Chapter 3 Mind: The Gap Summary and Analysis

In chapter three, Eagleman further explores the gap between "what your brain knows and what your mind is capable of accessing." (p. 55) He asks the reader to try a simple experiment by making the motions of steering a car while changing lanes to the right. He explains that most people who try this exercise turn the wheel slightly to the right, then straighten it out again. This is not correct, he points out. Steering this way would actually send the car off the road. Instead, the correct way is to steer to the right, then straighten the wheel, then turn to the left.

The point of the exercise is to demonstrate that something we can do easily without thinking can be difficult to explain or recreate with the conscious mind. This is actually an advantage...