fas.yale.edu: Our brains are constantly at work. They continuously execute instructions for the body via millions of firing neurons and synapses that coordinate unconscious bodily functions, conscious thought, and movement.
The complex connection between mind and body—which is still only partially understood—is something Samuel McDougle says we may be taking for granted.
4 comments:
Super cool read! As a sound designer and cellist it's super interesting to read about how our bodies are able to remember specific ways we need to move our muscles in order to reproduce things from memory. I think music is one the most beautiful things that humans are capable of. Of course a big part of music is the repetition behind it. So maybe that is part of the reason why our brains are so easily able to basically code our bodies to do specific motions. I always would have trouble with the sections of music that would be incredibly repetitive only to introduce a new series of notes in order to create some contrast in the music, and it might have to do with how our brain controls our movements and muscles! Again super incredible read, love seeing stuff about music. Personally I wanna start learning more about my own composition as it might be incredibly useful to me when I start moving further into the sound design industry.
I had never thought about why we have AI art but not robotic chore helpers. I honestly thought that people thought there was no money/fun in robots who do chores like folding laundry. When I read what McDougle said about motor control, it made so much sense. There is a lot that we understand about the human brain, but so much more that we know nothing about. I like what he said about sightreading and comparing it to reading another language because that is exactly what it feels like. I used to be able to sightread really quickly and easily, but since I have stopped playing instruments and reading music, it takes me much longer now. They are currently working on an ongoing study so it makes sense that nothing has been published yet but I would be interested in reading the study whenever it comes out in the future.
This article made me think about the evergrowing technology of AI and robots in a completely different way. There are all sorts of opinions regarding whether or not a non-human entity can produce art as all art is rooted in human experience. This article touched on something that I take with me through everyday life. That movement is rooted in everything we do. I find that the more physically connected I am to my body the better my brain works. Whether dancing, working out, or running I find that if my body has some outlet of expression it helps my mind express itself as well. The motor skills that we have developed through life have provided us with a base level of functioning that we do not comprehend on a day to day basis. It was fascinating to hear how Samuel McDougle put into words and practiced something that is so present in our lives yet we rarely think about.
It's interesting to think about how the body and memory are intertwined. I feel like that's often a thing we forget about, but we experience things with more than just our brain. I think that one of the things I've noticed the most in something like stage management, which is an interesting example given that you're not really doing quite as much physical activities, is that I always ended up having certain motions for certain difficult cues to get the timing correct on. One time, while I was walking to school, one of the songs that I had a cue for started playing, and I could feel my heart beat rise and anticipation and I could feel myself gearing up and tensing my muscles to do that same motion, although I'd never planned it, no really understood that I had even Associated it with that particular cue, as soon as that he changes coming up I started to move my hand to call the same cue. It's been several years since that incident happened, but every time I listen to that song, I still have the urge to go and follow through with that motion.
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