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Multitasking Considered Detrimental
djvaselaar sends along an article from The New Atlantis that summarizes recent research indicating that multitasking may be detrimental to work and learning. It begins, "In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: 'There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.' To Chesterfield, singular focus was not merely a practical way to structure one's time; it was a mark of intelligence... E-mails pouring in, cell phones ringing, televisions blaring, podcasts streaming--all this may become background noise, like the 'din of a foundry or factory' that [William] James observed workers could scarcely avoid at first, but which eventually became just another part of their daily routine. For the younger generation of multitaskers, the great electronic din is an expected part of everyday life. And given what neuroscience and anecdotal evidence have shown us, this state of constant intentional self-distraction could well be of profound detriment to individual and cultural well-being."
a bit trksey to typ wif on hand while im ... oh lookie shiny ponies!
Do it yourself, because no one else will do it yourself. [beta blockade 10-17 Feb]
Apparently it affects memory as well. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/27/2221228&from=rss
...it's been found that most guys already have a great tool for all this mono-tasking, Selective Hearing.
In other words, I should wipe my drive and install MS DOS.
McCain/Palin '08. Now THAT's hope and change!
My life is so dull, I donate unused excess brain power to SETI and Folding@home
Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
"Multitasking may be detrimental to work and learning" says 18th Century man. "Verily, this is why women should not be permitted work or learn!"
Professor Karmadillo Songs of Science
So what you're saying is that a slashdot thread without an analogy is like a car with only one liver?