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Week 6 [18.11 - 24.11.2019] The Backwards Brain Bicycle


The Backwards Brain Bicycle

Recently, I came across a video called The Backwards Brain Bicycle created by Destin Sandlin. Video was about a rigid way of thinking and how it affects our way of learning new things. Destin is trying to learn how to ride a bicycle where steering wheel is not working how it supposed to in a normal bicycle. It shows how brain control algorithms are working and how hard is it to change them.



  1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
  2. Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
  3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?



Comments

Dawid Piotrak said…
Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
I neither tried nor even heard about anything similar to the experience described in the video.

Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
After seeing the video I'm really surprised - before watching it the question didn't really make much sense to me as I couldn't comprehend how someone could forget how to ride a bicycle.

Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Yes
1. Nothing serious. At one point I had to change the code opening the door of the house and I struggle to type it even now, because I learned the movement of a hand and I am so used to it that it feels awkwardly strange each time 😊 One of my friends once tried to use an ATM with different than usual keyboard layout and he forgot his pin number for good. Going back to normal keyboard didn’t help.

2. Well, I can imagine that. Actually no one thinks about the laws of physics while riding. It is pure habit. I wonder if it is possible to learn how to ride “the proper way” and dealing with physics consciously. I assume it’s not possible, at least not with the bicycle. On the motorcycle on the other hand, knowing about some behaviours of a heavy machine and forces that affect it is very helpful, but till the moment of emergency and panic when they are useless, and most people blindly follow their instincts.

3. Yes, that was very interesting. Valuable and entertaining at the same time. The best way of learning.
1. When I was in primary school we had a trip to a cognitive behaviour exhibition in PKiN in Warsaw and I had a chance to ride one of those bikes. I remember that we couldn't get far on this device, however, as children, we managed to do better than the Destin.

2. I'm sure that I would have troubles riding this bike right now. The experience I have now would not work in my favour. It's just the same with computer games. When I learn to play a game with my gamepad and then try to play with keyboard and mouse I suddenly forget how to do it.

3. Experiments like this are fascinating to me. I'd love to know more about it.
August Micota said…
Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
No i've never tried it but i would give it a shot if i've ever came across that kind of a possibility.

Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
I've never thought about it but I always known that the older You are the harder it is to learn new things.

Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Yes! It makes people believe that we can always improve.
1. No, I have never tried it, but I know that at the very beginning there would be great difficulties. After all, we learn to ride as a child.

2. Of course, I know that would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult. The children's brain is flexible and easily absorbs knowledge and manual skills. It is different in the case of the brain in adults, where this process is slower, so learning with a reverse wheel bike takes more time.

3. Yeah, from time to time it is worth watching something interesting, some interesting facts. However, I personally prefer to watch a normal movie or tv show. That's how I usually spend my free time.
s15385 said…
1. I've never tried anything similar to Destin's bicycle but I would like to give a try with his bike.

2. After 8 month riding a bike conversely I guessed it would be hard to ride normally after all. Oddly enough he quickly remembered how to ride a bike.

3. Yes, I like watching this type of videos. They are interesting and you can learn something from them.
1.Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
No I haven't.

2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
I couldn't image this!

3.Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Yes I enjoy it. Many of this articles are great to learn and hear about things I would never find myself
Damian Drozd said…
1.Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
Oh yes! Lately when I was in England I was struggling so much with driving on the left side of the road.

2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
As I mentioned in first question, the situation was similar for me, it's really difficult to fight your habits.

3.Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Yeah, it's fun to watch and still I can learn something new, so why not?
1. I have never done such an experience or have ever heard of such a thing before. If only I had the opportunity, I would like to try riding such a bike.

2. I was aware that learning a second time something after a long break can be quite difficult. However, this video made me realize that how complicated this process is.

3. Definitely yes. This film is very interesting and at the same time funny and informative. The human brain is such a fantastic organ, so undiscovered and fascinating which makes it so interesting and all the time we want to deepen knowledge about it.
Kacper Gąsior said…
1. No, I have never tried anything like that. I think changing behaviours which are subconscious may be really hard.

