So dumb so Infographic: generational myth
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I've been puzzled with such claim of Western culture as in China educated to stay focused and determined, one thing at a time. Reading this got me realize that's over-rated.
It's possible only for a few talents; however, for average Joe and Jane, don't do it. In my teaching, I ban cell phones. Some students brought in their lap top taking notes; but they went surfing. I'd test by quizzing them from time to time, taught them a lesson in multi-tasking makes you dumb!
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Multitasking Is Making You Dumb [Infographic]
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Aug. 7, 2012, 8:31 AM
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Modern people multitask constantly, from checking email while having a conversation to watching TV while writing a paper.
Unfortunately we're no good at it.
Nicholas Carr observed this in his 2008 essay "Is Google Making Us Stoopid?" which noted how hard it was for people to immerse themselves in a book. While our "hyperactive, data-stoked minds" may someday learn to process so much information, they aren't there yet.
More in an infographic from Online College:
[via Retailomania]
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/douglasmerrill/2012/08/17/why-multitasking-doesnt-work/
I write about innovation and culture and how the two coincide
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
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I've had a varied career, starting as a professor before becoming a researcher at RAND. I spent some time at Price Waterhouse and as an executive in various roles at Charles Schwab. I was CIO and VP of Engineering at Google, where I oversaw all aspects of internal engineering, including Google’s 2004 IPO (yes, it was as fun as it sounds)! I also spent a short period in the music industry as president of EMI Music’s digital unit before founding my current company, ZestCash. I’m the author of Getting Organized in the Google Era, a book on personal and workplace organization. Here, you can read my take on innovation and culture, and how the two coincide. Follow me on Twitter @DouglasMerrill
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Right now, you might be reading this blog while cooking dinner, watching the news on TV, and riding a stationary bicycle. You’re trying to save time by doing multiple things at once.
Truth is, you’re actually wasting time. Yes, the dinner will get cooked and you’ll elevate your heart rate. But I doubt you’ll remember much of anything from either this blog or the TV news.
Multitasking is something everyone does these days. It’s hard not to multitask, given all the things we have to do and all the streams of information coming at us non-stop.
I know, you think you’re good at multitasking. And to some degree, you are. You can walk and chew gum at the same time. Folding laundry while talking on the phone? Not a problem. A clown can ride a unicycle while juggling brightly colored balls. This form of multitasking works because these are rote tasks that don’t require much brainpower.
Isn’t it madness
he can’t be mine?
–Chess
Unfortunately, our brains just aren’t equipped for multitasking tasks that do require brainpower. Our short-term memories can only store between five and nine things at once.
When you’re trying to accomplish two dissimilar tasks, each one requiring some level of consideration and attention, multitasking falls apart. Your brain just can’t take in and process two simultaneous, separate streams of information and encode them fully into short-term memory.
When information doesn’t make it into short-term memory, it can’t be transferred into long-term memory for recall later.
If you can’t recall it, you can’t use it. And, presumably, you are trying to learn something from whatever you are doing, right? Instead of actually helping you, multitasking works against you. It’s making you less efficient, not more.
When I was at Google, I attended lots of meetings in which others had their laptops open. It wasn’t that these people didn’t care about what was being said. It’s just that they had lots of other things to do, and juggling several tasks at once seemed like a good idea.
It wasn’t.
Soon it became clear that many people were missing important stuff in meetings. They weren’t paying attention to what was going on around them because their brains were otherwise occupied. So the information shared in meetings never had a chance to break into their short-term memory banks.
Fairly soon, it became clear that having laptops open in meetings was lowering productivity instead of raising it. So we declared some meetings no-laptop zones.
// Side note: Of course, this created an unintended consequence. When people thought they had something more important to deal with, they simply left the meeting. While this was distracting for the others in the meeting, at least it was a more effective use of the escapees’ attention. //
My whole existence is flawed
–Nine Inch Nails, “Closer”
Multitasking can be expensive, too—and dangerous. I learned that lesson a few years ago. I was writing a text message on my phone as I pulled up to a stoplight. Sadly, I misjudged the distance between my car and the one in front because I wasn’t fully paying attention. I hit the other car, though no one was hurt. Still, it was the most expensive text I’ve ever sent. And I learned my lesson.
I’m often asked if this is a generational phenomenon. Specifically, “everyone knows kids are better at multitasking.” The problem? “Everyone” is wrong. Their brains, especially the limits imposed by short term memory, are the same as those of adults. Even though your kid boasts she can watch TV and study simultaneously, don’t believe her. If nothing else, learning to concentrate is a skill that will serve her not only with geography exam but also with life.
So instead of reading this blog while watching the news, cooking dinner, and exercising, try something different. Go for a run or a swim. Do yoga. Give your brain a break. Everything else can wait.
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AuthorInteresting point Arun. People usually use the word “conditioning” in relation to skill based learning like the clown example, and less in relation to higher-order thinking. Since you can’t change the size of your short-term memory and there aren’t a lot of ways to improve encoding into long-term memory, conditioning doesn’t help much with your email (and comment reading) ;)
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Note: "社会公德和规矩后面，有个核心的、看得见摸得着的东西，这就是别人的利益。教会学生正确对待别人的利益，是中国教育所缺乏的，而这恰恰是美国教育的一个重要内容，也是美国名校的期望。美国的教育，从家庭到学校，对孩子感受并尊重别人利益的能力，非常重视，而这就是人品的基础，也是评价一个孩子时，说他“nice（好）”和“fair（公平）”的实质内涵。学生不仅成绩要好，有激情有特长，还要具备能在社会上成功的心理素质和人格魅力；在一个成熟稳定的社会，年轻人要出头，人品是不能差的，要懂得顾忌别人的利益。资本主义的美国，名校录取学生时，对学生的人品看得这么重；也就不奇怪了，申请名校，还要附加作文、推荐信、面试、现在还要查Facebook等社交留言记录，涉及方方面面很多人、环环相扣；有时这个过程之微妙，只有圈内人才能意会。最顶尖名校的招生官从这些东西里面，飞速解读和预测一个个申请学生的各个方面，包括性情人品。对那些成绩特好，自我感觉也特好，别人好像都欠他的学生，对不起，格杀勿论；最顶尖名校最喜欢炫耀的，就是屠宰（slaughter）了多少SAT考满分者。
承认个人的利益，是社会发展的动力；尊重别人的利益，是社会稳定的基础。
老的说法将这归因于为人，性格决定命运；时尚的解释叫情商。为人也好，情商也好，其实后面都是同一个核心的东西：即感知并尊重别人利益的能力，其它的很多东西，都是虚的玄的。我们常说要尊重别人，但到底什么是尊重？
“己所不欲，勿施于人”，实质就是换位思考、尊重别人的利益。"(by 徐罡博士)
*** Reference: I'd credit the original source of my inspiration to write this post by citing the entire article above, only for academic/teaching purpose, but not for commercial purpose - making and promoting any products. I use both URL (URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator and is a reference (an address) to a resource on the Internet. A URL has two main components: Protocol identifier: For the URL http://example.com , the protocol identifier is http . Resource name: For the URL http://example.com , the resource name is example.com .) and the entire article for my electronic library as URL is drifted with time, so it's hard to find the original citation. Let me know if you're objected to my citation of your article - I'd act accordingly. Thanks so much for your attention.
What is most effective for me is what I call serial tasking. Prioritize what needs to be done and do one thing at a time, giving that one thing all of your attention. Do I sometimes perform two or more rote tasks at the same time? Sure, but for most things, serial tasking works better for me.
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