Back Brain

So, while reading Shadows of the Mind I've discovered the reason that Shimuras gigs have been falling into black holes of no memory lately.

There are two parts of the brain responsible for memory - the Cerebrum, which is the big bit on top, and the Cerebellum, which is the smaller, wrinkly bit at the back. The Cerebrum, apparently is responsible for counscious thought, decision making, that kind of thing, while the Cerebellum is responsible for subconscious body functions and actions which have been repeated so many times and become so familiar that they click over into a kind of "muscle memory" (actually a misnomer).*

Apparently this is why you "never forget how to ride a bicycle" (though honestly, I'm walking... or rather, rolling and crashing proof that this isn't true).

So what's happened is that I've come to learn Shimuras songs so well that the performance has flicked over into the backbrain, and happens sort of automatially, without my really being aware of it. Programmed "instinct" takes over, and god knows where my conscious brain goes during all of this. So no wonder I have no conscious memory of gigs.

*Yes, I know that this is a vast simplification, but honestly, I'm just a mathematician/rocket scientist, not a brain surgeon!