More on Blindsight and Vision Pathways: "Using the Force"
(Note: answers to anti-trivia have been edited into that post.)
Obviously, we do not live in "a galaxy far, far away", but the concept of the Force in Star Wars was based off of some ideas from the East, such as ki or "mind over matter", and such ideas do not arise from nowhere. There is usually truth to be found even in fiction.
In the films, Luke is told to "let go" and to instead "use the force," to trust his instincts. In martial arts, this trusting of ones instincts is often key. One is trained to perform without thinking, without perceiving.
And this is where this entry connects with my last. I have already mentioned both blindsight and the "where/how" pathway of vision, two ways in which our eyes see and our brain processes without us being at all aware of it.
Sometimes, the "how" pathway is more accurate than the "what" pathway that we are conscious of. For example, optical illusions. Ramachandran has shown many cases where the "what" pathway is fooled by optical illusions, whereas the "how" pathway is not.
Many of you have probably seen the traditional one where there is a circle surrounded by smaller circles and another circle surrounded by larger circles. Though both inner circles are identical in size, most (but not all) humans will perceive the circle inside smaller ones to be larger than the circle within larger ones by about 30%. However, it has been shown by stop-motion photography and other such experiments that when instructed to pick up objects arranged in the same pattern, despite claiming to see them as different sizes, subjects reach for the objects with exactly the same distance between their fingers, implying that the "how" pathway is not fooled and sends the instructions to the hand muscles without the incorrect information from the "what" pathway interfering.
What does this mean? It means that what we are conscious of perceiving is not necessarily A) what is real or B) what the rest of our mind interprets.
Returning to the Force, "letting go" in this case is for the best. This is not just an Eastern idea. Archers and shooters are taught to not focus too much on their targets. Doing so focuses on what the "what" pathway is saying and does not allow the "how" pathway to do what it is better at -- estimating distances and spatial information more accurately.
So then, in martial arts, if you pay less attention to your conscious thoughts and rely on your trained instinct, there is neurological evidence that this is wise. It is not some nonphysical Force, it may simply be "unperceived vision".
Obviously, we do not live in "a galaxy far, far away", but the concept of the Force in Star Wars was based off of some ideas from the East, such as ki or "mind over matter", and such ideas do not arise from nowhere. There is usually truth to be found even in fiction.
In the films, Luke is told to "let go" and to instead "use the force," to trust his instincts. In martial arts, this trusting of ones instincts is often key. One is trained to perform without thinking, without perceiving.
And this is where this entry connects with my last. I have already mentioned both blindsight and the "where/how" pathway of vision, two ways in which our eyes see and our brain processes without us being at all aware of it.
Sometimes, the "how" pathway is more accurate than the "what" pathway that we are conscious of. For example, optical illusions. Ramachandran has shown many cases where the "what" pathway is fooled by optical illusions, whereas the "how" pathway is not.
Many of you have probably seen the traditional one where there is a circle surrounded by smaller circles and another circle surrounded by larger circles. Though both inner circles are identical in size, most (but not all) humans will perceive the circle inside smaller ones to be larger than the circle within larger ones by about 30%. However, it has been shown by stop-motion photography and other such experiments that when instructed to pick up objects arranged in the same pattern, despite claiming to see them as different sizes, subjects reach for the objects with exactly the same distance between their fingers, implying that the "how" pathway is not fooled and sends the instructions to the hand muscles without the incorrect information from the "what" pathway interfering.
What does this mean? It means that what we are conscious of perceiving is not necessarily A) what is real or B) what the rest of our mind interprets.
Returning to the Force, "letting go" in this case is for the best. This is not just an Eastern idea. Archers and shooters are taught to not focus too much on their targets. Doing so focuses on what the "what" pathway is saying and does not allow the "how" pathway to do what it is better at -- estimating distances and spatial information more accurately.
So then, in martial arts, if you pay less attention to your conscious thoughts and rely on your trained instinct, there is neurological evidence that this is wise. It is not some nonphysical Force, it may simply be "unperceived vision".