Two possibilities:
The man is very Zen and will spend 10 hours in silent contemplation. And arrive rested and refreshed.
or
He downed 20 mg of Valium with his last drink in the airport bar and will be asleep before the plane hits cruising altitude. And arrive rested and refreshed.
I fall very much into the 2nd possibility there, and often enjoy flying as a result. Bonus points if you fly at the right time, and near enough avoid jetlag altogether.
This is the reverse of ADHD. I most people, their brain produces almost enough internal stimulation to keep itself happy. They still need a small amount to get there though. This can be external (books, films, conversation etc) or internal. In ADHD, the level is low enough that it can’t be pulled up enough internally, leading to the short term novelty seeking that is the classic symptom.
At the other end, is this. For some people, the level of natural stimulation is enough to be happy, independent of external (or even internal) sources. They don’t need the boost. They are happy sitting staring at a wall, and possibly see it as a nice break from the overstimulation of normal life.
In their own way, these people are scary.
The hallmark of someone who is high as a kite. Watching paint dry becomes this epic adventure of thoughts and emotions!
I can do it, I wish I knew how to be better at it. It’s almost like a form of meditation. If you let your mind wonder, sometimes it won’t stop and will create a little movie or book like experience in your mind. This can last up to 15 minutes for me where I can sit in a trance, completely absorbed in whatever thing is happening in my head. I have seen people who can do it for hours, possibly indefinitely. I deeply envy them.
I was just thinking about my 16 hour flight back to CONUS from a deployment a few weeks back. We flew in uniform, uncomfortable as fuck, all I did was put one headphone in and listen to an audiobook while staring at the in-flight map. Even after a few weeks back in the states I don’t think I could do that again, but I was still riding the deployment mindset of “sit and stare at the wall til I have to do something”
Most likely an Air Marshall
That’s me AMA