2. I think it would be really challenging. Learning new subconscious habits may be equally tough to changing them. Especially when you are an adult and your body isn't as able to learn new things as when you were a child.

3. Yes, it's both funny and gives you the understanding of your limitations.
Jakub Kisiała said…
1. I think learning to car reverse could by similar experience to this or event reversing with trailer but it's easy to learn.
2. In my opinion every adult person have problem with learging new physical skills. They are not at all athletic and not trying to improve they the senses and especially the sense of balance.
On the other hand adult have they point of view on how world is working and it's hard to change the foundations of thinking. Kid's don't have this problem becuse they already learing everything.
3. No, i think it's rather a unusful tricks.
s20108
1. Yes, I tried this ride The Backwards Brain Bicycle. A few years ago in my city, at the annual festival, I took part in a competition. For riding such a bike 10 meters you could win PLN 100. Of course nobody won.

2.I have never tried it. I think it would be damn hard. Cycling is one of the first things we learn. It seems so simple to us, but it is not. The operation of a bicycle is complicated. Did you know that you just lock the handlebars on your bike and nobody will even ride 5 meters?

3. Yes, I really enjoy watching this type of movie. They allow you to find out the curiosities and limitations of the brain.
Piotr Bednarek said…
1. Unfortunately, I've never tried something similar to the experience that Destin prezented in the video, but I'm sure that it's exciting and informative.

2. I can imagine that it could be hard to learn how to ride a bicycle as an adult. I had similar experience with ice skating, because I have tried to learn it for 3 years and I still have problem to do it. I think that motor coordination decrease with age, moreover, adults are too preventative and cowardly.

3. Yes, i do. I hold the view that such movies are intresting, transparent and give US opportunity to broaden our knowlenge in nice and quick way.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Thank you for your comment. Well at first I didn't know it would be so hard too. It's really interesting for me how it works that we work on some type of schema where we learn to do something one way and it's so hard to swap from one to another. It's similar to the situation where we for example swap the doors handle from one side to another and when it's dark we always go to the side that door handle was previously.
Bartosz Barnat said…
I had the same situation in my work. We swapped pin on door and at first I was always typing the wrong password for a few times.

Well I think it might be similar to learning how to ride a bike instantly when u really don't know laws of physics. I agree with you and sadly many people try to ride a bike not even knowing how the throttle works.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Wow, you are the first person that tried riding this type of bike inhere. When it comes to games I have the opposite problem. I play computer games and do it quite well using keyboard and mouse but when it comes to gamepad I can't do anything at first. I didn't even realize that it works similarly.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Well yea it's harder and harder to learn new things as we get older.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Well I usually spend time playing games or watching movies too but right now there was nothing that great in there to watch or play.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Thank you for your comment.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Oh yea it is impossible for me to even imagine how to swap to driving on the other side of the road.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Yea I would love to try it myself but I guess I would be really frustrated after a while. I hate being bad at something.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Thank you for comment.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Hah but I bet there was a lot of them that wanted to try ;). I agree with you, I think it would be really hard to learn how to ride such a bike. I enjoy watching this type of videos myself but only for a little while and I personally watch only like 2 channels showing this type of videos.
Bartosz Barnat said…
thank you for your comment.
Kuba Berliński said…


1. No, I've never tried anything like that, though I definitely wouldn't like to try the one shown in the video :) It is not just about turning, but also maintaining balance and those little moves are natural and impossible to do while reversed.

2. It would all be the matter of practise and create proper reflexes. It is all possible, though where it would be hard, I do not know.

