I've sometimes thought of myself as uncoordinated: you know, two left feet, that sort of thing. Yet I remember driving down an icy road a few years ago when a car pulled out right in front of me. Somehow I managed simultaneously steer the car out a skid to avoid the other car, reach over to keep my wife in place on the passenger side, and throw the other car the finger. All of this in an instant, without thinking about being coordinated, uncoordinated or anything else.

What happened to make this possible? New Scientist Breaking News - Watching the brain 'switch off' self-awareness suggests one explanation based on a small research project in Israel. Looks like your nervous system can react quite quickly, without self-awareness, thank you very much.

The team conducted a series of experiments to pinpoint the brain activity associated with introspection and that linked to sensory function. They found that the brain assumes a robotic functionality when it has to concentrate all its efforts on a difficult, timed task — only becoming "human" again when it has the luxury of time.

Ah, yes, there is the "luxury of time" again. And yet, when time's very short, the thinking part of the brain takes a siesta.

“The regions of the brain involved in introspection and sensory perception are completely segregated, although well connected,” says (study author Ilan) Goldberg, “and when the brain needs to divert all its resources to carry out a difficult task, the self-related cortex is inhibited.”

The brain’s ability to “switch off” the self may have evolved as a protective mechanism, he suggests. “If there is a sudden danger, such as the appearance of a snake, it is not helpful to stand around wondering how one feels about the situation,” Goldberg points out.

Doesn't seem like driving without thinking is a good idea, but sometimes it gets you by.