4 ms·

> to catch the ball, the player simply needs to keep moving in a way that keeps the ball in a constant visual relationship with respect to home plate and the su

by bambax 10y ago

> to catch the ball, the player simply needs to keep moving in a way that keeps the ball in a constant visual relationship with respect to home plate and the surrounding scenery In the book "The Inner Game of Tennis" (fantastic read, more about the brain than tennis), the author explains how, during service, the other player has to respond before the first player has hit the ball, because of simple physics -- if the 2nd player waits for the ball to be hit then he absolutely doesn't have the time to do anything before the ball is on him. (That's probably also true of baseball, although I don't know anything about that). And so, how does he do it? Nobody really knows, but the current thinking is that, through practice, the player that receives the ball interprets the movements of the hitter and induces where the ball will likely be (with great precision), without actually using much information from the ball itself. It's possible that, just as elite chess players can play without a board, elite tennis players could play without balls.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
Years of research in intuition shows exactly what's happening. That part of the brain builds models between senses and actions. Spots patterns. Turns them into reflexes and instincts. It's not always accurate or rational but operates continuously, instantly, and usually effectively. In your example, like in my martial arts training, certain body patterns repeat before an action is going to happen. Intuition models likely consequence (eg trajectory). Another pattern says what response to take go that trajectory to get desirable result. Whole set of patterns nick-named muscle memory executes that thought into muscle impulses and controls them. The strike results. Intuition 101. Marine Corp been using it for decades in realistic drills. Martial arts and other sports too. More realistic the prep, the more accurate and effective the mental model in intuitive brain.

by bambax 10y ago

nickpsecurity 10y ago

Years of research in intuition shows exactly what's happening. That part of the brain builds models between senses and actions. Spots patterns. Turns them into reflexes and instincts. It's not always accurate or rational but operates continuously, instantly, and usually effectively. In your example, like in my martial arts training, certain body patterns repeat before an action is going to happen. Intuition models likely consequence (eg trajectory). Another pattern says what response to take go that trajectory to get desirable result. Whole set of patterns nick-named muscle memory executes that thought into muscle impulses and controls them. The strike results. Intuition 101. Marine Corp been using it for decades in realistic drills. Martial arts and other sports too. More realistic the prep, the more accurate and effective the mental model in intuitive brain.