Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime

siliconbits writes with an excerpt from NY Times: "Technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas."

Comments

oh rly?

[Pojut]

Why do you think I run Windows? ::rimshot::

I take several short naps a day

[FudRucker]

I lay down on the couch several times a day for 10 to 30 minutes and close my eyes, it does not matter if I fall asleep or not, just the act of closing my eyes and letting my mind rest does wonders for recharging my energy levels and clearing my mind of noise & clutter.

Re:I take several short naps a day

[Moryath]

If only most of us could do that, rather than having shitty pointy-haired micromanager bosses who insist on minute-by-minute "productivity" scales.

The day the 'worker productivity index' was invented was the day society started going to hell.

Re:I take several short naps a day

[HungryHobo]

I once heard a tale of someone who when faced with a boss who demanded updates every 15 minutes on what he was doing wrote a script which strung together meaningless management buzzwords in a vaguely sensible format and emailed them to his boss every 15 minutes.

a few weeks later he gets an award for being a team player and keeping his boss in the loop.

It's not like the boss ever reads them after the first day.

Re:Instant distractions

[halfaperson]

*People ask how can you manage that - I tell them it's a little secret called forethought or planning.

I usually tell them it's a little secret called "no friends".

Source code

[mangu]

#include <time.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#define kase(tipo,stmt) case(tipo):{stmt;break;}

char *a[10] = {
"in particular",
"on the other hand",
"however",
"similarly",
"in this regard",
"as a resultant implication",
"based on integral subsystem considerations",
"for example",
"thus",
"in respect to specific goals"},

*b[10] = {
"a large portion of the interface coordinated communication",
"a constant flow of effective information",
"the characterization of specific criteria",
"initiation of critical subsystem development",
"the fully integrated test program",
"the product configuration baseline",
"any associated supporting element",
"the incorporation of additional mission constraints",
"the independent functional principle",
"a primary interrelationship between system and/or subsystem technologies"},

*c[10] = {
"must utilize and be functionally interwoven with",
"maximizes the probability of project success and minimizes the cost and time required for",
"adds explicit performance limits to",
"necessitates that urgent consideration be applied to",
"requires considerable systems analysis and trade off studies to arrive at",
"is further compounded when taking into account",
"presents extremely interesting challenges to",
"recognizes the importance of other systems and the necessity for",
"effects a significant implementation of",
"adds overriding performance constraints to"},

*d[10] = {
"the sophisticated hardware",
"the anticipated next generation equipment",
"the subsystem compatibility testing",
"the structural design based on system engineering concepts",
"the preliminary qualification limits",
"the evolution of specification over a given time period",
"the philosophy of commonality and standardization",
"the top-down development method",
"any discrete configuration mode",
"the total system rationale"}; /* orders: abcd, dacb, bacd, adcb */

main()
{
int n, order, w, x, y, z;

srand(time(NULL));
for (n = 0; n < 1000; n++)
{
if (!(n % 10)) printf("\n");
w = rand() % 10;
x = rand() % 10;
y = rand() % 10;
z = rand() % 10;
order = rand() % 4;
switch (order)
{
case 0:
printf(" %c%s, %s %s %s.", a[w][0] & 0xDF, a[w] + 1, b[x], c[y], d[z]);
break;
case 1:
printf(" %c%s, %s, %s %s.", d[w][0] & 0xDF, d[w] + 1, a[x], c[y], b[z]);
break;
case 2:
printf(" %c%s, %s, %s %s.", b[w][0] & 0xDF, b[w] + 1, a[x], c[y], d[z]);