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Does thinking interfere with doingYale Symposium on Skills and Practices
April 2014
Barbara Gail MonteroThe City University of New York
bmonterogccunyedu
Sometimes when it really matters everything falls apart
During the 2011 Republican primary presidential debate in listing the three governmental departments he was planning to eliminate Rick Perry couldnrsquot call to mind the phrase ldquothe department of energyrdquo
The third agency of government I would do away withhellipthe education the uh the commerce and
letrsquos see I canrsquotmdashthe third one I canrsquot Sorry Oops
He curtailed his campaign shortly after this
Though other explanations are possible it seems that Perryrsquos career-ending choke was in part due to his heightened state of anxiety over how well he was going to be perceived
But how does anxiety cause a choke
Explicit-monitoring theory Pressure can cause one to explicitly attend to or consciously control processes that would normally occur outside of consciousness (Baumeister 1984 Masters 1992 Wulf amp Prinz 2001 Beilock amp Carr 2001 2005 2007 Wallace et al 2006 Beilock amp DeCaro 2007 Ford et al 2009 Beilock 2011 and Papineau forthcoming) On this view choking can occur in public speaking when individuals try to bring into working memory information they should be able to say automatically
In the psychology literature explicit-monitoring theory is the prevalent explanation of choking under pressure in sports
Sian Beilock explains
Highly practiced skills become automatic so performance may actually be damaged by
introspection which is characteristic of an earlier consciously-mediated stage [Athletic skills] are hurt
not because of worrying but because of the attention and control that worry produces
(Beilock et al 2004)
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Sometimes when it really matters everything falls apart
During the 2011 Republican primary presidential debate in listing the three governmental departments he was planning to eliminate Rick Perry couldnrsquot call to mind the phrase ldquothe department of energyrdquo
The third agency of government I would do away withhellipthe education the uh the commerce and
letrsquos see I canrsquotmdashthe third one I canrsquot Sorry Oops
He curtailed his campaign shortly after this
Though other explanations are possible it seems that Perryrsquos career-ending choke was in part due to his heightened state of anxiety over how well he was going to be perceived
But how does anxiety cause a choke
Explicit-monitoring theory Pressure can cause one to explicitly attend to or consciously control processes that would normally occur outside of consciousness (Baumeister 1984 Masters 1992 Wulf amp Prinz 2001 Beilock amp Carr 2001 2005 2007 Wallace et al 2006 Beilock amp DeCaro 2007 Ford et al 2009 Beilock 2011 and Papineau forthcoming) On this view choking can occur in public speaking when individuals try to bring into working memory information they should be able to say automatically
In the psychology literature explicit-monitoring theory is the prevalent explanation of choking under pressure in sports
Sian Beilock explains
Highly practiced skills become automatic so performance may actually be damaged by
introspection which is characteristic of an earlier consciously-mediated stage [Athletic skills] are hurt
not because of worrying but because of the attention and control that worry produces
(Beilock et al 2004)
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Though other explanations are possible it seems that Perryrsquos career-ending choke was in part due to his heightened state of anxiety over how well he was going to be perceived
But how does anxiety cause a choke
Explicit-monitoring theory Pressure can cause one to explicitly attend to or consciously control processes that would normally occur outside of consciousness (Baumeister 1984 Masters 1992 Wulf amp Prinz 2001 Beilock amp Carr 2001 2005 2007 Wallace et al 2006 Beilock amp DeCaro 2007 Ford et al 2009 Beilock 2011 and Papineau forthcoming) On this view choking can occur in public speaking when individuals try to bring into working memory information they should be able to say automatically
In the psychology literature explicit-monitoring theory is the prevalent explanation of choking under pressure in sports
Sian Beilock explains
Highly practiced skills become automatic so performance may actually be damaged by
introspection which is characteristic of an earlier consciously-mediated stage [Athletic skills] are hurt
not because of worrying but because of the attention and control that worry produces
(Beilock et al 2004)
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Explicit-monitoring theory Pressure can cause one to explicitly attend to or consciously control processes that would normally occur outside of consciousness (Baumeister 1984 Masters 1992 Wulf amp Prinz 2001 Beilock amp Carr 2001 2005 2007 Wallace et al 2006 Beilock amp DeCaro 2007 Ford et al 2009 Beilock 2011 and Papineau forthcoming) On this view choking can occur in public speaking when individuals try to bring into working memory information they should be able to say automatically
In the psychology literature explicit-monitoring theory is the prevalent explanation of choking under pressure in sports
