7 Really Complicated Things You Do Without Thinking

3. Rock, Paper, Scissors

As officially the best way to decide who is going to go answer the door to the pizza guy, rock-paper-scissors is probably something you do on a fairly regular basis. You might imagine that winning or losing this simple game is largely down to chance but, actually, the game has become a favourite amongst psychologists, statisticians and computer programmers alike. Psychologist love it because, despite the seemingly chance nature of the game, there's something much more complicated going on. Our brains are fine-tuned to pick up on the subconscious movements of our opponents and, equally subconsciously, process them to try and guess what they are about to do. In a "best of three" scenario, your brain is also attempting to weigh up probabilities in order to figure out their next move. Computer programmers have also taken a long hard look at the game, producing a number of complex algorithms similar to those that are going through your head as you play. Researchers in Tokyo have even managed to develop a robotic hand with a 100% success rate, using high-speed cameras to detect which shape the human hand is going to make (although this does sound a bit like cheating).