This is similar to what I do but in my head the escalator goes down instead of up.
When editing (mostly C-like languages) I can "see" the execution thread pass through the code like a step-through debugger. At a function call I can mentally "step into" the function and the function is visualized to the right of the current function with its first line on the same height as the call site. Doing this for recursing functions means a visualization that progresses downwards and to the right.
I guess my mental model evolved this way after years of step-through debugging.
Mental models for code and other things are a fascinating topic. I also have a very specific calendar/timeline model that is not a straight line at all. A full year "view" arranges months in a 2D layout where some months progress "up", others "down" and they are connected in weird ways. For example 31/01 and 01/02 are adjacent, but 30/11 and 01/12 are not. 31/12 is the last box of the year and is adjacent to 01/01 repeating the pattern for the new year.
When editing (mostly C-like languages) I can "see" the execution thread pass through the code like a step-through debugger. At a function call I can mentally "step into" the function and the function is visualized to the right of the current function with its first line on the same height as the call site. Doing this for recursing functions means a visualization that progresses downwards and to the right.
I guess my mental model evolved this way after years of step-through debugging.
Mental models for code and other things are a fascinating topic. I also have a very specific calendar/timeline model that is not a straight line at all. A full year "view" arranges months in a 2D layout where some months progress "up", others "down" and they are connected in weird ways. For example 31/01 and 01/02 are adjacent, but 30/11 and 01/12 are not. 31/12 is the last box of the year and is adjacent to 01/01 repeating the pattern for the new year.