A study by Zhen Wang and Clifford Nass from Stanford University, analyzes what happens in a brain while a person is multitasking. Multitasking, at first sight, looks very productive and seems the best way to solve several problems at the same time, without ignoring even just one of them.
The study, instead, shows that multitasking decreases brain efficiency and doesn’t help memory and filtering of information. Listening to music, instead isn’t a way of multitasking and can also help the person to be more efficient and concentrated.
Read the full article to “solve your multitasking madness” at:
http://lifehacker.com/5922453/what-multitasking-does-to-our-brains
I found the full article fascinating even if I don’t agree with it completely. There is a lot of information in Leo Widrich’s post so I’ll break it down to look at the different aspects he examines.
1) Ok, so science reveals that our brains are more efficient if we singletask as opposed to multitasking. This would appear to make sense but I find it hard to accept that multitasking is so detrimental to our efficiency. Our bodies naturally multitask (heart, lungs, motor functions, etc.) so why not our brains also! A few professions come to mind that are pretty heavy on multitasking; commercial pilots have a lot to concentrate on (at least when not on autopilot) and it’s worse for fighter pilots where everything has to be done at mach speed. Also, look at modern F1 racing drivers, with 20 plus controls on the steering wheel, continuous gear changes, relaying info to and from the pit crew and all the time trying to figure out how to win the race. Granted, these are extreme occupations but I think they demonstrate how a well trained brain can skilfully multitask.
Perhaps I’ve lost the plot or maybe the experiment was only meant to look at trying to accomplish completely unrelated tasks simultaneously. A pilot or racing driver has a single goal and the multitude of tasks are all relevant and related to each other. Further, in depth, reading on the subject would be interesting.
2) Mr. Widrich’s singletasking technique is appealing but highly impractical in certain work environments. Planning the night before sounds like a great idea if you are fortunate enough to actually know what you will be doing the next day. In a lot of jobs the daily schedule changes constantly as unforeseen high priority tasks land on your desk.
After more than twenty years of having to deal, on a daily basis, with the above mentioned work conditions I have developed my own work method that relies heavily on multitasking. I use the inefficiency of man and machine to my advantage. As an example: I’m on the phone and the caller wastes time gathering the info I need…I don’t just sit there doodling…I get back to whatever I was doing before the phone call or begin a new task that I would have started after the call. Or, what about the precious time wasted waiting for heavy webpages or intensive programs to load…again, I will quickly switch to something else that I know I can start and finish in that brief time. It’s a technique that sounds crazy but that can be developed with a good understanding of your job. By the way, I never planned it that way, it just came naturally over time. Now that I try to explain it I realize that my brain is not really multitasking at all but rather singletasking at a faster rate by simply filling in the “natural pauses” in my work schedule with other activities. Anyway, it works for me.
3) Finally, the music issue; again it’s a bit vague. Everyone will have preferences, music or no music, classical or rock, sung or instrumental, loud.or soft. There are too many variables and also, your working environment will dictate whether or not music is welcome in the workplace.
Having said that, I agree that the brain interprets music differently and I can understand how it can be a stimulus too. In the end the human brain is wonderfully complex and it can filter out or exclude unwanted “noise” when concentration is required. I’m sure that, like myself, many people have fallen asleep in front of the TV or with music at max volume…our brains apparently seem to set our ears to mute when required.
Off to bed now to do the best “singletask” of the day!! Happy tasking everyone.
Haha, that was fun to read and really contributing post. Thanks Enzzzo. 😀
I still haven’t read the full article, since I’m a bit ‘short in time’, but I do agree with the analysis of enzzzo.
Being a fan of the racing world, having been a pilot myself (although I limited my experience to some years of professional karting), and having experimented the delicious thrill of endurance races, I especially agree with the multitasking skill bring especially required.
A race driver brain must, first and foremost:
– Follow the trajectories;
– Check the brake points;
– Input a moderate force on the throttle while exiting through a corner;
– Braking hard only when required.
Then, the thing starts to become quite fun since there are others variables, so the race driver brain must as well:
– Manage the tyres in order not to overheat/overwear them before finishing driving (in this, the driver has to remember how employing a specific tire compound as well, since racing on ‘soft tires’ imply a different methodology than that of the ‘hard compound’);
– Organise overtaking and overlapping phases;
– Fight for the positions always maintaining a safe behaviour;
– Being respectful to the mechanic, while shifting gears, applying clutch, etc.
And of course, in the mix are added some other variables as well, so the race driver brain must:
– Realize that if the weather change, different trajectories must be observed as well;
– Follow radio instructions if given/send radio warning if something is not going properly;
– Operating some ‘on the fly’ changes to the car (if possible and necessary).
And, last but not least:
– Follow the racing plan as agreed in the briefing.
So there are a quite plentiful decisions to accomplish in a few hours (a standard racing duration measure) !
So it shouldn’t surprise us if racing drivers (and especially endurance racing drivers) are masters in that pestiferous art of multitasking…
Francesco, This is a great example. Very effective as a metaphor of life…. Thanks for sharing it!
Thanks, Francesco, for your detailed and accurate analysis of the complex and intense tasks a racing driver has to deal with. I’ve been in love with motor racing since I could walk and reading your comment actually made me feel as if I were in the driving seat … exhilarating.
Only two things I would add to the long list of tasks: 1) Modern drivers need to keep checking in the mirrors to make sure they’re always looking handsome for the camera. 2) All the time, I’m sure they’re calculating the interest earned on their savings … their speedometers should be calibrated in $ph rather than the usual mph/kph. Scherzi a parte, I have much respect (and a little bit of envy) for the life of racing drivers … risking your life every time you go out on the track takes a lot of courage and it is something spectators often forget when they say the races are boring. It should be done by those who truly love the sport and not for the money and fame.
Thanks again, alla prossima, Enzo