I posted this on another forum, thought it might be useful here:
We talk about target fixation, about how the bike will go where you are looking, about how obstacles seem to become magnets unstoppably drawing you to them. (in the motorcycle and bike video, the camera moves with the head, so the center of the screen is where the rider is looking).
Everyone says the solution is to look where you want to go. If you look at an obstacle, you'll hit it. That's true, but WHY?
In short, humans are predatory animals. We have a million years of evolution designed to catch prey (whether that's catching an insect in your hand, or throwing a spear at a moose). We have a direct connection between our visual cortex and our motor cortex, and an automatic response to intercept what we are looking at. Normally conscious actions override this, but under high stress or when there is no time to consciously think, the direct physical link between eyes and muscles will take over.
You have 10 degrees of central vision, where your focused vision is. Your brain uses peripheral vision to spot potential prey or threats, and your central vision to identify and track things. Your visual and motor cortexes automatically work together, without your conscious thought or intent, to converge with the object you are focused on. That is literally what our visual cortex was made to do, and those who did it better got to eat and reproduce.
Have you ever wondered how often you and another car approaching an intersection seem to arrive at the stop sign at exactly the same time? Or how two cars collide at an intersection in the middle of nowhere, where they could see each other coming for a half mile before the intersection? The reason is that you COULD see each over, and so your brain adjusted your speed to reach the intersection at exactly the same time. That's why people often end up catching up with the car in front and one lane over, then driving the same speed (yes they are stupid, but they aren't doing it intentionally).
Normally, we override many of the body's instinctual actions (not just motorcycles, plenty of other things as well). But when high stress occurs, the body will revert back to its instinctive reactions. This is true in motorcycling, car driving, gunfights, fighting, flying airplanes, etc. The key is to learn how to use your body's evolved systems to get the outcome you want. Work with your instincts, not against them.
In this case, the way we use our lightning fast and millions-of-years-in-development direct connection between your eyes and muscles is to train yourself to look where you want to go.
So now you know why you go where you look.
PS: You can tell the difference between prey and predator animals by looking at their eyes. Prey (cows, antelope, goats) have eyes wide set, often on opposite sides of the head, to give them as wide a field of vision as possible. They have often 360-degree peripheral vision, but no central vision cone, little vision overlap, and usually cannot focus on objects.
Predator animals have eyes forward set, able to focus both eyes on a single object, and able to perceive distance (depth perception) and direction of motion. For an example, look at a prey bird vs a predator bird.
We talk about target fixation, about how the bike will go where you are looking, about how obstacles seem to become magnets unstoppably drawing you to them. (in the motorcycle and bike video, the camera moves with the head, so the center of the screen is where the rider is looking).
Everyone says the solution is to look where you want to go. If you look at an obstacle, you'll hit it. That's true, but WHY?
In short, humans are predatory animals. We have a million years of evolution designed to catch prey (whether that's catching an insect in your hand, or throwing a spear at a moose). We have a direct connection between our visual cortex and our motor cortex, and an automatic response to intercept what we are looking at. Normally conscious actions override this, but under high stress or when there is no time to consciously think, the direct physical link between eyes and muscles will take over.
You have 10 degrees of central vision, where your focused vision is. Your brain uses peripheral vision to spot potential prey or threats, and your central vision to identify and track things. Your visual and motor cortexes automatically work together, without your conscious thought or intent, to converge with the object you are focused on. That is literally what our visual cortex was made to do, and those who did it better got to eat and reproduce.
Have you ever wondered how often you and another car approaching an intersection seem to arrive at the stop sign at exactly the same time? Or how two cars collide at an intersection in the middle of nowhere, where they could see each other coming for a half mile before the intersection? The reason is that you COULD see each over, and so your brain adjusted your speed to reach the intersection at exactly the same time. That's why people often end up catching up with the car in front and one lane over, then driving the same speed (yes they are stupid, but they aren't doing it intentionally).
Normally, we override many of the body's instinctual actions (not just motorcycles, plenty of other things as well). But when high stress occurs, the body will revert back to its instinctive reactions. This is true in motorcycling, car driving, gunfights, fighting, flying airplanes, etc. The key is to learn how to use your body's evolved systems to get the outcome you want. Work with your instincts, not against them.
In this case, the way we use our lightning fast and millions-of-years-in-development direct connection between your eyes and muscles is to train yourself to look where you want to go.
So now you know why you go where you look.
PS: You can tell the difference between prey and predator animals by looking at their eyes. Prey (cows, antelope, goats) have eyes wide set, often on opposite sides of the head, to give them as wide a field of vision as possible. They have often 360-degree peripheral vision, but no central vision cone, little vision overlap, and usually cannot focus on objects.
Predator animals have eyes forward set, able to focus both eyes on a single object, and able to perceive distance (depth perception) and direction of motion. For an example, look at a prey bird vs a predator bird.
