Why our brains barely need us

If you don't think the act of stacking and shuffling a set of cups could boggle your mind, watch the video below. In it, neuroscientist David Eagleman introduces 10-year-old Austin Naber - a world record-holding, champion cup stacker. Naber moves the cups around at a blistering pace and when Eagleman has a go at keeping up with him, the difference in skill and speed becomes immediately apparent.

"He smoked me," Eagleman admits. "But the bigger point is that when I'm doing it, it's my first time cup stacking. It's all conscious for me, I'm burning a lot of energy trying to figure out the rules; how the cups balance."

Both Eagleman and Naber had their brain activity monitored via an electroencephalogram (EEG). The difference was stark. Eagleman's brain was firing on all cylinders, but Naber's barely flinched - despite the pace at which he was moving.

"His brain was much more serene than mine because he had automised his behaviour," explains Eagleman. Hours a day of practice had internalised the behaviour of cup stacking for Naber, making it far less mentally taxing. What other things can our brains get up to without conscious intervention?

It's a question that Eagleman explored in a PBS television series that aired recently on BBC4 in the UK. The non-conscious mind, he says, plays a much deeper role in our everyday decisions and relationships than we might realise.

You're already aware of the fact that breathing and organ functions are things we do "automatically", but there are lots of other examples.

Read the full article here.