Is trying to catch something you drop (or about to) a real reflex?

[DynV]

I was groggy (so I'm assuming the following should have been slower than normal), and dropped something, but I actually move faster than usual. Is the faster movements using the reflex system, as in the real one related to pain, and not just the idiom related to learning from repetition? If not, was it my perception that my movements were faster, but they actually took as long as normal, or negligibly faster?

Thank you kindly

 

 

[Sensei]

You went into Matrix-mode and used your unknown yet Neo-like features..

 

[mistermack]

My assumption of the term reflex is an action that doesn't need a conscious impulse. The simple version is the knee reflex, when you strike the tendon below the knee, and it causes your leg to kick. A "short circuit" operates without any brain input, causing the kick.

Catching something you dropped is more of a grey area. You need the signals from your hand and eye to tell you that you've dropped it, and how and where to catch it, so it's quite a complicated action, compared to a simple reflex. 

I would say it's more a learned sequence of actions, embedded in your brain, that can be put into action without too much thought, but you still need your eyes and experience of falling objects to guide the catch.

So I think that some of the action is just the firing of "saved software" which is a bit reflex-like, and some of it is guided by the brain in real time.

[Sensei]

What happened to a sense of humor?

[John Cuthber]

It's a commonplace observation that "if you drop a knife, you should let the floor catch it".
If that's an option, it can't be a reflex- they are fast but unsophisticated.

[Ken Fabian]

4 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

It's a commonplace observation that "if you drop a knife, you should let the floor catch it".
If that's an option, it can't be a reflex- they are fast but unsophisticated.

Yes, I make a decision whether to attempt catching something I drop - and step back when I drop a sharp knife. On the other hand I use my feet, to break the fall of breakable objects; it doesn't always work but often enough it does.

[Peterkin]

It's not reflex, but it is instinctive.

When you slip or trip and are about to fall, you have very little time to decide what action to take: try to regain your balance, grab some solid support to stop the fall, or mitigate the damage by using arms or legs to absorb the shock or rolling to lessen the impact. In every situation, one of those actions is more likely to be effective than any of the others. The brain is able to make those very fast calculations through a few million of years of animal experience. 

It's similar with catching an object you drop. One response is appropriate for an egg, another is appropriate for a knife or a pudding or a baby. We're not aware of weighing possible dangers, the importance of saving the falling object and odds of success, but that's exactly what our brains are doing.

 

[mistermack]

19 hours ago, Sensei said:

What happened to a sense of humor?

 

5 hours ago, Ken Fabian said:

On the other hand I use my feet,

Humour is alive and kicking.  ☺️

[DynV]

9 hours ago, Peterkin said:

It's not reflex, but it is instinctive.

Ah yes, that concept slipped my mind.

9 hours ago, Peterkin said:

make those very fast calculations through a few million of years of animal experience.

I'm guessing when we were ape-like and the bark, branch or liana broke, those that couldn't do it didn't live to propagate the specie.

[Peterkin]

9 hours ago, DynV said:

I'm guessing when we were ape-like and the bark, branch or liana broke, those that couldn't do it didn't live to propagate the specie.

Yes, pretty much. Also more subtle uses of an ability to calculate what is likely to happen, where and and how fast. E.g. the most agile monkeys pick fruit in the highest branches branches and throw it down to family and friends below. The ones who can best figure the trajectory of an airborne object would catch the most fruit. If a predator is approaching at speed, its eta and point of impact are very handy to anticipate and vacate. If ones troop, while fleeing such a predator, should be near a cliff edge, it's useful to calculate the last viable moment to veer off, and in which direction. The need for such an instinct goes well back into the dinosaur era.