Muscle memory

[Trinity]

I'm sure anyone here who drives a vehicle has experienced that "zoning out" and afterwards when you suddenly become aware that you've no recollection of part of a journey or any physical movements you've made to drive said vehicle-you've been on "auto pilot". I experience this particularly when driving on roads I know very well. However, the other day I was driving a road I travel almost daily and it goes past the lane leading to the house I lived at for 15 years (but left last November) and before I was aware of my actions, I had taken a left turn into the lane, as if I was heading home. This surprised me so much, as I had not once done such a thing since I'd moved 9 months ago. It made me think why a part of my unconscious brain made me make that choice when I have been driving past that lane consistently since I moved out. I read somewhere that it can take only 30 ish days to "train" your mind to adopt new behaviours so why i this instance had I regressed to a former behaviour? Faulty wiring!!

[PsychoSerenity]

Yeah the 'auto pilot' thing scared me a lot when I first experienced it, driving along the same empty country lanes to work each day, suddenly I noticed had no recollection of the journey. But one of my friends who was studying neuro-psychology said it's perfectly normal and not dangerous - if anything unexpected happens it comes straight back into conciousness. But as you found out, as long as it thinks everything is normal, you have no idea where it might take you! Maybe on some level you were reminiscing and it took your memories as 'now'.

[FBM]

I teach my students about muscle memory as it pertains to learning pronunciation and speaking phrases and collocations. I think it helps them. They say it does, anyway.

[Animavore]

I thought 'muscle memory' was that phenomenon by which if you give up doing weights or other exercise for a couple of years and get back into it your body tones up a lot faster?

[FBM]

That may be included, but I don't think it's the main definition. The main meaning has more to do with encoding behavior.

[hadespussercats]

There are some phone numbers I only remember by typing them out.

[Robert_S]

There are some phone numbers I only remember by typing them out.

Me too. There are also places I can go, but can't reliably give directions to.

Reminds me of that guy from the Oliver Sachs book who has crippling amnesia and can't remember more than a few seconds ago, but can conduct an orchestra because the procedural memory is a different thing altogether.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

I do this sort of thing all the time, too. - Most commonly, if rolling a cigarette, I sometimes pull out three ciggy papers and start sticking them together. This has caused some strange looks from certain people in the past.

[Trinity]

I do this sort of thing all the time, too. - Most commonly, if rolling a cigarette, I sometimes pull out three ciggy papers and start sticking them together. This has caused some strange looks from certain people in the past.

Haha! Done that too

[tattuchu]

When I dream at night, and it's a dream in which I'm at home doing something or other (usually masturbating ), I'm always in the house I grew up in. I haven't lived in that house for twenty-five years

[hadespussercats]

I do this sort of thing all the time, too. - Most commonly, if rolling a cigarette, I sometimes pull out three ciggy papers and start sticking them together. This has caused some strange looks from certain people in the past.

When I was smoking, I'd sometimes forget I was smoking and have a second one rolled up and lit before I realized.

[hadespussercats]

There are some phone numbers I only remember by typing them out.

Me too. There are also places I can go, but can't reliably give directions to.

Reminds me of that guy from the Oliver Sachs book who has crippling amnesia and can't remember more than a few seconds ago, but can conduct an orchestra because the procedural memory is a different thing altogether.

I remember that story! That book was so interesting.

[Cormac]

I'm sure anyone here who drives a vehicle has experienced that "zoning out" and afterwards when you suddenly become aware that you've no recollection of part of a journey or any physical movements you've made to drive said vehicle-you've been on "auto pilot". I experience this particularly when driving on roads I know very well. However, the other day I was driving a road I travel almost daily and it goes past the lane leading to the house I lived at for 15 years (but left last November) and before I was aware of my actions, I had taken a left turn into the lane, as if I was heading home. This surprised me so much, as I had not once done such a thing since I'd moved 9 months ago. It made me think why a part of my unconscious brain made me make that choice when I have been driving past that lane consistently since I moved out. I read somewhere that it can take only 30 ish days to "train" your mind to adopt new behaviours so why i this instance had I regressed to a former behaviour? Faulty wiring!!

This is completely normal. This is how we proceed through most of life.

We're cool creatures, aren't we?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

It was one of the things I used to stress when I taught guitar. It is not your brain that learns to hold the chords but your fingers. All new chords feel awkward and wrong at first - but practice changing between the new chord and those that you already know and then, suddenly, you can play it without thinking.

The same is true of any physical activity - try actually thinking about tying a shoe-lace or a tie and see how far you get!

[mistermack]

Its the same with touch-typing.

I just think the words, and they appear on the screen. If I had to do it by sight, it would take five times as long.
All I need is the f and he j to have a little bump, so that I can find them without looking, and rest my index fingers on them.