PDFE Assignment 8

In the lab the was performed last class, many students had many different results when trying to complete the task. I know that some students already knew how to tie the knot, so they had no trouble with the lab. Other students did not initially understand how to tie the knot, but caught on very quickly. Finally, there were students that had no history of tying complicated knots and they did not catch on quickly at all.

My partner (Amanda) had no previous history with tying knots and it showed when she first tried to tie the knot. After she had gone through the process a few times she started to get the hang of it, but she did not fully understand how to tie the knot until she received help from the teacher. After she received help a few times she was able to tie the knot consistently with relative ease.

I struggled with many of the same difficulties my partner did. Like Amanda, I also had no previous knowledge with tying knots. I was not able to tie the knot just by looking at the instructions and working the rope out on my own. I was not able to complete the knot until I visually saw someone else tie the knot. After I saw someone else tie the knot, I was able to quickly fix what I was doing wrong, and ultimately tie the knot correctly. After I performed the task correctly for the first time, the rest came fairly naturally. It seemed like it only took me a few times until i could perform the task at an almost autonomous rate.

It really is impressive when the body hits the autonomous state. The stage reminds me of muscle memory. In sports, after you perform a task so many times with the same motion, it comes as second nature. You can perform the task with your eyes closed or in many other varied situations. Like muscle memory, the autonomous state gives an individual a comfort area that comes with an extreme amount of ease.