Sian Beilock explains
Highly practiced skills become automatic so performance may actually be damaged by
introspection which is characteristic of an earlier consciously-mediated stage [Athletic skills] are hurt
not because of worrying but because of the attention and control that worry produces
(Beilock et al 2004)
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
In the psychology literature explicit-monitoring theory is the prevalent explanation of choking under pressure in sports
Sian Beilock explains
Highly practiced skills become automatic so performance may actually be damaged by
introspection which is characteristic of an earlier consciously-mediated stage [Athletic skills] are hurt
not because of worrying but because of the attention and control that worry produces
(Beilock et al 2004)
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Her advice ldquoDistract yourselfhellipdonrsquot give yourself too much time to think focus on the outcome not the mechanicshellip [and] just do itrdquo
Indeed ldquojust do itrdquo she says seems to be ldquothe key to high-level sports performancerdquo
But does thinking interfere with doing
That is does thinking about (or monitoring or conscious control over) your actions cause poor performance at the expert level
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Thirteen-time PGA winner Dave Hill claimed ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
But why not
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
The ldquojust-do-it principlerdquo (thinking interferes with expert performance) is purportedly supported by
I Varied-focus experiments II Verbal-overshadowing experiments
III Expertise without knowledge IV Statistical dataJust-do-it is countered by or in tension with V Distraction theory
VI Qualitative Studies VII Anecdotal Accounts
VIII Analysis of Steve Blassrsquos troubles IX Heideggerian account of public
speakingX Philosophical analysis of Dave Hillrsquos analogy
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
I Varied-Focus Experiment
bull Novices and experts perform a skill under three conditions
bull As they usually do
bull While performing a skill-related supplementary task
bull While performing a skill-unrelated supplementary task
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Beilock and Carr (2002) experiment
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Gabrielle Wulf (2007) summarizes the research in this area by saying that the ldquofindings clearly show that if experienced individuals direct their attention to the details of skill execution the result is almost certainly a decrement in performancerdquo (p 23)
So should expert athletes as Beilock claims just do it
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Let me present three reasons to question the just-do-it conclusion of these experiments
Objection 1 The experiments are ldquoecologically invalidrdquo
bull In the wild athletes do not report on past actions
bull In the wild athletes are highly motivated so skill-unrelated distractions harm
bull CUNY undergraduate Lorenzo Rufforsquos point Adderall usage
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Suttonrsquos (forthcoming) analogy to driving while continuously monitoring the rearview mirror illustrates the odd nature of the task
Increase the difficulty of the skill-unrelated supplementary task or decrease the difficulty of the skill-related supplementary task and the results may not be the same (I did this in a chess experiment)
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Sutton thinks that because the varied-focus experiments fail to capture real-life settings we need to discount their results
But I have a further question
Both groups perform ecologically invalid tasks yet ability is differentially affected Why is this if not for the reason as Beilock (2002) concludes ldquowell-learned performance may actually be compromised by attending to skill executionrdquo
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Objection 2 The skill-related supplementary task may be more distracting for those who are faster at performing the skill
The more-skilled soccer players have to look back further when the tone is sounded
Consciously focusing on onersquos feet might be compatible with optimal performance while reflecting back on past foot action may not be
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Objection 3 The ldquoexpertsrdquo are not experts
bull It is nearly impossible to get experts into the lab
bull What are experts
bull Studying expertise is the really hard problem
______________________________________________
Public Anouncemnt
WE WILL PAY YOU $400 FOR ONE HOUR OF YOUR TIME
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
II Verbal Overshadowing Experiments
Flegal and Andersonrsquos (2008) golf experiment compared
bull Performance after reviewing prior performance
bull Performance after completing a word-puzzle
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Flegal and Anderson 2008
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Flegal and Anderson conclude (2008)
Whereas verbalization assists in the early stages of acquiring a skill it may impede progress once an
