Strange thing

Numerous people close to me has brought up this strange trait of mine. I initially discarded this as a minor flaw in my character until today, when Dianne, a recent acquaintance, pointed out that fact.

“Were you in your head measuring the possibilities?” She asked bluntly since she can afford to at her age.

The truth is yes and no. I was measuring some type of possibilities, but nothing pertaining to the topics at hand nor has it to do with anything that is happening. It was just a random thought that occurred and I made no effort on the outside to hide the fact that I am going deep within to explore the possibilities.

A psychology student coined it “Hyperfocus”. A major road block for autistic people which kept them from normal social interaction. People closer to me tells me that they can feel that “your body is here, but you are somewhere else.”

This brings up a question for me. Does it mean that most people can’t do this? That what’s happening in the reality surrounding them forces their thoughts to stick to the sensory inputs? For me, this can happen anywhere at anytime whether at a party, at a dance competition, at work or during conversations ALL THE TIME.

The idea of doing this seems normal to me and I am not self aware or self conscious of how it looks like to others during this process. Following the intrusive train of thought at that moment seem to be more important for me and it takes efforts to tear myself back in order to focus on the present. The range of ideas can be from financial calculations, programming possibilities to how best to measure the taste of certain type of rice.

Are others just more skillful at reining in their thoughts to the present? Or are most people free from these sudden intrusions in their mind?