3. Sure, it is done in a enjoyable way and there is never enough knowledge.
1. Once I had oportunity to ride this kind of bike. It was really weird experience.
2. Always elders are saying that something is too late for them, because they are too old for it and younger people catch up much faster. Just like in video, little kid made much better progress in much less time that an adult. I think as a kid everything is new and is much easier to find own right way to do something. I think if kid would ride this kind of bike from the beginning he won't be able to ride this correct bike we are riding every day.For adult changing something that you learned long time ago is almost impossible. In my opinion first of all you need to forget the correct way of doing it
3. I like watching them, but I don't think I learned something new from it. Very interesting and funny to watch
1) Actually as I think about this I never heard of anything similar to this experience. Or maybe when people from Europe were trying to write from right to left (the opposite then normal for them)

2) This part is not really so surprising for me. We don't even have to imagine any similar situation when we think how many new things we learn every day. Some of them are easier for us and some are extremely difficult.The one thing in this experience shows more or less the way our brain works at some point automatically. If we learn to do something from the beginning in particular way we will involuntarily repeat things we already know. One more trap in this bicycle is that it denies the natural work of the brain hemisphere.

3) Yeah it's really cool! I like it a lot.
Maciej Szczypek said…
1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
I did try something similar. I once tried wearing specialy designed glasses, which change your percepition so that the view is inverted. It worked because of the mirrors built in the glasses. It was almost impossible to walk on the straight line drawn on the floor.

2. Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
I heard that it is generally harder for adults to learn such things than it is for children. I am not suprised, because throughout these years adults brain can be very accustomed to what it already knows and harder to get new skills like the one above.

3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
I do and I generally like gaining this kind of fun knowledge.
1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?

I have never tried anything like that but I have also heard of an experiment in which glasses were worn all the time turning the image upside down and making a mirror image. After some time, the brain was able to partially adapt to the new reality.

2. Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?

Unused skills disappear after some time, but I didn't know that it is so hard to learn them again.

3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?

I really like this type of movie. About the experiment I mentioned in the first point I also learned from a similar film (https://youtu.be/9awyc66T-B0).
Pawel Bluszcz said…
1. Yes, I once wanted to learn snowboarding but with the other leg in front of the board. After 10 years of riding with the right leg in front, switching to the left was practically impossible.
2. No, I haven't heard of it. It seemed to be always as equals.
3. Yes, such movies have always seemed more interesting to me than, reading blogs or books.
1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?

I am not sure if it counts a s something similar to that but I have tried few times to change gears with my left hand while driving. It was not that easy but actually it is possible. After some time it gets pretty easy and I think this might be a pretty useful skill when something is wrong with your right hand and you need to get somewhere anyway.

2. Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?

I had no idea, but on the other hand it didn't surprise me that much. There is this saying "You never forget such thing. It is like riding a bike.". This pretty much sums it up. To learn to ride a bike backwards you need to forget how to do it properly so forget something that you actually never forget. Later try to learn it once again. This is just messing with your own head.

3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?

I am not sure if I learn anything from those videos, but they are definitely interesting. It is fascinating to see how does a human brain work and how fluently can it adapt to a situation in which it is placed. There a lots of channels around the internet which create such videos in which human mind is a subject of test to see how it would react in different environments and in a whole variety of situations. Mind's reactions can be shocking. I really enjoy watching such videos.

s18716 said…
Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
The first time I saw such a bike about 6 years ago in my hometown. It was a bit of an attraction in the park. It was proposed to ride such a bike about 10-15 meters and get a certain amount of money for it. People believed that it was almost impossible to do, and few tried to do it at all. But the guy who suggested doing it skillfully drove him. Apparently he had already learned while he was making money there.

Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
I think no. This is a matter of practice. If you build a similar bike and train every day, then this can be done to a person, regardless of age. Of course, with age, the ability to acquire various skills is lost, but I do not think that such a challenge is one of them. The main thing is to be able to ride a regular bicycle, and adjusting to another wheel is not a problem.

Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
I would not say that I am ready to spend all my free time on such videos, they are certainly interesting, and help to draw certain conclusions on how our brain works and what it is capable of as a whole. Therefore, from time to time it would be nice to watch them. Or maybe even try something out of what can be offered next time.
Kristina Moroz said…
1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
No, I've never tried something like this but it seems interesting. If I will ever have possibility to try I would definitely do that.

