What occurred in the moment between when you mistakenly flicked on the light switch and the moment when, perceiving your mistake, you flicked on the garbage disposal beside it, which had been your original intention?
The short answer might be that the light came on but this occurred blisteringly fast. By the time I realized that that moment had even existed to be noticed, it was too far behind me to be examined.
Are you sure?
I couldn’t even tell you, for sure, suddenly, if I flicked off the light before or after I flicked on the disposal. I couldn’t even tell you that much. I couldn’t probably tell you with which finger I flicked it. Though I’m reasonably sure (but only through plausibly reconstructing the events and not through actually remembering them) of the hand.
But are you sure? are there any more details?
I would bet that if I had flicked on the light switch by actually grasping it with the tips of the index and thumb of my left hand I would have continued to hold it as I realized it was the wrong one, while if I had flicked it with the side of the index of my left, or of my right, reaching across my body, I probably went directly to the switch for the disposal. I assume I used my left hand but maybe I was holding some soap or dish soap or something in that hand…. And this happened only just seconds ago!
Why do you consider this important? What made you think “I need to write this down”?
I just knew that it occurred. I had seen that something had happened. If you see something…. It is one of those things that happen every day that you never take note of — hitting the light switch instead of the garbage disposal switch right beside it — and now there is one less of those things in the world, or in my world. I had actually seen and made a note about it. I have made the note.
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