Centipede's dilemma
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"The Centipede's Dilemma" is a short poem that has lent its name to a psychological effect called the centipede effect or centipede syndrome. The centipede effect occurs when a normally automatic or unconscious activity is disrupted by consciousness of it or reflection on it. For example, a golfer thinking too closely about their swing or someone thinking too much about how they knot their tie may find their performance of the task impaired. The effect is also known as hyperreflection or Humphrey's law after English psychologist George Humphrey (1889–1966), who propounded it in 1923. As he wrote of the poem, "This is a most psychological rhyme. It contains a profound truth which is illustrated daily in the lives of all of us". The effect is the reverse of a ''
solvitur ambulando ''Solvitur ambulando'' is a Latin phrase which means "it is solved by walking" and is used to refer to a problem which is solved by a practical experiment. It is often attributed to Saint Augustine. Citations The argument is retold by Pushkin i ...
''.


Poem

The short poem is usually attributed to Katherine Craster (1841–1874) in ''Pinafore Poems'', 1871. By 1881, it had begun appearing in journals such as ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'' and '' Littell's Living Age''. On May 23, 1889, the poem appeared in an article by British zoologist
Ray Lankester Sir Edwin Ray Lankester (15 May 1847 – 13 August 1929) was a British zoologist.New International Encyclopaedia. An invertebrate zoologist and evolutionary biologist, he held chairs at University College London and Oxford University. He was th ...
, published in the scientific journal ''
Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'', which discussed the work of photographer
Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...
in capturing the motion of animals: "For my own part," wrote Lankester, "I should greatly like to apply Mr. Muybridge's cameras, or a similar set of batteries, to the investigation of a phenomenon more puzzling even than that of 'the galloping horse'. I allude to the problem of 'the running centipede. Lankester finished the article on a fanciful note by imagining the "disastrous results in the way of perplexity" that could result from such an investigation, quoting the poem and mentioning that the author was unknown to him or to the friend who sent it to him. It has since been variously attributed to specific authors, but without convincing evidence, and often appears under the title "The Centipede's Dilemma". The version in the article is: :A centipede was happy – quite! :Until a toad in fun :Said, "Pray, which leg moves after which?" :This raised her doubts to such a pitch, :She fell exhausted in the ditch :Not knowing how to run.


In psychology and philosophy

English psychologist George Humphrey (1889–1966) referred to the tale in his 1923 book ''The Story of Man's Mind'': "No man skilled at a trade needs to put his constant attention on the routine work", he wrote. "If he does, the job is apt to be spoiled". He went on to recount the centipede's story, commenting, "This is a most psychological rhyme. It contains a profound truth which is illustrated daily in the lives of all of us, for exactly the same thing happens if we pay conscious attention to any well-formed habit, such as walking". Thus, his eponymous "Humphrey's law" states that once a task has become automatized, conscious thought about the task, while performing it, impairs performance. Whereas habit diminishes and then eliminates the attention required for routine tasks, this automaticity is disrupted by attention to a normally unconscious competence. In 1994, philosopher
Karl Popper Sir Karl Raimund Popper (28 July 1902 – 17 September 1994) was an Austrian-British philosopher, academic and social commentator. One of the 20th century's most influential philosophers of science, Popper is known for his rejection of the ...
referred to the centipede effect in his book ''Knowledge and the Body-Mind Problem: In Defence of Interaction'': "if we have learnt certain movements so that they have sunk below the level of conscious control, then if we try to follow them consciously, we very often interfere with them so badly that we stop them". He gives the example of violinist
Adolf Busch Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German–Swiss violinist, conductor, and composer. Life and career Busch was born in Siegen in Westphalia. He studied at the Cologne Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Elde ...
, who was asked by fellow violinist
Bronisław Huberman Bronisław Huberman (19 December 1882 – 16 June 1947) was a Polish violinist. He was known for his individualistic interpretations and was praised for his tone color, expressiveness, and flexibility. The '' Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivarius'' ...
how he played a certain passage of
Beethoven's violin concerto The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1806. Its first performance by Franz Clement was unsuccessful and for some decades the work languished in obscurity, until revived in 1844 by the then 12-year-old vi ...
. Busch told Huberman that it was quite simple, and then found that he could no longer play the passage. In 1996, psychiatric psychoanalyst Theo L. Dorpat compares questions and interventions irrelevant to the patient's current thought process during
psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
in his book ''Gaslighting'' to "the story of the centipede who became disorganized and unable to walk after he was asked, 'What's wrong with your 34th left foot?'."


Cultural references

In 1903, ''
Simplicissimus :''Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel Simplicius Simplicissimus and its protagonist.'' ''Simplicissimus'' () was a satirical German weekly magazine, headquartered in Munich, and founded by Albert Langen in April 1896. It continued ...
'' magazine printed an adaptation of the story "The Curse of The Toad" (''Der Fluch der Kröte'') by the Austrian author
Gustav Meyrink Gustav Meyrink (19 January 1868 – 4 December 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel '' The Golem''. He has been described as the "most respected Germa ...
. The fable was also published in Meyrink's 1903 collection of tales, '' The Hot Soldier and Other Stories''.
Spider Robinson Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-a ...
's short story "The Centipede's Dilemma", one in his story-sequence book "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon", concerns a psychic who uses instinctive telekinetic powers to cheat at darts, and is foiled when another character triggers hyperreflection in him.


See also

*
Analysis paralysis Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become "paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of acti ...
*
Yips In sports, the yips (in gymnastics, lost move syndrome or the twisties) are a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced athletes. Symptoms of the yips are losing fine motor skills and psychological issues that ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centipede's Dilemma Adages Centipedes Cognition Dilemmas Fables 1871 poems Fictional insects