The human mind is always an impressive topic to read about. How the mind can adapt to almost any situation is truly remarkable.
Ever drive somewhere and forget the past few minutes of driving? Cook something and forget the past few minutes? Read something and forget what you just read?
I drive quite a bit, usually about 25-30k miles per year. I have had this happen to me several times on long trips and it scares the crap out of me every time. Here I am piloting this 4 thousand pound machine at 70 Mph down the road and don't even remember the last 5 miles. In a way I think we rely on the unconscious mind a little too much at times. Todays electronic and sensory overload leads to even more distraction.
This Auto-Pilot usually effects me most when looking at the time, then instantly forgetting what time it is. Like my conscious mind just passed it off to my sub-conscious and left me out of the loop entirely.
I also drive a lot although not that much. I too sense myself going through this auto pilot and it’s remarkable. I got nearly half way through the drive and realized I didn’t remember a thing about the last 15 miles. Was scary but at the same time remarkable because my subconscious guided me, stopped and accelerated without me having to think about it.
@cmplxty
It's just habituation. You can "sense your autopilot" at anytime by purposefully and intentionally bringing your attention to whatever it is you're doing automatically.
Have you ever been listening to music while doing something else and eventually the music becomes background noise you forget is even there? That's habituation. Have you also suddenly been aware of it again if a new song comes on the radio or the announcer comes on or it changes in some way? In that case, it's your subconscious automatically bringing your consciousness back to it to alert you to the change. (As it's been monitoring the music even as you haven't been aware of it.) However, it's still possible to intentionally bring your attention back to something that's been habituated.
Do you even walk or type? :) Think about it.
I've been making a 45min commute for 25 years and have also experienced on occasion coming to my exit and not remember the drive. It's pretty scary, if you, me and others experience this, how many more driving are also experiences it. It would be interesting to be able to know how much this contributes to accidents while driving.
I'm sure it contributes to some accidents but probably not in the way I'm assuming that you think. Autopilot is normal and you tend to only remember what you pay attention to. You wouldn't believe the things you do during a normal day that you don't remember / don't know you even did.
@chris.geese
Hi, I'm Shawn. Nice to meet you.
Spoiler: It's a fun thing to screw with, y'know, if you ever get tired of reading.
Err.... this is so vague as to be meaningless. #justsayin'
At what point would this reliance become "too much"?
How so?
How are you affected?
Delegating driving, a complex task on its own, to your subconscious is apparently a very common thing. That’s frightening. Going down the road wondering if the other drivers are focused or worrying about their next social media post is what I’m concerned with now. That to me, is too much. Because now I’m distracted wondering if the car getting ready to turn across my intended path is focused.
As I just mentioned, with even a complicated task like driving a vehicle it’s amazing how many times I’m distracted. Be it thinking about something I need to do when I stop, send a text, write an email, take a note, Etc... not to mention the passengers in the car playing games, engaging on social media talking about snapchats, text messages. There’s just a lot of external distractions that feed into this autopilot mechanism.
As stated the autopilot I notice the most is when looking at the time. How many times have you looked at a clock only to have to look again right after. Is this a force of habit? Should I know what time it is, is my subconscious aware of something I may have forgotten. What caused me to look at the time just to instantly forget what time it is?
LOL, yup. Time passes by quickly when we're not focusing on the awareness of time and just into something. If we focus on the progression of time, then its in our awareness and its slow to be aware of time passing.