The science and mechanics of six Olympic events, explained. Skater Minna Stess: “If you think about a trick, sometimes it makes it harder. When I’m skating, the best thing is not to think at all.”
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Discussion 1 comment
I think anyone who's done a performance or anything that required a lot of practice has had the experience of doing the thing almost automatically, and then "waking up" in the middle of it and everything falling apart. When you get good at something it becomes subconscious (system one), and the minute you start to focus on it consciously (system two) you lose all your skill. Baseball players call it the yips, and Simone Biles had the "twirlies," right?
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