fast moving delivery push bikes, faster moving courier motorbikes, uneven pavements and drivers who are happy to run red lights, so it takes some focus to navigate this safely while being fully aware of your surroundings.

Thats it, I just thought I would share this observation I made of my mind in its normal state when out and about - quietly hyperactive while keeping me safe.