What is Digg?69 Comments
- noneloud, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22Apparently she was right. Your typing part was just unconscious :-P
- Heiliger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17This article still gives me no comfort... As I continue to wake up deep in the forest, without pants.
- CarlosReyes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Do you think the same applies to like, say, reading a book, and you cant remember the last few paragraphs. Anyone else feel that?
- Larke2000, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22my wife says i am living proog. :)
- yensed, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Usually all the Cats and Garbage-cans I hit bring my "Unconscious mind" back to the fact I'm Driving... :-P Kidding... About the cats...
- portis, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15Use Firefox?
- TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I think our minds are just selective not necessarily unconscious. We just choose and filter out what information we want to recognize. Its like reading a book, you will usually filter information better with a book you want to read as opposed to a book you are forced to read ie 'school text books'. I admit there are times though that I will be reading a book that I enjoy but will still space out, but I'm sure its not due to our minds being unconscious
- Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Those poor garbage cans!! You monster!
- unholy1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yes, our mind is very selective in what it pays attention to. It's all part of being human. Just think about the sheer amount of information you can see at any given second. If we paid attention to every little thing, rather than just the important stuff, we'd never survive as a species.
E.g.:
Caveman is walking along a path, paying attention to every little step he takes and every bird / bee / flower around him. Caveman doesn't see the bloody great mammoth coming along, which promptly squashes him. All of a sudden you no longer have a great-great-great-great-great-etc. grandfather, and you don't exist.
A very interesting book I read recently on the topic of the processing performed by the unconcious mind is Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. Well worth a read if this topic interests you.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0141014598/qid=1142848201/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/202-5083143-5905451 - Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Oh, so that's you...
- serra, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Ah yeah, it's amazing how much stuff you can do without even realizing it. The brain is a really amazing thing.
- ForbesBingley, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I did exactly that while I was reading the article!
In fact, I do that routinely.
I think that I haven't read the previous paragraph, but when I re-read it, I discover that in fact, I have read that paragraph.
And just to get even more weird, the very thing that I was thinking about that I thought had sidetracked me into thinking that I hadn't read that previous paragraph is the product of read that paragraph in the first place... - ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5It is actually quite well attested to, but you'd have to go to university for psychology to get the full picture. He's really just taking rather common psych knowledge and bundling it for profit.
hopefully I can do the same some day :P - Flood_of_SYN, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This might work better for you.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/print/CTVNews/20051104/ingram_theatre_051104/20051104/?hub=CanadaAM&subhub=PrintStory - Scarblac, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I hate that, suddenly realizing that you have no idea what you read in the last few pages. It means you're not really reading actively.
A good habit to get into (at least with non-fiction): find the important phrases, important words for the argument the author is making, and underline them. Searching for the most important words to underline means you need to read actively and actually understand what you're reading.
If you want to read about it, the canon is "How to read a book", by Adler. :-) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4You're absolutely correct. LSD disables most (if not all) of the information filters your brain has built up over the years. You really get more immersed in the immediate surroundings and people you're with. It's fascinating what you miss on a daily basis..dropping acid gives you insight into what babies and young children experience due to lack of that same filtration.
- Hella, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Digg for Jay Ingram, atleast his books get some more of your brain going.
I'd watch Daily Planet if it wasn't for Natasha. :o - ianam, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It's an ad for a book -- the book contains the evidence for his claims.
- Midnightbrewer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I think this is a rather misleading title. Reading the article, this doesn't sound so much like a trick of consciousness as it is a trick of the focus of your attention and committing information to memory. In other words, just because you don't remember it happening doesn't mean it didn't happen, and it doesn't mean you were unconscious at the time, either. Our brains were simply designed to remember negative stimuli better than the lack thereof. Otherwise, you'd be operating in a high-anxiety mode all the time and expend high amounts of energy whether there was any actual danger or not.
- oneofmanysteves, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This happens to me all the time. However, I am more than happy when I don't remember the last 12 or so miles. I drive 65 miles each way to work and when I don't remember the drive, it goes by so much quicker. I always figured my mind was just filtering out the drive because it was not needed to be remembered. I am happy to see my thoughts on the matter were pretty close to what this guy is suggesting. It's a pretty cool read.
- o_sam_o, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6QUOTE: "Imagine what it would be like to live in a completely different world, an alien place in which you couldn't even know your own mind, a place where, bombarded by sensory stimuli. " - you dont need to imagine, just drop some acid!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I have thought about this exact thing but only when walking, not driving.
- sunnyd, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9proog->proof :)
- Rice, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I would read this article, but my brain is too unconscious.
- Larke2000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3lol i guess i need to learn to proog read. or start using that handy check spelling button. :)
- mahler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The funny this is that even "being conscious" is done automatically by the brain. There goes your free will :)
- kdog181518, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7crashed my opera as well
- Wamzlee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I hate spacing out, then I catch myself...and I like...jump in my chair. People get freaked out why I do that. Its just me coming back to reality.
