4 ms·

Where it’s particularly striking of course is when people respond appropriately much faster than the speed of thought. You need only think of a piano player or

Where it’s particularly striking of course is when people respond appropriately much faster than the speed of thought. You need only think of a piano player or a tennis player to see that the impression that they are making a conscious decision—“that ball is coming in this direction; I’d better move over here and hit it”—couldn’t possibly be. If it isn't conscious thought and motor signals, then what is it?

Xeoncross 12y ago
We might assume it is faster than the speed of thought. Our mind works with and without our help. The same as our breathing. For example, our mind processes thousands (or millions) of signals coming from our senses without us needing to "think" about it.
- coldtea 12y ago
  This dichotomy implies a dualism, as if there's a clear cut "I" and then there's "my mind". In fact, our mind is us, and it working 'without us knowing' is just 'it working without verbalization of our thoughts' which is a different thing I'd say.
wodenokoto 12y ago
In conscience thoughts and motor signals. I think the point is, that after the match, the player can be asked "what went through you head when..." And they will answer as if during the game they made a conscience judgement of the entire situation.
- cjcole 12y ago
  And when people are asked "what do you think of band X" for an X which does not exist, they may answer you as if X existed. And later they may even forget that they were fabricating and come to believe it themselves. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8519764 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8519764 ("We Are All Confident Idiots") Memory is reconstructive. Memory is aspirational. Memory is an evolutionary adaptation. Memory is lossy and iterative. Memory is an unconscious advantage-seeking collaborator. People are (for whatever reasons) given more credit for conscious decisions than for unconscious reflexes, so it is in their interest to make it seem as if their actions were under conscious control. So memory does that for them.
Strilanc 12y ago
I think he's saying that the in-game thinking is unconscious (fast, practiced, muscle-memory) but remembered as conscious, and it must be the former because things are happening too fast.

Xeoncross 12y ago

We might assume it is faster than the speed of thought. Our mind works with and without our help. The same as our breathing. For example, our mind processes thousands (or millions) of signals coming from our senses without us needing to "think" about it.

coldtea 12y ago
This dichotomy implies a dualism, as if there's a clear cut "I" and then there's "my mind". In fact, our mind is us, and it working 'without us knowing' is just 'it working without verbalization of our thoughts' which is a different thing I'd say.

wodenokoto 12y ago

In conscience thoughts and motor signals. I think the point is, that after the match, the player can be asked "what went through you head when..." And they will answer as if during the game they made a conscience judgement of the entire situation.

cjcole 12y ago
And when people are asked "what do you think of band X" for an X which does not exist, they may answer you as if X existed. And later they may even forget that they were fabricating and come to believe it themselves. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8519764 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8519764 ("We Are All Confident Idiots") Memory is reconstructive. Memory is aspirational. Memory is an evolutionary adaptation. Memory is lossy and iterative. Memory is an unconscious advantage-seeking collaborator. People are (for whatever reasons) given more credit for conscious decisions than for unconscious reflexes, so it is in their interest to make it seem as if their actions were under conscious control. So memory does that for them.

Strilanc 12y ago

I think he's saying that the in-game thinking is unconscious (fast, practiced, muscle-memory) but remembered as conscious, and it must be the former because things are happening too fast.