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Comment by robotresearcher | Hacker News Reader

There's a very helpful method for being confident that you did something right, and while it may not be enough for people with compulsive disorders, it's great for many situations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointing_and_calling

I think it works by recruiting more of your body & brain to the task of attending to something.

Maybe the anxious could video themselves doing it, and watch it back later.

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I have experienced a (partial) failure of this. On the takeoff roll, there’s a call out for “airspeed alive”. One day after leaving the airplane parked outside for a long weekend, I dutifully looked at a dead airspeed indicator and called out “airspeed alive” followed shortly by realizing the mistake and aborting the takeoff, but there’s a danger of looking and “seeing” what’s expected but not actually there.

Perhaps the call should be "Airspeed $X knots thus alive" to demonstrate that the airspeed is readable.

I like the idea, but X will always be zero, so suffers the same problem.

Your indicator is broken too?!

Checklist is done when plane is stationary. Um, I guess wind would register if you're out of the hanger.

Other comments contradict this. Also, it doesn't pass a common sense test. How can you validate the air speed meter with zero airspeed? The correct reading is the same as a common completely broken reading.

Airspeed alive is a callout on the runway during the takeoff roll, not during the static walkaround.

This reminds me of some of my… I guess I should call them “non-conscious automated vocalisations”.

For a while I used to greet people with the greeting they’ve just given me: they say “hello”, I also say “hello”, they say “good morning”, I say “good morning”. Fine until my sister greeted me with “happy birthday”, though I did at least notice and stop myself after one syllable.

More seriously was when I was following a different automated greeting. I was in hospital with testicular torsion and the doctor asked “how are you?” — my polite British “fine thanks how are you?” was entirely out of my lips before I realised that this answer was not there one I wished to give and I had to add “well expect for this…”

Waiter: Enjoy your meal.

Me: You too.

Airline gate worker: Have a nice flight!

Me (literally done this): You too! <smack forehead />

> Fine until my sister greeted me with “happy birthday”, though I did at least notice and stop myself after one syllable.

When I'm not able to stop myself I have been forced to say, "happy birthday ... to me". Others must think this silly reply means it's more like too many birthdays.

I've had a lot of success with this for things like closing doors and taking medication, as my memory gradually wanders off into the misty lagoon. Especially the “as needed but at most once every 24 hours” kinds of medication that can't be handled with a pill organizer—with the timing information included in the call. Point to the bottle (or if out of range, hold the pill up, or otherwise physically emphasize the object), say “Taking a symptomstoppidine on Thursday morning” or such.

"Putting the keys in my left pocket" Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm

- Samuel L. Jackson's character in Long Kiss Goodnight

I also do this for keys, wallet, phone, sunglasses, and have Tile on everything. ADHD = expert mob cleaner: body disposal-division

Have you watched the house that jack built?

I don't suffer with this too much, but while the "point and call" method works well for one-off activities it doesn't do much for regular ones. I end up asking myself "I remember pointing and calling... but was that today or yesterday?"

Is there a way of using point and call, or a similar method, for helping with that?

Maybe if you call out the day along with it?

Point at pill bottle. Taking my pill on Saturday.

Or something like that?

This is also a useful technique for keeping two people in sync about something situational and important. Whenever our pet bird flies down to the floor, which is often, it's vulnerable to being trodden on. So the wife and I call it out whenever we see it, and repeat until the other person also says it out loud.

Works with lots of other stuff, like hot stove tops. It can be a bit infantilizing to the other party unless they're also au fait and on-board with the technique.

Now that you mention it, it's also something I do. I tend to make a little dance and improvise a song. My neighbor probably thinks I'm nuts...

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