Concentrate Better By Doodling

Kelson writes "The next time you see someone doodling during a meeting, don't criticize them for drifting off. It turns out that doodling is the mind's way of keeping itself just busy enough to avoid checking out entirely and slipping off into a daydream, and doodlers actually remember more of that boring talk. (Judging by my college notes, this probably helped me remember a lot of otherwise-boring lectures.)"

Comments

What I got from this... **NNNNOT* so much about

[davidsyes]

Concentration....

I heard this around 0900 this AM, and from what i gather (as in what i take from this) it is **not** so much about "concentrating better". The *real matter* is that the brain simply is wired to not want to shut down. It wants to process information virtually ALL THE TIME. (That might explain (i think) why we daydream and night dream.) Doodling is just so the body/person do(es) consciously or unconsciously/mindlessly so brain *has something to do* while we are concentrate or try to concentrate. After all, you can doodle just thinking about nothing critical, nothing useful, or just zoning out.

Honestly, how many have we doodled and just totally ignored what we were supposed to be listening to? That alone is enough indication that doodling won't or can't enhance concentration. Otherwise, people might imagine they could just go and doodle and use that as a way to study better or consider information more clearly. (And, it would undermine the business model of Brain Fitness Gym, brain enhancement pills, and other products aimed at getting money out of people's pockets more than actually improving people.

It doesn't seem to me that this has a single thing to do with "concentrating better".

What i found interesting was that the microsoft spokesperson contacted after the event fessed up that it was Bill Gates' notepad and not Tony Blairs. This is important, to me at least, because one of the handwriting analysist or one of the graphologists said the writing sample indicated a person who was a (closeted) Vicar with murderous intent. Had that been found to be Blair's the UK might have to worry. But, when I heard it was Gates', i felt, "Why would i be surprised?".