2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
Well, yes, it is believed that it’s much harder for adults to learn something new due to a decrease in brain plasticity.

3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Why not, I got some new information. But I'm not sure that I could watch them all day long.
1.Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it
No, I've never tried it. I guess at the very beginning it would be difficult to learn how to ride.

2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
I think it's very hard to learn how to ride a bike as an adult. I think I can compare it to driving a car, motorbike or swimming. It's harder, but not impossible.

3.Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Yes, I like watching such movies. However, I definitely prefer to watch comedies at the cinema or reporters. They are more interesting to me.
Mateusz Szych said…
1. Yes, I did. I had the opportunity to ride such a bike. It was really fun.

2. It is often said that adults learn less well.

3. No, I don't. Such movies are boring to me.
1.Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
No. I only ate bicycles in the forts when I was in junior high school. Besides, I've never tried other things. Although I have always liked cycling.
2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
Everything is a matter of time and our attitude. If we are healthy and have perseverance, we can do it, regardless of duration.
3.Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Not completely. Today, definitely my favorite movie was the one about reincarnation.
1. Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
No, I never try anything like this bicycle experience showed by Destin. I like my teeth and i can't ride a bike.
2. Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
No, I didn’t know that
3. Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
No, I think that this is pointless
s15052 said…
1. No, I have never tried and even heard about it
2. Yeah it might be harder, but if you take enough time to learn and train It should be ok
3. Not at all. It depends about topic. I really enjoy some diy type tutorials or something like that.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Yes, unfortunately when we loose balance we instantly stop focusing on reverse riding and swap to the normal one and we end up just struggling with a handlebar (when it comes to bicycle).
Bartosz Barnat said…
Well in the video it didn't said it's not for older people but its just harder for them to learn or swap to another pattern.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Thank you for your comment.
Bartosz Barnat said…
Oh, I think this type of glasses would make me throw up. Playing with sight is making me feel really dizzy and unwell.
Yubin said…
1.Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
I guess yes, like there were many cards on the desk, each card was written a color on it, and its background was filled with a random color differed with the letter written on it, e.g. one card was was filled with Red color, but the letter was "White". and when you choose a random card, you have to speak its background color immediately, and without training, most people were distracted by the letter on the card.

2.Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
In my opinion, I think no, because some of my friends really learned it after being adult, but maybe they had to spend more time on it.

3.Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Not really, I expected I would learn something more from this video before watching(e.g. some guy invented a bicycle that saves our power when riding on slope), anyway it is interesting.
Iryna Lehusha said…
I've never heard of such an experiment. But in this video, all information is structured and interesting. I love to watch such informative materials. It seems to me that the ability to learn quickly loses with age, but if you always practice and develop yourself, it is not difficult. I really like this kind of entertainment channels and videos, which at the same time are very funny.
Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
Honestly never tried before so no experience view I can share with.
Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
Yeah I read some article about that and that in turn might be truth because some learning abilities are available only when you are young
Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
Not really, no reason sorry
I was actually kind of surprised to hear that this bike is a thing! I almost forgot about it :D
I'm glad you agree with the controller vs the keyboard comparison :) To further the discussion, one of our lecturer in PJA is experimenting in a similar field. Mr Kalinowski is a 3D and VR teacher that conduct some experiments on early Alzheimer recognition using VR technology. He is recreating the surrounding environment, changing just a little detail and watch if the people have troubles with it. It is supposed to be one of the primal disease recognition methods even before any symptoms occur. It collaborates with the topic a little bit, I hope you will find it interesting ;]
Did you try anything similar to this bicycle experience showed by Destin? What was it?
For me it looks similar as skiing: when you push to the right it turns to the left and vise versa. In the beginning it was very complicated, but then when the understanding merged with the muscle memory, everything was OK.
Did you know it would be so hard to learn how to ride a bicycle all over again as an adult?
It depend on the level of coordination of current person. I think, I would spend about an hour.
Do you like watching this type of videos and learning from them?
No, I never spend time on such kind of videos, it is not interesting for me :)

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