Threads tagged #science

IsaacDraper - 2017-06-07 21:02:55 UTC - Parent #

You might like 'Peak' by Eric Anders, or is it Anders Eric?

7b_wizard - 2017-06-08 14:47:02 UTC - Parent #

One more thing: phenomena like Qi, flow or harmony (also in e.g. music) are harder nuts to crack for science. So it is no wonder that from science, we get results and (more or less) well searched theories on one dimensional, causally measurable interdependencies, resulting in "If you do this, you get this or that good or bad effect." (let alone dubious guides on how to become a superhuman in three weeks).

But there's more to it, I believe. We're highly complex organisms doing highly complex stuff juggling an' all, in a frame of highly complex evolution of life on earth.   Science can only offer partly truths, hints, provisional guidelines, mosaique stones for each of us to filter individually, but not (yet) any dead solid thorough complete final utter ultimate explanation of everything, it all, us and the whole.

7b_wizard - 2017-06-08 14:18:34 UTC - Parent #

I knew about the neural system being dynamic, but didn't associate the term "neural plasticity" with it. Then in articles about motor learning you usually read things like "new synapses are being built" or "the brain establishes new connections" or alike without telling what exactly goes on.

I found Dendritic spines accomplish this by transforming synaptic input into neuronal output and also by helping to define the relationship between synapses. particularly interesting. Seems like this is nothing else than what we call "automizing" - in a chain of eye-brain-hand-coordination, from being actively regulating and interfering when still learning, the brain becomes like merely a ``neural transmitter´´ with hands ``doing by themselves´´ as reacting to what the eyes see (eye--(brain)--hand).

Also the "stress" paragraph could be interesting: More importantly, many of the mechanisms involved with increased memory retention, comprehension, and adaptation are thought to involve LTP and LTD [long term potentiating and long term depressing], two activity-dependent plasticity mechanisms that stress can directly suppress. If this implies (not only extrinsic stress inflicted by outer conditions or other people or society, but) selfmade stress when learning (like wanting too much, setting insane goals, doing near and above limit a lot, ..), this might be nothing else than what we in juggling call "enforcing errors" prohibiting improvement and landing on a plateau. Maybe a reason to always also do relaxed and find easier ways what I always plead for.

#science #efficiency #motorLearning #automizing #learning #improving #plateau

7b_wizard - 2016-03-12 15:04:16 UTC - Parent #

my two cents: I believe body posture, arm movement and the pattern should fit one another to be a smoothly running whole. I think errors come from too tensed juggling, from too much effort used, from having to correct a lot.

For the pattern this means: Aim the height, the region, the area, the top of the pattern, that is needed at your beat-interval well. (Or, vice versa: adopt your beat-speed to your preferred height). Stay in the plane. This can be achieved by imagining or actually using a bar to throw over or a ring to throw through (every single throw! constantly.). Know that height to throw to, have it internalized, automatic, 'by heart'. Don't ever do any lower throws, always get the minimum height.

For posture, this means to find which stance suits you best, for instance either have feet parallel or one foot (the stronger or weaker one) slightly ahead, or else for instance slightly bend knees or not, or still else for instance, sway body's weight from one foot to other in a rhythm while juggling, or else, still, put feet nearer or further apart. Take the pattern near your body (corresponds to upper arms hanging straight down). Watch what your hips and your shoulder-line do when juggling.

For arm's posture and arm's and hand's movement: don't juggle too far ahead of your body as it causes unnecessary tension in upper arm and shoulder. Find a way of getting props on height easily without too much effort, for example by loosening your wrists and profiting from greater lever throwing from a fingerbasket, or else by getting more thrust from hearty scoops (on cost of some more dwell-time needed),   ( or even else - which I don't recommend - by working out to have more muscle power, force and condition, endurance, to keep the pattern up even when far ahead of your body or constantly slightly tensed or grasping balls with whole hand in full palm without much lever ).

Generally an awareness of the body, where there's most tension, then changing something there, trying differently, leads to improvement of posture and arm movement. Juggling as lax as would keep the pattern up a few periods, as lazy as would go, as monotoneous as possible for example. Trying out differently throwing a lot, different arm posture, pulling the pattern to and shifting it away from you, doing wider and narrow, throwing fromout lower or fromout higher, more or less scoop, more from inside, trying faster, speedy throwing movement (= shorter dwell-time), .. things alike will an find an easier posture and style and technique(s). Varying the pattern's height, width, speediness will find your easiest (or easier) pattern that will then also suit posture and arm movement and make it a rhythmic fluent smooth whole.

I also think to have spotted some instincts to overcome: not wanting to hit your face and eyes, maybe is, what makes us throw precarious throws ahead all the time. Maybe trying to avoid collisions makes us leave the front plane. The height per beat (or vice versa)-ratio from doing less props maybe sits so deep, that it needs be overcome when oing more props (with those more props's dwelltime needs to be gained above the mere physical flight-time).

Even more general, meta: When sth feels wrong, a change is obviously needed. By varying everything (pattern, posture, movement, props, conditions), one increases the chance to find the improvements (q.e.d.), instead of doing same over and over again, hoping for it to 'happen' from alone or from stronger muscles.

I've had long easy runs with 5b cascade and periods where it did feel as easy as walking, as could go on forever that way, but I don't get it anytime and it's not simple, not obvious to find back into. Throwing from looser wrists; pulling the pattern near my body; aiming well in the first place ('feeding' the top of the pattern) were my clues to get near 1,000 throws with 5b without burning arms.

Stephen Meschke - 2016-03-12 16:15:21 UTC - Parent #

Where you throw the ball is less important than when you throw the ball. Cadence is quite difficult to see from a video, but you should be able to feel it when you juggle.

The balls should be coming out of your hands with the precision of a metronome. The things you list (height, plane, lopsidedness) are symptoms of bad cadence.

The throws in a beautiful juggling pattern occur at equal time intervals.

Good: Left....Right....Left....Right....Left....Right....
Bad: Left..Right......Left..Right......Left..Right......


RegularJugular - 2016-03-14 10:22:20 UTC - Parent #

This seems to have got me and 7b_wizard thinking. Answering my own question: I observed that whatever height I am used to has a strong impact on how well I can control cadence, as well as getting a height that cadence is better controlled at.

It should be self-evident that beautiful patterns will have even cadence(s*).



*cadence for each siteswap orbit

7b_wizard - 2016-03-13 14:17:22 UTC - Parent #

This should relate to showers and half-showers, where galopping is natural part of the pattern. So, maybe alternating between halfshower and cascade can increase an awareness for flawful galoping in the cascade (e.g. caused by lower throws from weakhand, or by some asymmetry in posture) and either get rid of an unwanted galop, or else adopt it as doing such slight asymmetry (in shape and beat) on purpose (if it feels more comfortable like that). Or maybe for example practise halfshowers and showers bothsided in order to 'merge' both hand's galop until they are equal then also for the cascade.