Progressed smoothly in a game while not paying attention?

Question

I was playing Flappy Bird trying to beat my highest score. While on one run (or fly, hehe) my friend got me engaged in a conversation. When the short conversation ended I found myself thinking about something for probably 10-15 seconds, where in this time my eyes were looking at the game on my iPad, and yet my actual attention was not on the game. I was deep in thought on the topic my friend had brought up. The moment I got back to reality, I tried to re-engage myself with the game, but within a few seconds I crashed the poor bird. I had broken my record, however. It was as if another side of me took over while i was busy thinking of something else on the side. I voluntarily tried to reproduce this situation but I failed at the multitasking (as I know some will call it). This has happened while doing other things too. How is this explained, and why can it not be reproduced voluntarily.

Answer 1

An interesting phenomenon. It would seem that you became so accustomed to Flappy Bird that the movements became unconscious, or second nature. But as soon as you became conscious, you lost quickly.

This may be related to the centipede's dilemma (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Centipede%27s_Dilemma), named after a short poem wherein a centipede is asked how she walks, and is suddenly unable to do that which came so naturally to her.

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.

This happens a lot in our lives, where after learning how to do something, we do it so much that it becomes second nature, or muscle memory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory)- which is really cerebellar memory, as the cerebellum is responsible for enabling you to do repetitive tasks without thinking about it. For example, when you walk, which foot do you move first? How do you move when you walk? You likely never thought about it. Or riding a bike- if you start thinking about keeping it upright, you will likely lose your balance, which is why training to ride a bike is as much about learning to unconsciously keep upright as anything else. Or try tying your shoes while explaining every step to an onlooker.

While more difficult in video games, if you play a certain game enough, especially a platformer, you can become so proficient in it that the controls become second nature. Take it from someone who plays a lot of platformers and has dabbled in Flappy Bird.