OK, so it’s that time on Friday when I’ve stopped working, starting something new now would be pointless, i’d just have to leave it halfway through. Also, I’m distracted because Shadow of the Colossus is hopefully waiting for me at home. Apparently it’s essentially a series of boss battles* with long sections in between where the player rides a horse around a hauntingly beautiful mist covered land wondering if killing these creatures is morally justifiable before either a) carrying on the slaughter b) putting the game on the shelf and never playing it again. Anyway I mention this because there’s some recent research out which says…

During conscious deliberation, people only consider a subset of the relevant information and might inappropriately weight it […] In contrast, the human unconscious can integrate wider swaths of information, which may lead to more satisfying results when decisions are complicated.

Which would perfectly explain why, as noted here, the tactic of taking a break for half an hour and then coming back so consistently works when it comes to triumphing in boss battles (and tough sections of video games in general). When you return your brain has been spending time on the problem without you knowing about it. Hopefully as I’ve been resolutely not thinking about it for a while, my brain is soon going to come up with a way to make enough money that I can have a nice holiday this summer and get a DDR arcade machine installed, and also a way that the latter can happen without Emma noticing.

Also it ties in with another thing I saw the other day which is about how brains replay stuff you’ve just done, reinforcing learning.

As the rats ran along the track, the nerve cells fired in a very specific sequence. This is not surprising, because certain cells in this region are known to be triggered when an animal passes through a particular spot in a space.

But the researchers were taken aback by what they saw when the rats were resting. Then, the same brain cells replayed the sequence of electrical firing over and over, but in reverse and speeded up.

So I suppose this all sort of gives lie to my theory that there’s no point starting anything new because I’d have to take a (2 day long) break. Actually I’m just starting my break early so I have even more time for some super subconcious problem solving and high efficiency learning.