23 ms·

The nerves are there. You "just" need to discover them.

by goodpoint 5y ago

gambiting 5y ago
I mean, I've been trying for 30 years of my life and haven't been able to, so yeah, no idea how you'd go about it.
- themeiguoren 5y ago
  Stick you fingers in the space between your ear and your head, and you can feel the muscles moving there. That should really help with building a mind-muscle connection since it’s hard to get feedback otherwise.
- deredede 5y ago
  I spent hours in front of a mirror a decade ago until I was able to move my left ear. Lots of trying to move things that either did nothing or made me clench my jaw or close my eyes, before eventually "feeling" my ear, and then a whole lot more of that before seing it move. It was exhausting, and even though I have a faint consciousness of the corresponding muscles in my right ear --- I have no desire to spend that time and energy again.
  - robbedpeter 5y ago
    It makes sense for actors to do that type of thing, or maybe martial artists seeking to discipline every part of their body, but the time needed is too high for what's mostly a party trick for regular people. Then again, maybe it gets easier with other muscles as you practice and master more things - could it help overall coordination, maybe improve typing speed or balance?
- goodpoint 5y ago
  We instinctively "try" and discover our motor control as babies, depending on how much feedback we get the movement. Unsurprisingly, hands are very popular. Other things like proprioception of our backs and general posture can go unnoticed even as adults. I.e. it takes careful focus and training to [re]learn how and what to move.
- robbedpeter 5y ago
  There are individuals who are more adept with their toes than most people are with their hands, using their feet to paint, draw, write, play music, and so on. It's a repeated phenomenon, demonstrating neural plasticity in a great way. Such abilities are latent in all of us, differences in brain function that paralyze or confuse any part of the body are very rare. You, too, can pull off an arched eyebrow like The Rock, do ear wiggles, crazy eye rolls, and more. Getting good at it seems to be a matter of methodical practice.
  - gambiting 5y ago
    >> Getting good at it seems to be a matter of methodical practice. Yes, but I can practice moving my eyebrows to achieve mastery, because I know how to move them at least a little bit. With my ears, I literally cannot - no matter how hard I think about it or how much I strain, they just won't move. So how can you practice something that you cannot do at all? Just "try harder"? I feel like that's like telling someone with no legs to practice walking.
    - robbedpeter 5y ago
      Maybe tiny shocks like with a tens system, or a pinch, used to jolt your nerves into recognizing the location? I had a lot of trouble with my eyebrow arching, but eventually got it by poking it with a straw or pushing it around with my finger. Or maybe there's a genetic component, like tongue rolling. The nerves and muscles are there, no sensation seems to be lost, they're just arranged a bit different. Kinda cool how something trivial can go into these weird rabbit holes, anyway.
ioseph 5y ago
So I can wiggle my ears but only sometimes, right now I can move my left but not the right, other times it's the right but most of time I can't and it's like the nerve is missing. It's usually something I notice when I'm relaxed and horizontal

The nerves are there. You "just" need to discover them.

gambiting 5y ago

I mean, I've been trying for 30 years of my life and haven't been able to, so yeah, no idea how you'd go about it.

themeiguoren 5y ago
Stick you fingers in the space between your ear and your head, and you can feel the muscles moving there. That should really help with building a mind-muscle connection since it’s hard to get feedback otherwise.
deredede 5y ago
I spent hours in front of a mirror a decade ago until I was able to move my left ear. Lots of trying to move things that either did nothing or made me clench my jaw or close my eyes, before eventually "feeling" my ear, and then a whole lot more of that before seing it move. It was exhausting, and even though I have a faint consciousness of the corresponding muscles in my right ear --- I have no desire to spend that time and energy again.
- robbedpeter 5y ago
  It makes sense for actors to do that type of thing, or maybe martial artists seeking to discipline every part of their body, but the time needed is too high for what's mostly a party trick for regular people. Then again, maybe it gets easier with other muscles as you practice and master more things - could it help overall coordination, maybe improve typing speed or balance?
goodpoint 5y ago
We instinctively "try" and discover our motor control as babies, depending on how much feedback we get the movement. Unsurprisingly, hands are very popular. Other things like proprioception of our backs and general posture can go unnoticed even as adults. I.e. it takes careful focus and training to [re]learn how and what to move.
robbedpeter 5y ago
There are individuals who are more adept with their toes than most people are with their hands, using their feet to paint, draw, write, play music, and so on. It's a repeated phenomenon, demonstrating neural plasticity in a great way. Such abilities are latent in all of us, differences in brain function that paralyze or confuse any part of the body are very rare. You, too, can pull off an arched eyebrow like The Rock, do ear wiggles, crazy eye rolls, and more. Getting good at it seems to be a matter of methodical practice.
- gambiting 5y ago
  >> Getting good at it seems to be a matter of methodical practice. Yes, but I can practice moving my eyebrows to achieve mastery, because I know how to move them at least a little bit. With my ears, I literally cannot - no matter how hard I think about it or how much I strain, they just won't move. So how can you practice something that you cannot do at all? Just "try harder"? I feel like that's like telling someone with no legs to practice walking.
  - robbedpeter 5y ago
    Maybe tiny shocks like with a tens system, or a pinch, used to jolt your nerves into recognizing the location? I had a lot of trouble with my eyebrow arching, but eventually got it by poking it with a straw or pushing it around with my finger. Or maybe there's a genetic component, like tongue rolling. The nerves and muscles are there, no sensation seems to be lost, they're just arranged a bit different. Kinda cool how something trivial can go into these weird rabbit holes, anyway.

ioseph 5y ago

So I can wiggle my ears but only sometimes, right now I can move my left but not the right, other times it's the right but most of time I can't and it's like the nerve is missing. It's usually something I notice when I'm relaxed and horizontal