"The lapse occurs frequently at breakfast and the cup dropped and overturned on the table is its well known consequence. The absence lasts a few seconds; its beginning and end are sudden. The senses function, but are nevertheless closed to external impressions. The return being just as sudden as the departure, the arrested word and action are picked up again automatically, forming a continuous time without apparent breaks. For these absences, which can be quite numerous - hundreds every day most often pass completely unnoticed by others around - we'll be using the word 'picnolepsy' (from the Greek, picnos: frequent)."

Paul Virilio