You can think “turn left” and without any other conscious input your body executes a successful left turn on the bicycle. Something is happening in between; the common name for this something is ‘muscle memory’. It’s not necessarily a great name.
We don’t know exactly how muscle memory works, but we can make observations about its functioning. For instance, that it cannot consist solely of exact repetition of motions, and that it must be able incorporate real-time sensory feedback (or else biking would be impossible).
That brings it back to dormitive principles again. What would it mean for muscle memory to not be “the unconscious mastery of a complex abstraction”?
It would mean that SilentCal had not given you a useful keyword you can use to learn more about something that perplexed you.
You can think “turn left” and without any other conscious input your body executes a successful left turn on the bicycle. Something is happening in between; the common name for this something is ‘muscle memory’. It’s not necessarily a great name.
We don’t know exactly how muscle memory works, but we can make observations about its functioning. For instance, that it cannot consist solely of exact repetition of motions, and that it must be able incorporate real-time sensory feedback (or else biking would be impossible).
Do we disagree on anything?
Only the usefulness of the name. “Stuff” would more clearly capture what we know about it. :) I think we can leave it there.