Research Suggests Brain Has a 2-Task Limit for Multitasking

suraj.sun writes with a story from LiveScience about just how much attention you can devote to each of the tasks on hand that scream for it: "The brain is set up to manage two tasks, but not more, a new study suggests. That's because, when faced with two tasks, a part of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex (MFC) divides so that half of the region focuses on one task and the other half on the other task. This division of labor allows a person to keep track of two tasks pretty readily, but if you throw in a third, things get a bit muddled. 'What really the results show is that we can readily divide tasking. We can cook, and at the same time talk on the phone, and switch back and forth between these two activities,' said study researcher Etienne Koechlin of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. 'However, we cannot multitask with more than two tasks.'"

Comments

I must be the human iPad

[Dachannien]

So how come I can't walk and chew gum at the same time?

Re:I must be the human iPad

[JustOK]

I can eat popcorn and chew gum at the same time.

Bullshit.

[Anonymous Coward]

I call bullshit. Right now, I'm replying to this Slashdot article from my cell phone, eating a quick breakfast, and driving my car in morning traffic. I'm doing all three with the utmost saf

Re:Women can do it better..

[WrongSizeGlass]

So if two is the limit, what does that say about men?
Which head are they thinking with?

I think the answer is obvious. Our two tasks are:
1) Thinking about the woman we're are talking to
2) Thinking about the other woman over there.

Re:what is a single task to the brain?

[daveime]

Is talking on the phone really a single task?

According to Steve Jobs, a definitive "yes" (until version 4 is released anyway).

Re:Doing 4 tasks right now? Can you beat it?

[iamhassi]

No one wants to beat that