I think playing dead stroke pool is like driving a car from point A to point B for the millionth time, not really trying to drive, but just doing it automatically, only to realize upon arrival that you can't remember any of the drive. During this drive your conscious was simply overseeing the work area of the mind, that place where present sensory information consciously gets compared to info being pulled from longterm storage subconsciously.
Usually, conscious thought is actively at work in the working area (our short term memory), where it is analyzing, comparing, making judgments/assessments, before any boby action/reaction takes place. And other times the conscious doesn't have to do much other than approve actions with a slight head nod, no hands-on interference needed pertaining to the info our subconscious is pulling from storage.
When things are running smoothly like this, the conscious (realizing everything is going fine) may even indulge itself with thoughts that have nothing to do with the sensory inputs coming in or the action our body is performing. This doesn't mean it quits paying attention to what the senses are picking up. It is always in the loop, but when the storage data is so thoroughly and accurately matched to present conditions, the conscious simply nods at the subconscious, as if saying, "You're doing a fine job...I'll just sit over here and monitor things a while, maybe sip on a coffee or a rum-n-coke. Don't worry, if something doesn't look right or feel right, I'll let you know."
Come to think of it, while you're reading these words on the screen your eyes are picking up numerous shapes -- lines, slashes, circles, curves. You aren't consciously building words from these shapes or images. The subconscious is doing all the work, taking this sensory input, this streaming collection of shapes, and doing something absolutely amazing at lightning speed. Take a straight vertical line (I) and a short overlapping horizontal line (-). The collective image these two shapes make is quickly compared to images in storage and the letter "t" is recalled.
Each letter is a puzzle comprised of various shapes, and subconsciously we match these shapes to the letters we've learned, and at the same time we match the formation/order of these letters to the words we've learned. All of this info gets pulled into the working area of the mind where we can consciously use it.
When first learning how to read, we have to consciously think about/analyze what a "v" shape on top of a "I" shape means. Eventually this collection of shapes gets stored as the letter "Y" and is automatically recalled when we see it. What happens when you see a collection of shapes that your subconscious easily recognizes as individual letters, such as "kakorrhaphiophobia", but there's no data in storage that matches this particular formation of letters?
The letters sit there in the working area of the brain while your conscious thought tries to make sense of it. Everything was moving smoothly, effortlessly. You were in the zone and now the subconscious is stuck and you have to consciously get to work. You can choose to ignore the word and your subconscious goes right back into action and you're reading again. Or you can look this particular grouping of letters up in a dictionary and discover that it means "fear of failure". You then decide whether or not you want to try and remember the word, but since you know you might not come across it again you decide to move on. And you're reading again, fully in the zone of subconscious work with very little conscious effort other than directing the eyes on where to look.
Usually, conscious thought is actively at work in the working area (our short term memory), where it is analyzing, comparing, making judgments/assessments, before any boby action/reaction takes place. And other times the conscious doesn't have to do much other than approve actions with a slight head nod, no hands-on interference needed pertaining to the info our subconscious is pulling from storage.
When things are running smoothly like this, the conscious (realizing everything is going fine) may even indulge itself with thoughts that have nothing to do with the sensory inputs coming in or the action our body is performing. This doesn't mean it quits paying attention to what the senses are picking up. It is always in the loop, but when the storage data is so thoroughly and accurately matched to present conditions, the conscious simply nods at the subconscious, as if saying, "You're doing a fine job...I'll just sit over here and monitor things a while, maybe sip on a coffee or a rum-n-coke. Don't worry, if something doesn't look right or feel right, I'll let you know."
Come to think of it, while you're reading these words on the screen your eyes are picking up numerous shapes -- lines, slashes, circles, curves. You aren't consciously building words from these shapes or images. The subconscious is doing all the work, taking this sensory input, this streaming collection of shapes, and doing something absolutely amazing at lightning speed. Take a straight vertical line (I) and a short overlapping horizontal line (-). The collective image these two shapes make is quickly compared to images in storage and the letter "t" is recalled.
Each letter is a puzzle comprised of various shapes, and subconsciously we match these shapes to the letters we've learned, and at the same time we match the formation/order of these letters to the words we've learned. All of this info gets pulled into the working area of the mind where we can consciously use it.
When first learning how to read, we have to consciously think about/analyze what a "v" shape on top of a "I" shape means. Eventually this collection of shapes gets stored as the letter "Y" and is automatically recalled when we see it. What happens when you see a collection of shapes that your subconscious easily recognizes as individual letters, such as "kakorrhaphiophobia", but there's no data in storage that matches this particular formation of letters?
The letters sit there in the working area of the brain while your conscious thought tries to make sense of it. Everything was moving smoothly, effortlessly. You were in the zone and now the subconscious is stuck and you have to consciously get to work. You can choose to ignore the word and your subconscious goes right back into action and you're reading again. Or you can look this particular grouping of letters up in a dictionary and discover that it means "fear of failure". You then decide whether or not you want to try and remember the word, but since you know you might not come across it again you decide to move on. And you're reading again, fully in the zone of subconscious work with very little conscious effort other than directing the eyes on where to look.