system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: I've heard that stretching out our hands on a balance beam increases our balance, or putting two weights on the ends of a pole while walking on a tightrope makes it nearly impossible to fall. How is this done, what's the physics behind this?
gpt
So this is to make your mass spread over a much wider area. What this allows the brain to subconsciously do is to detect when things are moving out of balance and counteract the motion. If you are holding onto a pole horizontally, you can observe the ends of the pole start to move out of 'balance' waaay before the point where you would fall. It also allows you to make much smaller movements to correct your balance. 

Doesnt make it impossible to fall, just makes it a lot easier to realise you are falling and correctly do something about it.