I have long 2 hour drives usually as well, and I freak out because I never remember if I stopped for a stop sign or not. haha - kingtubby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The conscious mind can only handle somewhere ´round 50 bits/s, whereas the unconscious ditto takes in millions every second. And those conscious 50 bits are delayed by half a second! - Read about it in "The User Illusion" by Tor Nørretranders. I highly recommend it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_User_Illusion - aggies11, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah, often my mind can start to wander while reading.
I know that I am still reading, it's just that my brain is occupied thinking about something else. Then I'l stop and realise that I missed the last page or two, and have to go back and re-read them. (I typically remember some of what was read, when going back over it, but defintely nothing close to all or clearly).
It's rather annoying, heh
Aggies - ThePhilomath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3True, but Freud wasn't exactly on the money.
- oldcyborg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2My mind has been trying to kill me since puberty.... Just how it is... I am ahead on points, but it's been pretty close at times...
Ok
cyborg - chad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yep. I've read it a couple of times. Good pop-science book.
- harmlessinc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Stop spamming your blog in the comments.
- fani, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I find myself to be very conscious and aware when I'm watching Victoria's secret ads or show on Tv.
I can recall to you all that happened in it.
I theorize you can improve your consciousness by watching porn. - Dufresne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4omg no one needs to back up everything they say with data. If you don't beleive him, that's fine.
- rbvmusic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Two things that I hate not remembering that I did:
1) Putting something down: A lot of times I am looking for something that I put down just 3 seconds before, and sometimes I didn't even put it down. An example is just today, I put down a camera of mines and when I was heading out the door I was looking for my water bottle that I assumed I put down as well. I searched for a goood minute or two and I found out I was holding it in my left hand under another thing all this time!
2) Locking the house: I often times forget if I locked the house when I go out. I always try to go back into my mind and try to remember if I did and it makes me worry because if I didn't then I could get robbed! Often times I go back to check and I find that it's locked! Very irritating. - lysander, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's not like consciousness is a clear concept. This digg might as well be titled "Our Brains Do Things We Don't Even Notice," and it would still be just as vacuously true.
Nothing in the article sounds particuarly innovative. - hordak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Wow... I'm sure glad this post came up. I thought something was wrong with me because I experienced things like this (e.g. during driving, reading, and whatnot), but after reading the article and the comments here, it seems like it's a pretty normal thing. Thanks! DIGG++++++++++++++++
- The_Dude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, and I bet a lot of those "unconsious" drivers are the ones getting killed in their cars too. And I don't mean because they are passed out unconsious.
- 1percent, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This reminded me of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman.
- matt.rubin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yeah totally here.. also waking up in the morning taking a shower, getting dressed eating breakfast pretty mch till u get to work or school
- brilliant, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Beating my wife up has also became an unconscious effort for me now that I've been doing that everyday for the past 15 years.
Its so severe that I sometimes catch myself asking her "What happened to your eye?" - TheRealStyro, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4It is good to exercise your memory & attention span while driving by playing a simple memory game. After passing through an intersection try to remember the color of the light. Don't use logic or reasoning (i.e. "it must have been green because I drove through") but try to use your memory. Also, after a short drive, try to remember all the lights, all the intersections, colors & actions of the other vehicles in front & around you, any pedestrians, bicyclists, & motorcyclists you passed (and what they were wearing). Try to trip-up your memory by taking slightly alternative routes and try to remember any environment changes (new buildings, repainted buildings, new intersections, etc).
It is kind of fascinating how good/fair/poor your memory actually is for day-to-day events. - iball, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've done this so many times on German autobahns, it's scary. Imagine driving at 100+mph speeds for HOURS and HOURS on end (modified cruise control) and not being able to remember the last 50-100 miles of driving.
- Jugalator, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2This is just about selective memory, muscle memory etc. The brain is complex and don't want to do more job than necessary because that would be inefficient. Anyway, I can't see what's new here or even strange or rarely heard of, so no digg here. You experience this every time you use a bike, walk, swim, or whatever...
It's not being unconsious about it either, because you're at all times very well aware of what you're doing. It's just the brain learning stuff and optimizing how little you need to think about it. - Corona, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This forgetting thing happens to me alot of the time in big parking lots, like when I lock my car door and then half way to the mall or building, I stop and think did I lock the door on the car, and the I have to go back and see if I did. Its frustrating when that happens. Thanks for regaining consciousness, and digging this article.
- Burgerman851, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Nice sales pitch for the book; not much real info, though.
- strangeduck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1While you're reading...that book buy Hawkin's (of Palm fame) On Intelligence still strikes me as very good on the subject....
- WhiteRaven, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Actually, the so-called conscious mind probably plays no part in thought. All consciousness is is a chunk of memory that corresponds to the “now” and that chunk of memory isn’t even fed most of what is being done in the brain as a whole. Consciousness is a lot like a computer monitor... it’s output.
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