🍂🐝 At the end of October on the Northern Hemisphere, common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) enter a phase of retreat and transformation. Most worker wasps and drones die off as the weather cools, while newly fertilized queens find sheltered spots to hibernate through winter, preparing to start a new colony in spring. During this period, the few remaining wasps seek out the last bits of nourishment before the temperatures drop too low for them to remain active.

🌷🌳🍂☃️ When I see a wasp nibbling on a dead spider at this time of year, it becomes a symbol of the last efforts in nature’s cycle. She herself is bound to the limits of her lifecycle, shaped by the greater rhythms of the seasons. She represents a moment when even the smallest beings, like ourselves, must align our actions with nature’s cycle, adapting to external conditions that shape and connect us all.

In this transitional season, the wasp reminds me that our interconnectedness with the world is constantly shifting, just as we must adapt and find our place within the phases of life, always dependent on the larger cycle that sustains us.

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🌦🍂 Last day of September: This paper wasp (Polistes dominula) is dying. In September, all of them die, except for the young queens. It is cold and rainy, and it no longer has the strength to fly.

Wasps evoke different reactions in people. The paper wasp is very peaceful and rarely stings, even if you approach its nest. You can recognize it by its orange wings and legs.

I personally don’t perceive other wasps as aggressive either, as long as one respects their natural behavior and boundaries. I forgive and accept that they are not always capable of such foresight themselves.

However, many people react aggressively or fearfully at the sight of a wasp. These strong emotions limit compassion and make it easier to cause these animals harm.

But even if we try to cultivate compassion, true intentions and contexts can easily be misunderstood.

This wasp is visibly moving toward me. It does not want to attack me. Nor is it seeking contact with me as a person. It simply wants my body heat because, in its own perception, it is freezing and still fighting for survival in its final hour.

Yet I leave it to nature, because I understand that its desire, without its knowledge, would only prolong its own suffering.

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🏰🦁 My girlfriend at the time and I visited a chapel in Sayn Castle last year. We looked around the room, and after about a minute, I made one of my typical and initially hard-to-understand comments: 'This lion is different from all the others!' All the walls were decorated with numerous lion figures that looked almost identical—except one was sticking out its tongue. This is intentional because perfection is reserved for God alone. But why did I notice this tiny detail so quickly? Am I Rain Man or Indiana Jones?

🤠 No! It’s because of my ADHD!

🧠 1. Dopamine and Reward Sensitivity

In ADHD, the underactive dopamine system reduces sensitivity to rewards, making the brain more focused on novel stimuli, which feel more rewarding.

🧠 2. Increased Sensitivity to Stimuli

People with ADHD are more sensitive to new sensory input, making them quick to notice small changes as their brain constantly seeks new information.

🧠 3. Attention Shifting

Frequent shifts in attention help people with ADHD spot changes faster, as their brain is always scanning for new stimuli.

🧠 4. Hyperfocus

During periods of intense concentration, people with ADHD can excel at noticing small details and differences.

🧠 5. Prefrontal Cortex and Detail Recognition

Though the prefrontal cortex functions less efficiently in ADHD, heightened sensitivity to new information aids in quickly detecting deviations.

✨️ I am constantly looking for new information, changes, stimuli, so to speak, and that is why I notice such things very quickly. It’s a perfect example of how ADHD can sometimes be a superpower in noticing details that would escape most people’s attention!

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Eyes are like a silent ocean of lies and truth, but I am a brave sailor who has navigated many shallows.

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Mind and world order

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I wrote about pareidolia for the first time almost exactly a year ago. It was about an image that I generated with DeepDream.

Pareidolia is the tendency to see an object, pattern or meaning where in fact is none.

At one time pareidolia was considered a symptom of psychosis, but it's now seen as a normal human tendency.

Scientists have created convolutional neural networks. Those are computer programs that recognize patterns in the same way as with pareidolia. One example of such a program is DeepDream. But also the reverse image search is based on such a neural network.

I find it stimulating to let my imagination run wild. As I zoomed into the cloudy sky, I was delighted to see a Thalattoarchon hunting its prey. The Thalattoarchon was an ichthyosaur which lived eight million years after the Permian-Triassic extinction event. It's the oldest known marine reptile that has been an apex predator and probably one of the first marine macropredators capable of eating prey similar to its own size.

I also see letters. My attempt to decipher this results in "Jucy Puzy". But I won't go into that in more detail. 😳

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.