A good demonstration of how we learn and unlearn tasks like riding a bicycle.
Enjoy!
Destin of Smarter Every Day fame has a challenge for your brain: a bicycle where the handlebars turn the front wheel in the opposite direction of a typical bike. For example, turning the handlebars left turns the wheel right and vice versa. He warns you it’s harder than it looks.
The hack that pulls this off is a simple one compared to bike hacks we’ve previously covered. Gears on the head tube make this possible. It was built by his welder friends who challenged him to ride it. He couldn’t at first; determined to overwrite his brain’s memory of bike riding, he practiced until he finally succeeded. It took him eight months. When it was time to ride an old-fashioned bike, it only took him about twenty minutes to “un-learn” the Backwards Brain Bike. Destin’s biking illustrates neuroplasticity, memory, and learning in a fun way (fun for us; no doubt frustrating for him).
As a testament to the sponge-like brains of youth, Destin’s son learned to ride the Backwards Brain Bike in only two weeks.
