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Habitual Multitaskers Do It Badly
iandoh writes "According to a group of Stanford researchers, people who frequently multitask don't pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time. In other words, multitaskers are bad at multitasking. The research team is also studying how to design computer voices for cars that result in safer driving."
Reader AliasMarlowe adds "The comparison involved multitasking with a number of attention or context related tests. For the study, multitasking was defined as consuming multiple media sources at once — gaming, TV, IM, email, etc. Interestingly, the habitual multitaskers were much worse at multitasking than the single taskers in these relatively straightforward tests. In self-assessment the multitaskers considered themselves good at it and the single taskers considered themselves bad at it. An extreme case of the Dunning-Kruger effect, perhaps, with consequences for business and society."
People with attention-deficit problems are probably the ones who are most likely to attempt to multitask.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
... oh look, a butterfly!!!!!!
text while driving
Please watch this video and reconsider your habit of texting while driving.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
...because they know from experience that it produces better results. People who habitually multitask do not know how to do a better job, so they think they're good at multitasking. Single-taskers are probably under much more stress though as they aim higher even when multitasking.
Note that one of the researchers behind this, Cliff Nass, was the brains behind Clippy.
I can involve myself in one high-level function and monitor several low-level functions no problem. If I'm cooking and it's a recipe I know, I can have something on the telly in the background. Certainly not a movie or something that requires 100% focus but I can put the Daily Show or Colbert on no problem, just glancing over during the laughs to catch the sight gag. If it's a recipe I'm unfamiliar with, I have to focus 100%, no time for distractions.
Driving is another interesting case. When I was first learning, I couldn't have the radio on or even talk with a passenger. It was a new skill and consumed 100% of my attention to a ridiculous degree. As I became more comfortable with driving, I could take a more relaxed approach. I can hold a conversation with a passenger. I'm still doing my sweeps, checking mirrors, instrument panel, paying attention to the feel of the road, listening for anything odd, but it takes less effort to do all these things. But when conditions become more interesting, it takes more effort to retain situational awareness. I'll lose track of the conversation. This is the opposite of the way most people do it, the conversation distracting from the driving.
As a mostly monotasker, I'm very skeptical of multitaskers, bordering on contemptuous. It really irks me when I'm trying to work with someone who insists on multitasking to the point where you keep having to repeat yourself because he wasn't fucking listening in the first place. "No, I heard what you said. Just repeat it so I can understand." It's a sick, pathetic, constant pattern. I tell someone x is followed by y and z. They hear x and immediately ask about c. Well, c could be related in some instances but I already told you in this instance it's x, then y, then z. But wait, why is y there? That's the sequence. And then after several more rounds the person will exclaim with a sudden revelation "Why, this is x, then y, then z!" Of course, you numpty pillock. I've only been trying to tell you that for the last ten minutes. I'm going to rip that fucking bluetooth out of your ear, yank the battery from your iphone (they are removable if you use enough force) and make you focus for a goddamn minute!
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Damn! You're right. I was reading Slashdot and I forgot to breathe again.
you know, that same computer INCAPABLE of real multitasking?
So a pair of conjoined twins is like a Core 2 Duo?
text while driving
Please watch this video and reconsider your habit of texting while driving.
I don't have time to look at it just now, but I'm usually bored while driving home, so I'll have a look then.
I would conjecture that those who feel they are good at multitasking do _not_ feel this -- and that's both why they feel they are good at multitasking, and why they are actually bad at it.
I have a better idea for you. Put the damn shit down. I don't care what kind of "emergency" you are having at work. Your business can wait the 30 minutes for you to get home. If not, you need to rethink your business processes. I don't care who you are or what company you work for, your stupid fucking text message is NOT worth more than anyone's life.
If you or anyone else who is too self-centered and self-important to stay off the fucking phone for a few minutes while you drive ever plow into anyone, you better not hope it's me. I will haunt your fucking dumb ass for the rest of your life. I will torture you and your family until you are all on the brink of madness. Then your family will watch you commit suicide right in front of their eyes by shoving that fucking phone into your eye socket and pulling it out of your throat.
I hate you all, you fucking phone drivers. Get off your fucking phones and out of my damn lane. YOU are the reason that it is such hell to drive now. YOU are the reason there are so many wrecks and red light running. YOU are the reason that so many lives are lost and everyone's insurance is so high. Hang the fuck up.
90% of people are stupid on occasion. The other 10% are stupid all the time.