Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Olufemi.Nazsira's picture

I-Function Disjunction

The notion that one's "I-function is not equivalent to the self" is really interesting to me, in the sense that one's personality and sense of selfhood is comprised of many more factors than merely their conscious actions, which the I-function is responsible for. Thus, I am still pondering what these other factors are...

Also as far as the I-Function's role (or lack thereof) in executing actions , I am still struggling to understand the concept that when one actually thinks about the action taking place, it actually has an adverse impact on the efficiency of its execution. For example, I have been running track for several years. In high school I was a distance runner but became a sprinter in college. A concept I had to become accustomed to was the idea that lifting your legs higher actually helps you go faster and further. So, often during a race my coach would be shouting to me from the sidelines to "pick up those knees!"-thinking about it and doing it was usually the main reason why I would decrease my times and improve my personal bests, eventually qualifying me for conferences. Also when I bike, especially in the city, I do think about what I am doing-how fast do I need to pedal to make this light? How busy is this intersection-can I weave through these cars and pedestrians? “OK the light just turned red, how little can I decrease my speed to avoid coming to a complete stop and losing my kinetic energy while waiting for the light to turn green again?” I find that it is this very thoughtfulness and awareness that has allowed my success and safety, be it running, biking or otherwise. 

As far as muscle memory is concerned, I am sure that that accounts for part of it as these activities do feel very "second-nature, " however, I am more so concerned with the mental thought processes as I disagree that use of the I-Function impedes the execution of an act. 

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
3 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.