They might think faster because the brain is smaller - a shorter distance for connections.

For example, learning to play a piano is training the spine, not the brain. Because the feedback loop with the spine is shorter.

It's the same with dancing. One is trained to not look at one's feet, because the feedback loop is too slow.

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singingfish 16 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

I believe that there are fundamental architectural differences. It's possibly related to birds doing continuous breathing rather than tidal breathing like mammals, so the limit of oxygen availability is higher.

The flying lifestyle creates size constraints, and nerve conduciton distances will be shorter and that will make some sort of difference.

But dusting off some very rusty student memories, we're not really working in real time - some latencies bottom out a 5ms, but 30-100ms is more common - if I am recalling correctly.

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alexgoodhart 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Looking at one's feet is also inefficient since you don't dance with your feet.

And playing a musical instrument like piano depends heavily on interactive processes throughout the brain and PNS

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TeMPOraL an hour ago | parent [-]

> Looking at one's feet is also inefficient since you don't dance with your feet.

What do you dance with, then, and why there are step diagrams (with lines and little shoe prints) for classical dances?

	▲	alexgoodhart an hour ago \| parent [-]
		You dance with your entire body. You do shift weight to parts of your foot and use toes to various extents , but the ankles, knees, thighs and waist are all more important than the feet if we're simply focusing on lower body motion. Re: the gotcha question, because these are simplified diagrams for teaching beginners or communicating genre-informed choreographies in shorthand. Even then, nobody achieve's any dancing simply by moving their feet as the diagram depicts (and they couldn't possible do so without the rest of their body). Part of the reason for their success is that people are already familiar with dances and combine the diagram's directions with the understanding that they must achieve it with a full body vocabulary.

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teiferer 18 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

> For example, learning to play a piano is training the spine, not the brain. Because the feedback loop with the spine is shorter.

It may train the spine too but good luck trying to play the piano without a brain. More concretely, your eyes read the notes you like to play, your ears provide the feedback loop whether you are playing the right thing (and dynamics and interplay with other musicians in an ensemble), and you need things like planning ahead, sense of form, etc. Twiching fingers from some spine impulse is just part of playing the piano. (Besides, the latency between brain and finger muscels is insubstantial w.r.t. the time scales you need for general music playing, beyond certain nuances.)