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| taking ukemi |
In aikido training, “taking ukemi” is the practice of falling
and getting thrown, and translates as “receiving body”. Good form requires
slapping the mat upon impact; it reduces the force of the initial impact. But
how is it that something you do after you hit the mat can affect how hard you
initially hit the mat? It seems a case of retroactive causality. Upon further
examination, it would become apparent that it is simply an act of spreading the
force over a longer duration of time, making it seem as if the overall impact has lessened, when in fact it has
just lessened per unit time.
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| slapping the mat upon impact |
The correct form passes the impact from the main body
through the shoulder, elbow, hand, in one fluid, continuous motion. In one
instance, the impact begins and ends with the body hitting the ground, whereas
in another, the impact begins with the body and ends with the handslap.
In shooting a basketball, the same phenomenon occurs –
having good follow-through affects the accuracy of the throw. Something done after the ball leaves your hand can
change the way the ball leaves you hand. In reality, we can know that the
well-prepared body can use a projected feedback loop where the anticipation of
the future follow-through is readjusting the shot itself to become more aligned
to the anticipated follow-through. You have to do it in order to pretend
like you’re going to do it.
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| follow through |
The final and most readily observed example is that of the
dropped-and-popped phone. All the parts shoot away from the point of contact,
taking with them some of the energy, thus lessening the impact on the more
sensitive parts of the device. Retroactive causality it is not. The misperception of time, however, is in
our blood.
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| when you drop your phone |
More Musicological
Synchronicity
OCTOBER 6, 2012
Retrocausality
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