intermediate skill level is attainedhellipThis as they see it suggests ldquoa new view of an old adage Those who teach cannot dordquo
But is this the correct conclusion to draw
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
The participants in the study were told to ldquorecord every detailrdquo they could remember ldquoregardless of how insignificant it may strikerdquo them
One idea Perhaps focusing on the irrelevant aspects of performance is detrimental
However the lesser skilled players were also asked to do this yet their performance improved
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Another idea Flegal and Andersonrsquos ldquomore highly skilledrdquo participants were college students of whom only 65 had ever taken a golf lesson
Relevance bull Such players may have found their skill plateau wherein action is both more proceduralized than a beginnerrsquos and less conceptualized than an expertrsquos
bull Many of the more highly skilled participants were never trained to conceptualize their actions
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
The detrimental effect of conceptualization on perceptual judgments is thought to play a role in Wilson and Schoolerrsquos (1991) jam-tasting experiment
bull The researchersrsquo conclusion ldquoAnalyzing reasons can focus peoples attention on nonoptimal criteriardquo
bull Malcolm Gladwell (2007) puts it more colorfully ldquoBy making people think about jam Wilson and Schooler turned them into jam idiotsrdquo
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Yet the expert jam tasters employed by Consumer Reports and who served as a standard for accuracy were presumably not negatively affected by verbalizing their preferences
It may very well be that expert golf players would not be hampered by recording what they had focused on during the putting task
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Schoolers more recent work suggests that with training people are able to conceptualize their perceptual judgments without this interfering with their performance Melcher amp Schoolerrsquos (1996) wine tasting experimentMelcher amp Schoolerrsquos (2004) mycology experiment
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
III Those who do canrsquot teach
Philosophers have focused on examples of experts who appear to have no understanding of how they perform their skills
Let us examine six examples of diverse ldquomagicalrdquo skills as they are presented by various philosophers
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
1 Kant comments that Homer cannot teach his method of composition because he does not himself know how he does it (Critique of Judgment sec 47)
2 Robert Brandom (1994) and John McDowell (2010) cite the chicken sexer who canrsquot teach anyone how he makes his judgments because he does not know himself
3 Stephen Schiffer (2002 p 201) supports one of his arguments against Jason Stanleyrsquos view that know-how is inextricably connected to propositional knowledge by citing eight-year-old Mozartrsquos apparent ability to compose a symphony without being able to explain how to do so
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
4 David Velleman (2008) in arguing that we achieve excellence only after we have moved beyond reflective agency cites the Zhuangzi in which the skill of wheelwrighting is described as proceeding without any understanding of how it is done
You canrsquot put it into words and yet therersquos a knack to it somehow I canrsquot teach it to my son and he canrsquot learn it from me
5 In Platorsquos dialog Ion Socrates says that the poet and the rhapsodersquos actions are a form of madness since they have no knowledge whereof they speak
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
6 In pointing out how scientific hypotheses may be hit upon suddenly and unsystematically Carl Hempel (1966) recounts the chemist Kekuleacutersquos story that in 1862 the idea for the ring structure for benzene came to him in a flash after dreaming of a snake biting its tail
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
What do I make of such views
Kekuleacute himself in his breakthrough paper claims that his theory was formed in 1858 four years prior to the dream
The proverbial chicken sexer who has no understanding of how he is making his judgments simply doesnrsquot exist
Nakayama et al (1993) makes this abundantly clear in an article explaining in painstaking detail just one of the intricate methods that chicken sexers learn
Aristotle had a theory of chicken sexing (On the Generation of Animals)
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Former poultry sexer Tom Savage Poultry sexing is based upon the acquired
ability to recognizedifferentiate anatomic structures within the chicks cloaca
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
There is little evidence that Mozart had no understanding of what he was doing or that he composed without thinking about it
Eight year old children are often capable of detailed explanations of their skills
Moreover the extent of his compositional genius at that age is also somewhat contested Handwriting analyses indicates that his father played a significant role in his compositions until Mozart was thirteen and not merely as an amanuensis (Keys 1980)
