healthscout.com — Brain inconsistency is why you can't reliably repeat that perfect fastball or golf swing, says a Stanford University study. "The main reason you can't move the same way each time, such as swinging a golf club, is that your brain can't plan the swing the same way each time."
Dec 21, 2006 View in Crawl 4
zadkielDec 22, 2006
It doesn't sound like consistency but rather repetition that the brain is not wired to do.
roflanceDec 22, 2006
consistent and constant are hardly the same word, assh**e.
Closed AccountDec 22, 2006
the catch phrase on the title that scientist said is completely misleading, from the article:"Their study of neural and muscle activity in monkeys revealed that less than half of movement inconsistency is the fault of muscles.The researchers suggested that the human brain evolved an improvisational style of movement, because the majority of situations involving movement are unique."well, obviously, if e.g. you eat something and your muscles slightly change in ability, you can't give exactly the same command because you may fall.buried as inaccurate title even if that scientist used the phrase.
moobenDec 22, 2006
I really don't understand how you guys are saying this is a "no sh*" category study. This study is specifically about motor-neuron and sensory input processing--not about "all thought" in general (there were some references about making chess moves and thinking about sex, drastically different points of processing in the brain). This study is definitely not "no s**t"--there has long been speculation over why we can't move a muscle the same every single time and specifically its concerns with pro athletes. This study is ONLY ABOUT MUSCULAR CONTROL AND SENSORY INTEGRATION. NOTHING ELSE. RTFA. Jesus.
node3Dec 23, 2006
@vertinoxI know this was a side point, but in chess, aside from situations where your or your opponent's moves are limited by immediate threat of check/mate/capture, you really don't know what the best move is. If you did, you'd just always make the best move, and all games would be identical, being pre-determined from the best opening move, all the way through to the end.While there are a finite number of possible chess games/board positions, there are so many possibilities that not even the most powerful computer extent can determine the best move (and, it's been argued, that a computer capable of fully solving chess would be larger than the observable universe).
node3Dec 23, 2006
Which, of course, has nothing to do with the study is claiming. Robots can (and do) repeat the exact same motion over and over again, accurate to within the *physical limits* (what you are referring to) of the system, both internally and externally. The human brain, on the other hand, is not wired to repeat, exactly, the same motion.It's not just that outside forces thwart our attempts. It's not that our muscles, bones, etc, have changed ever so slightly since the last time we performed a motion. It's that our brains just cannot repeatedly send the same set of commands.