First off, I never read emails from people I dont know, or have more than 5 people copied on them. I broke my rule and read this one today.
Tell me Im not the only one that this worked on....
For those of you who have nothing better to do with your time:
While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make
clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with
your right
hand.
I had heard something about it but I didn't know the specifics. Even when I was trying real hard to do it just right I still couldn't do it right. I looked like a moron. Fortunately only my dog is here to stare blankly at me.
First off, I never read emails from people I dont know, or have more than 5 people copied on them. I broke my rule and read this one today.
Tell me Im not the only one that this worked on....
For those of you who have nothing better to do with your time:
While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make
clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with
your right
hand.
Your foot will change direction.
Weird !
Being a nuke myself, all I can say is - with that much time on your hands, you must be at work! BTW-I love your shot at DA, Holga Barn.
Linda
The first time I did it my foot immediately started going counter-clockwise. But if I REALLY concentrate on it, I can keep my foot going clockwise while doing the "6", but it's really hard to do. :)
Fish, I was just thinking about this and you're right... I was thinking that in most people, their hand movement is probably much more "instinctive" then their foot movement is. So, it makes sense that those people would have the foot reverse direction when they make a "6" with their hand because their hand movement is much more instinctive and therfore their foot movement is effected.
But in your case since you are a runner, your brain gives more instinctive control to your feet (making it "even" with your hands, let's say) so you don't have the same effect as others.
Someone showed me that at work last night and out of 16 people not one could do it right. However, after a while if you do it extremely slow you can manage a half baked attempt, but let me tell you that it requires extreme concentration.
I remember a thing similar to this from when I was in high school...
Hold your hands in front of you, so that your index fingers are pointing at each other. First, move them together in circles, as if they were following the motion of a wheel moving forward. Then reverse the movement so that they're going in "backwards" circles. Finally, move them opposite directions.
Really difficult to do, though if you concentrate hard enough, you can manage it.
(That was really difficult to try and type and have it make sense... Hope I succeeded!)
hehe. not a problem, at least for me. I think drummers are able to do stuff like this. Try making a 6" circle in front of you - perpendicular to your body (away from you and toward you (hold your index finger level and make it so you're looking at the side of the circle)
Then try to do the same circle, but in opposite direction with you left index finger. Start by pointing your two indexes at each other then rotate them opposite.
or if you don't want to look silly, try with two fingers...try to move one counter clockwise and one clockwise...it's even more frustrating because we feel we have more control over fingers than feet
The study of coupling within complex systems (like arm/leg movement) is a serious science issue, it is called 'Synergetics'. Go to PubMed and look for the publications of Prof. H.Haken, from the Institute for Theoretical Physics, Center of Synergetics, in Stuttgart, Germany.
He had another simple example I know of: put the palms of your hands flat, one on the other, horizontally in front of you. Now separate them slightly and move them parallel to each other from one side to the other (it sounds complicated if you have to say it in words, a picture might be easier). When you increase the frequency of the movement, all of a sudden they move in antiparallel.
Depends how you draw your 6's I think start at the top and draw 'down and round' and your foot reverses, start on the inside and draw 'out and up' and it doesnt...
Could be my handwritting is just messed up by too much Palm Pilot graphitti
