Life Interrupted

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Posted by ryuzaki0 on Thursday December 30, 2004 @02:49AM from the irq7 dept.

sch7572 writes "Seattle Times carried this story which may be of interest to those addicted to checking Slashdot for new stories every minute. Scientists are concerned that the Information Age is nurturing 'cognitive overload,' an umbrella term for the malaise people feel as a result of distraction, stress, multitasking, and data congestion related to increasingly sophisticated technologies. People multitask because it is expected, encouraged, and considered vital, yet cognitive scientist David Meyer reports that truly effective multitasking is beyond people's capabilities."

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Arrrrrgggg! by dreamchaser · 2004-12-30 02:50 · Score: 5, Funny

Can't...handle...another...story...about how modern society and technology is stressing us out...too much stress...ughhh...must wrap head in duct tape before it explodes...
1. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by smoking2000 · 2004-12-30 04:13 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  must wrap head in duct tape before it explodes
  
  I think I saw that on MacGuyver once
2. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by Paco04101 · 2004-12-30 04:45 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Did anyone here actually RTFA?
  Did you see how long that thing was ???!!
3. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by plover · 2004-12-30 04:47 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I don't know how long it is: I had to buy a Replay TV so I could make it to the end of the shows without the interruptions.
  Now, if only I didn't have to spend 4 minutes and 30 seconds hunting for the remote control...
  
  --
  John
4. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by Mr.+Bad+Example · 2004-12-30 05:07 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  > Looking at the comments I can see that everyone's attention span is on par with a dog.
  
  That's ludicrous! I don't see how you can say that when--SQUIRREL!
5. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by redwards · 2004-12-30 07:04 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  - To be honest, I started skipping ahead in your post. - I can't concentrate on anything longer than a sentence. - The bullets worked really well though. I'm good with bullets. (bulleted for your convenience)
First Post by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 02:51 · Score: 5, Funny

I'm NOT checking every minute, just discovered this site.
1. Re:First Post by dcrocha · 2004-12-30 03:04 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Neither am I. I wrote a program that parses the page and sends the new stories to my mobile phone, where the message is instructed to interrupt anything i'm doing at the moment in the phone, like playing Snake or talking to my mom. This program also prints a copy of the story so I can read it at home in bedtime.
2. Re:First Post by Lxy · 2004-12-30 03:40 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  This program also prints a copy of the story so I can read it at home in bedtime
  
  Holy crap! This guy reads TFA! Mod him up!
  
  --
  
  There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
  :wq
The article... by bje2 · 2004-12-30 02:52 · Score: 5, Funny

i tried to RTFA, but between my e-mail, the internet radio i'm listening to, ESPN.com, and my actual work, I didn't have enough concentration...

--

"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
Psh by neoform · 2004-12-30 02:52 · Score: 3, Funny

I caan read sleashdot storees, louk at pron and recompile mi kernel ot the same tyme. no porblemms heere.

--
MABASPLOOM!
data congestion by SpongeBobLinuxPants · 2004-12-30 02:53 · Score: 5, Funny

I don't see this as a problem. I can remember all the IP numbers of our servers and almost everyone's password... dammit I forgot to wear pants again to work.

--
hack a day
1. Re:data congestion by exi1ed0ne · 2004-12-30 03:21 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I here ya. I'm convinced there is a point where anything new I learn will push out something old at random. Still waiting for the day I forget how to tie those thingies that dangle from my shoes.
  
  --
  Pessimists.net - as if life wasn't depressing enough.
Sure it is, anybody can multitask by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 02:54 · Score: 4, Funny

Right now I'm at work, downloading porn through p2p, hiding from my boss, checking slashdot, posting, eating breakfast, and I'm chatting with a buddy on an instant messenger program. And I'm chewing gum!

But all those moms in SUVs with cell phones glued to their ear while they whack their kids scare me!
Frantically checking Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 02:55 · Score: 1, Funny

...to see if I'm about to get sued by some organization.
Nonsense! by AthenianGadfly · 2004-12-30 02:56 · Score: 4, Funny

The post implies that I'm splitting my attention between Slashdot and something else. The key here is to concentrate wholeheartedly on the refresh button, thus avoiding stress from multitasking.
At least, I assume that's what the article says - I would have RTFA, but then I might miss the next comment posted here.
Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-12-30 03:01 · Score: 1, Funny

I'd believe every word of it if I weren't too busy not to read it.
Single Mothers by NotYourMother · 2004-12-30 03:04 · Score: 3, Funny

Have been effectively multitasking for years. Unless of course they are addicted to crack.

--
My cup is empty , I am bereft, my coffee, my sanity, I have none left.
Re:Kind of reminds me of the current physics debat by happyfrogcow · 2004-12-30 03:08 · Score: 2, Funny

I think it was Stephen Hawking that said he's not sure the human mind can really understand black holes and such.

that's just astro-physicist speak for "I bet you a cup of coffee that you can't write a p2p client in less than 5 lines of perl"
My ADD son told me this joke... by rah1420 · 2004-12-30 05:23 · Score: 5, Funny

... which was published in the October Readers' Digest.

Q: "How many ADD kids does it take to change a lightbulb?"

A: "Let's go ride bikes."

--
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
Re:It's called Evolution by reclusivemonkey · 2004-12-30 06:31 · Score: 2, Funny

Shouldn't that of read;
cognitive scientist David Meyer reports that truly effective multitasking is beyond men's capabilities
?
UP????? by shaitand · 2004-12-30 12:42 · Score: 2, Funny

He reads TFA, that means he should get an offtopic or redundant mod. Sheesh, some people never get it right!