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
And as an adult Mozart didnrsquot compose without thinking
In a well-known letter he claims to see in his mind entire compositions finished ldquoat a glancerdquo and ldquoall at oncerdquo and that all the inventing ldquotakes place in a pleasing lively dreamrdquo
This letter is now dismissed as a forgery and his actual letters make no comments about sudden insights (Spaethling 2000)
His sister has documented that he would spend endless hours mentally composing his music (Stafford 1993)
Furthermore Tysonrsquos (1987) studies of the autograph scores reveal that some manuscripts contain numerous revisions
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
We lack similar archival data about Homerrsquos methodrsquos of composition and the ancient wheelwrightrsquos approach
And Homer famously does say in the opening lines of the Odyssey
ldquoSing in me Muse and through me tell the storyrdquo
Whether the authors of the Zhuangzi are basing their claims on what actual wheelwrights said is unknown
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Socrates however certainly doesnrsquot listen to Ion
After arguing that Ionrsquos abilities cannot be rational Ion responds ldquo[although your reasoning appears unassailable] I doubt whether you will ever have eloquence enough to persuade me that I praise Homer only when I am mad and possessedrdquo (Ion 536 d)
This line is sometimes cut when the dialog is anthologized (Bychkov and Sheppard 2010) but itrsquos important
Socrates not only doesnrsquot take Ionrsquos claims seriously he apparently had never even observed Ion in action
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
IV Statistical Analysis of ChokingIs there a statistically significant decrease in skill in situations in which athletes are thought to be relatively more skill-focused bull Archival data from baseball World Series between 1924 and 1982 illustrate home teams choke in decisive games (Baumeister et al 1984)bull An expanded data base that include games through 1993 eliminates the statistical significance of the home-team choke (Schlenker 1995Tauer et al 2009)bullAlso In football ldquoicing the kickerrdquo is ineffective (espngocomblogstatsinfopost_id34217icing-the-kicker-remains-ineffective-practice)
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
V Distraction Theory of Choking
The self-focus account of choking says that choking occurs because pressure induces experts to focus on their skills
Distraction theory says basically the opposite high pressure draws attention away from the task at hand and to irrelevant aspects of performance (Wine 1971)
Distraction theory is supported by the idea that anxiety impairs working memory and executive control (Ashcraft amp Kirk 2001 Eysenck et al 2005 Hayes et al 2008) both of which are important components of among other things planning and strategizing or in other words thinking while doing
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Also high anxiety induces various physiological changes that appear to hinder performance
The fight-or-flight response which anxiety produces shunts blood flow to the larger muscles leaving cold feet and hands and thus motor skills relying on the hands or feet may be harmed
It can cause loss of peripheral vision increased perspiration and tremors
These points may be obvious but they are often not mentioned in the literature on choking
The choke is thought to be something different in kind But is it
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
VI Qualitative Studies of Thinking while Doing
Qualitative studies oppose the just-do-it principle
Adam Nicholls and colleagues (2006) asked elite athletes to keep a diary of stressors that occurred and coping strategies they employed during games as well as to rate how effective these coping strategies were
The most common method of dealing with stress involved redoubling both effort and attention and such methods were perceived as more effective than other methods
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Collins and colleagues (2001) measured kinematic aspects of elite weightliftersrsquo performance during training and competition and questioned these athletes about their conscious use of any movement-change strategy in response to competitive pressure
Although the participants modified their movements as a result of competitive pressure and claimed to do so consciously such modifications did not diminish their overall performance
In a study by Hill et al (2010) interviews with elite athletes revealed that distractions (rather than self-focus) were seen as the main cause of choking (p227)
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Qualitative studies have limitations but as we saw so do the more controlled studies by Beilock and others
Toner and Moran (2011) conclude from their research reasonably enough that it is the type of thought that matters
Experiment 1 Monitor your golf put and report where on the putter face you struck the ball
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Experiment 2 Think out-loud while holing balls Toner and Moran conclude
Golfers may need to choose their swing thoughts very carefully because focusing on certain
