We had our weekly dancing lesson this morning. Our instructor, Joanna, is working on my ballroom frame (at our request I should add). Chest out! Shoulder blades together! Shoulders down! Elbows up! Knees bent! Look left! Believe it or not you’re supposed to remember the steps too. With driving lessons there are four phases I believe. Unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence. I’m not sure if I’ve got that right, but you get the idea. When you’re driving competently without thinking about it, you can drive. You’re on your internal autopilot.
Driving on autopilot has its risks. If you’re driving and thinking about the meeting ahead, you might get distracted from the child running into the road. One of my father’s war stories was about a marksman in his regiment. He had been champion at Bisley several years in succession before the war. One day he was picking off german soldiers from a hillside. He was on autopilot, and when he’d run out of ammunition, he stood up to pack his things. His autopilot thought he was at Bisley. He was killed by a german machine gun burst from below. I’ve already written some of my fathers other war stories, the Beretta, Vic Turner VC, and John Freeman.
I used to fly light aircraft. I got my PPL and IMC rating. I learnt to fly in Florida, and there are some stories I can relate one day about that. I never used an autopilot, but controlling the plane does require a level of unconscious competence, so that you can keep a good lookout, navigate and communicate too. Thankfully I can’t think of any hazards that might bite me if I ever reach any kind of competence dancing. So I long for the day when I can dance on autopilot. I guess I’ll just have to keep practicing. It feels like it’s taking forever.