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epitome of incomprehensibility
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I had to count backwards from 100 by sevens once. A psychology experiment with a fake job interview. The counting was a way to measure nervousness, it seemed, or perhaps a way to MAKE the subject nervous since they also had you give a saliva sample after to measure cortisol.
The poem also makes me think of surgery; at least in a book scene, the anesthesiologist had the person count as the sedative started working. Maybe to give them something to focus on, so they wouldn't get anxious and thus would pass out faster.
Doing mental pattern exercises often helps me sleep, though it's slow and I tend to go for words rather than math: the "adjective alphabet animal game" is my go-to. Last night, exhausted, and with reading to ease me out of anxiety first, I got to "finicky ferret" before drifting into sleep.
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