The Backwards Brain Bicycle
- Thread starter GreatDane
- Start date
That was incredibly interesting....the only thing I've ever done that allows me to partially relate is video gaming. A lot of flying games allow you to switch to inverted controls so that when you press down you go up and visa versa, like a real aircraft. I've become so accustomed to that type of control that it is now my default for any flight, first person, or 3rd person POV. Any of these types games that do not have the "inverted" control option really disorients me and it either takes me really long to relearn or I immediatley give up trying. But it has everything to do with the POV how my brain perceives what the controls should be in that POV. Take a 2D side scroller and in my mind the controls revert back and I have no issues. It's is really hard to relearn behaviors associated with certain activities. Fascinating explanation in that video...thanks for sharing!
As a drummer, I deal with the exact same principles in my playing. I learned to play a certain way from when I was 9 years old, right hand for fast rhythm metronome type stuff (hi-hats, ride cymbals, etc.) and left hand for the back beat (snare drum) - right foot for pounding out the downbeat and left foot for holding down the hi-hat and changing the sound through lifting the foot, not pushing down.
I worked hard at that format and at a certain age realized I had vastly exceeded every possible limitation I had envisioned for myself using that playing style. So, to challenge myself, at age 17 I tried to swap how I used my hands a feet and develop other means of playing the kit. It was much harder to get it when I attempted to flip it around, but time and hard work won me over, but I couldn't quickly switch between the two. I could perform a rhythm one way, but then I'd have to stop and clear my head before I could perform the same rhythm the other way around. So, I worked on that, it took even longer. By the time I was 22 I could on the fly swap between playing right handed and playing left handed. However, my skills at playing left handed were nowhere close to what I was capable of if playing right handed.
So, I get what this is about - crazy stuff.
I worked hard at that format and at a certain age realized I had vastly exceeded every possible limitation I had envisioned for myself using that playing style. So, to challenge myself, at age 17 I tried to swap how I used my hands a feet and develop other means of playing the kit. It was much harder to get it when I attempted to flip it around, but time and hard work won me over, but I couldn't quickly switch between the two. I could perform a rhythm one way, but then I'd have to stop and clear my head before I could perform the same rhythm the other way around. So, I worked on that, it took even longer. By the time I was 22 I could on the fly swap between playing right handed and playing left handed. However, my skills at playing left handed were nowhere close to what I was capable of if playing right handed.
So, I get what this is about - crazy stuff.
^ yeah one would like to think they could get it down in a day or two...I was thinking, IF I tried that, with a massive amount of concentration, I could ride that bike. But after watching and knowing the lightning quick reflexes and decisions your brain instinctively makes and how your body balances the bike without even realizing it I'm convinced it's WAY harder than we think and the video is accurate. Maybe I'm gullible :happy-smileygiantred:
Remind me to tell you all about the time I connected the steering cables on a boat backwards. Long story short neither I nor my buddy could manage to steer the thing. I ended-up sitting on the dash facing the rear of the boat and looking over my shoulder to steer her back to port. It was pretty crazy.
mcad64
Well-Known Member
Batman said:
Not sure about a day or two Bats. Maybe you could...but I'm old an feeble minded!! :happy-smileygiantred: But he did say his 4 year old did it in two weeks, so I figure, I should be able to do it at the very least maybe, in two months?? Anyway you slice it, it is very interesting , for sure.
I keep telling my kids your brain is the greatest computer you will ever own.
Fascinating! (I would use the word "reflexes" rather than "understanding")
I've wondered if motorcyclists have this issue when they go to riding a trike. Like a bicycle, once up to speed you countersteer (turn the handlebars to the right to turn left) but on a trike, you steer (turn the handlebars to the left to turn left). I would think that'd be really dangerous at first.
I've wondered if motorcyclists have this issue when they go to riding a trike. Like a bicycle, once up to speed you countersteer (turn the handlebars to the right to turn left) but on a trike, you steer (turn the handlebars to the left to turn left). I would think that'd be really dangerous at first.
Watching them try to ride the bike, I think the biggest hurdle to overcome, is the resistance in turning. Those gears look like they makes the bike turn very easy, so just a minor correction in steering ends up being a larger than anticipated turn. Driving a small boat with a rear outboard, most people pick up on that fairly quickly, so I'm thinking there's more to it than just training your mind to turn the other way.
mcad64
Well-Known Member
Batman said:
I tend to agree with Bats. I think the problem comes in that on a normal bike you are probably making small corrections all the time as you ride and you are totally unaware that you are doing it. On this one, you start to go wrong and your correction is in the opposite direction or too extreme. Right...er...left...correct??
Mike
Huey said:
I disagree. When driving a bicycle, we unconsciously make hundreds of minor adjustments a second, from speed to steering to weigh distribution, etc. Screwing up just one of those critical, but unconscious, activities messed everything up completely.
The gears are not changing the ratio of control, just reversing the direction.
What I find amazing is how many of us thing this should be easy.
Imagine if the keyboard in front of you were flipped around - do you honestly think you could start typing without looking at the keyboard after just a few days of trying? I've seen people relearn with the Dvorak keyboard layout, and it took them months of work and then they found it nearly impossible to revert back to the QWERTY layout.
After trying something as simple as steering a boat with the steering cables backward (turn the wheel left and the boat goes right) and experiencing the hilarity and terror that THAT caused... I have no doubt at all that riding a bike would be an exercise in frustration and futility.