elements of movement such as the impact spot could lead to an impairment in performance proficiencyrdquo (680)
I wonder if they even need to be careful about this
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
VII Individual Cases illustrating thinking in action
Tennis player and coach Timothy Gallwey
ldquoWhen I hit my backhands I am aware that my shoulder muscle rather than my forearm is pulling my arm throughhellipSimilarly on my forehand I am particularly aware of my triceps when my racket is below the ballrdquo
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Cellist Inbal Segev
My teacher who was a student of Casals would say ldquodonrsquot let the music lead you you need to direct itrdquo
Getting lost in the music is a mistake she said as it precludes thought
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Anecdotes in philosophy________________________________________________ Theory Intuition General claimsX Anecdotes_________________________________________________They illustrate a viewThey add interestThey reveal what inspires theory
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
VIII Steve Blass Disease Steve Sax Syndrome
Dreyfus (2007) supports the idea that attention to and conscious control over onersquos highly-skilled actions degrades performance in part by citing the fate of former Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch who ldquocouldnt resist stepping back and being mindfulrdquo (354) The view is found in the popular press as well ldquo [Just like Novotna] faltered at Wimbledonhellipbecause she began thinking about her shots again hellip[Knoblauch] under the stress of playing in front of forty thousand fans at Yankee Stadium [found] himself reverting to explicit moderdquo Gladwellrsquos (2000)
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
John McDowell (2007)
[Knoblauch lost his ability because] he started thinking about lsquothe mechanicsrsquo about how
throwing efficiently to first base is donehellipThis kind of loss of skill comes about when the agentrsquos means-end rationality tries so to speak to take over control of the details of her bodily movements and it cannot do as good a job at that as the skill itself used to do
But what reason is there to think that Knoblauch or any of the other major league players who have been struck with similar performance failures suffered because they were thinking about what they were doing
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
The former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass (2012) mentions numerous theories about what might have been causing his ldquocontrol problemrdquo
bull Faulty mechanicsbull Personal problemsbull Too tight underwear
Never once does he mention that it might have been due to thinking too much about what he was doing
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
What he was aware of
Before my control problem I had the ability to just concentrate on the immediate task at hand which
is a wonderful thing for an athlete I could block out family world hunger or anything that was going
on because of that focus That focus all went away and everything was occurring in my mind I was like an antenna
It sounds as if the problem is not thinking too much about his actions but not being able to think enough about them
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
IX Do similar considerations apply to public speaking
According to Dreyfus (2013) ldquoin total absorption sometimes called flow one is so fully absorbed in onersquos activity that one is not even marginally thinking about what one is doingrdquo He cites Merleau-Ponty
The orator does not think before speaking nor even while speaking his speech is his thought The end of the speech or text will be the lifting of a spell It is at this stage that thoughts on the speech or text will be able to arise
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Heidegger tells us that when a lecturer enters a familiar classroom the lecturer experiences neither the doorknob nor the seats such features of the room for the lecturer are ldquocompletely unobtrusive and unthoughtrdquo
All of such things would indeed seem to be beneficially unthought so as to leave plenty of mental space to think about the lecture
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Perhaps we should all be like the high diver on the board prior to her plunge before speaking review what we have to say so as to make sure that it is there in our conscious mind once there thinking about it will not interfere
I have noticed that excellent speakers do this And during his presidential debate perhaps Rick Perry would have benefited from this as well
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
X The question yoursquove been waiting forhellip
Earlier I quoted golfer Dave Hill ldquoGolf is like sex You canrsquot be thinking about the mechanics of the act while you are performingrdquo
Is golf like sex
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
Aristotle had something to say about this
Nicomachean Ethics book 7 chapter 11
οἷον τῇ τῶν ἀφροδισίων οὐδένα γὰρ ἂν δύνασθαι νοῆσαί τι ἐν αὐτῇ(1152b17ndash18)
As with the pleasure of sex no one could have any thoughts when enjoying that (trans C Rowe)
What is my view
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
