Action/reaction

Inspired by Hollywood cowboy films, researchers have delved into the science of gun fights.

Scientists discovered that people move faster when reacting to something than when they perform "planned actions".

This is not at all surprising. When reacting, it is easy to focus entirely on reacting, and an external "go" signal provides a clean, sharply defined trigger. By comparison, initiating an action on ones own is mushy: having to decide for oneself when to move means waiting for an internal decision that is usually more of a process than a clear-cut yes/no.

Those who reacted to their opponent were on average 21 milliseconds faster than those who initiated the movement.

Although some feeds misstate the fact, action still beats reaction:

Dr Welchman explained that it took around 200 milliseconds to respond to what an opponent was doing, so, in a gunfight, the 21 millisecond reactionary advantage would be unlikely to save you.

"The person who draws second is going to die. They'll die happy that they are the faster person to move but it's not much consolation in this context," said Dr Welchman.

A problem with the study as pertains to combat, however, is the use of untrained subjects. Boxers, fencers, martial artists, all train (or should train) to be able to initiate attacking movements swiftly and crisply. It's not an easy skill to develop: as noted above, the natural tendency is to mushiness -- telegraphing one's intentions by an initial tensioning or "creep" before the main motion is launched, that initial tension not only delaying but also slowing the main motion. When you get it, though, initiation of motion becomes almost unconscious -- and at that point, I bet that 21 milliseconds will be gone. Full BBC article here.

Posted by David on February 3, 2010 10:01 AM