Isn’t it funny how body, memory and the mind work?

Last night I reorganised the library at home – this involved shifting a couple of hundred pounds of books and paperwork, trashing old carpet tiles, relocating a set of cheap shelves, bodily shifting a large-ish filing cabinet from one side of the room to the other, and moving a 75lb telescope in-and-out of the way to permit me to do this.

Oh, and hoovering, lots and lots of hoovering.

So: I *know* that I did this, I am actively proud that I did this, and I am now in a much better position to sort the paperwork that litters the floor of the living room. There is a greater feeling of space in the room, and I’ve begun plans for its complete redecoration.

This morning I got up, made some scones to take into work – with strawberry jam and clotted cream, they’re just cooling on the rack now – and having washed-up the bowls, etc, I took off my spectacles and washed them too.

As I was drying them, I shortsightedly walked into the library and – like every other day for the past few years – my hand swung-up to where the radio used to be, before last night in order to switch it off.

It’s now about 18″ lower, and slightly to the left; my left hand fitted my glasses halfway through this maneuver, my vision snapped-in and my right hand suddenly compensated, swung down and hit the “off” switch.

I caught myself just about to rationalise this away and forget about it, but then it struck that this was rather interesting – the speed with which vision can dominate behaviour; and how learned behaviour (reaction, body memory, whatever) can and does dominate when vision is not available, even in the face of considerable and recent effort towards changing the environment.

So I wonder how long it’ll be before I unlearn the old radio position and learn the new?

Perhaps it’s just because I haven’t had coffee yet? 😎

I shall have to watch myself.