The Rockhouse has long reviled the idea of multi-tasking as one of the more useless hoaxes of the 90s. That was just an attempt to intellectualize the fact a homemaker's life turns to fragmented crap and it's even worse if she has a job. That's not multitasking; that's scattered.
Previous research shows that multitasking, which means performing several tasks at the same time, reduces productivity by as much as 40%. Now a group of researchers specialising in brain imaging has found that changing tasks too frequently interferes with brain activity. This may explain why the end result is worse than when a person focuses on one task at a time.
Science Daily: Movie research results: Multitasking overloads the brain
It was typically women who were pitching the idea of multitasking and only superwomen can do it but it's really just a transmogrification of the concept from computers. However, they got it altogether wrong.
In a computer program, if it needs a special purpose task then it may start a TCB (i.e. IBM systems) and the work will take place under that TCB while the main program continues its nefarious deeds. That's multitasking but both tasks are focused solely on whatever they're trying to accomplish and they don't stop until they complete it.
Note: the above ignores interrupts from the operating system but we're not playing z/OS 101 today.
If the above were the Harried Mother, she would start a TCB for a robo to drive her kid to soccer practice while Harried Mother continues her primary task. However, that isn't at all what people mean when they use the term regarding each other's activities. Harried Mother isn't multi-tasking but rather life is multi-tasking her and she, again resorting to computer terminology, is 'interrupt-driven' which means any flashing light is enough to require a context switch from her.
Note: don't read that as a slam of Harried Mother. In many ways, she did not know what she was buying and some of it was crap, particularly regarding multitasking. What young mother can possibly know what she's facing. Nah, she's not at fault.
It doesn't appear our brains were designed for multitasking.
The subjects brain areas functioned more smoothly when they watched the films in longer segments.
Credit: Juha Lahnakoski
- SD
'We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure different brain areas of our research subjects while they watched short segments of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and James Bond movies,' explains Aalto University Associate Professor Iiro Jääskeläinen.
Cutting the films into segments of approximately 50 seconds fragmented their continuity. In the study, the subjects' brain areas functioned more smoothly when they watched the films in segments of 6.5 minutes. The posterior temporal and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, the cerebellum and dorsal precuneus are the most important areas of the brain in terms of combining individual events into coherent event sequences. These areas of the brain make it possible to turn fragments into complete entities. According to the study, these brain regions work more efficiently when it can deal with one task at a time.
- SD
The way that reads to the Rockhouse is it's all very well to watch the movie in fits and starts but there's not much chance of integrating anything from it when that happens.
Jääskeläinen recommends completing one task each day rather than working on a dozen of different tasks simultaneously.
'It's easy to fall into the trap of multitasking. In that case, it seems like there is little real progress and this leads to a feeling of inadequacy. Concentration decreases, which causes stress. Prolonged stress hinders thinking and memory,' says Jääskeläinen.
The neuroscientist also sees social media as a challenge.
'Social media is really nothing but multitasking, with several parallel plots and issues. You might end up reading the news or playing a game recommended by a friend. From the brain's perspective, social media only increases the load.'
- SD
That's one of the biggest reasons I have little use for social media. The constant stream of chat is overwhelming and all the more so when it never accomplishes anything. As we see from the article, there's almost no chance of it accomplishing anything.
My deliberate purpose is to write articles for Ithaka and I may take an hour on some of them but do not think of interrupting me while I do it. Regardless of how you judge the content, that's the process and it works. Conversely, people on Facebook don't produce anything and I therefore regard that as a threat to my own productivity because ... multitasking; I have no time to waste on it.
The idea of multitasking was romanticized for silly reasons but it's more destructive than anything else.
Previous research shows that multitasking, which means performing several tasks at the same time, reduces productivity by as much as 40%. Now a group of researchers specialising in brain imaging has found that changing tasks too frequently interferes with brain activity. This may explain why the end result is worse than when a person focuses on one task at a time.
Science Daily: Movie research results: Multitasking overloads the brain
It was typically women who were pitching the idea of multitasking and only superwomen can do it but it's really just a transmogrification of the concept from computers. However, they got it altogether wrong.
In a computer program, if it needs a special purpose task then it may start a TCB (i.e. IBM systems) and the work will take place under that TCB while the main program continues its nefarious deeds. That's multitasking but both tasks are focused solely on whatever they're trying to accomplish and they don't stop until they complete it.
Note: the above ignores interrupts from the operating system but we're not playing z/OS 101 today.
If the above were the Harried Mother, she would start a TCB for a robo to drive her kid to soccer practice while Harried Mother continues her primary task. However, that isn't at all what people mean when they use the term regarding each other's activities. Harried Mother isn't multi-tasking but rather life is multi-tasking her and she, again resorting to computer terminology, is 'interrupt-driven' which means any flashing light is enough to require a context switch from her.
Note: don't read that as a slam of Harried Mother. In many ways, she did not know what she was buying and some of it was crap, particularly regarding multitasking. What young mother can possibly know what she's facing. Nah, she's not at fault.
It doesn't appear our brains were designed for multitasking.
The subjects brain areas functioned more smoothly when they watched the films in longer segments.
Credit: Juha Lahnakoski
- SD
'We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure different brain areas of our research subjects while they watched short segments of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and James Bond movies,' explains Aalto University Associate Professor Iiro Jääskeläinen.
Cutting the films into segments of approximately 50 seconds fragmented their continuity. In the study, the subjects' brain areas functioned more smoothly when they watched the films in segments of 6.5 minutes. The posterior temporal and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, the cerebellum and dorsal precuneus are the most important areas of the brain in terms of combining individual events into coherent event sequences. These areas of the brain make it possible to turn fragments into complete entities. According to the study, these brain regions work more efficiently when it can deal with one task at a time.
- SD
The way that reads to the Rockhouse is it's all very well to watch the movie in fits and starts but there's not much chance of integrating anything from it when that happens.
Jääskeläinen recommends completing one task each day rather than working on a dozen of different tasks simultaneously.
'It's easy to fall into the trap of multitasking. In that case, it seems like there is little real progress and this leads to a feeling of inadequacy. Concentration decreases, which causes stress. Prolonged stress hinders thinking and memory,' says Jääskeläinen.
The neuroscientist also sees social media as a challenge.
'Social media is really nothing but multitasking, with several parallel plots and issues. You might end up reading the news or playing a game recommended by a friend. From the brain's perspective, social media only increases the load.'
- SD
That's one of the biggest reasons I have little use for social media. The constant stream of chat is overwhelming and all the more so when it never accomplishes anything. As we see from the article, there's almost no chance of it accomplishing anything.
My deliberate purpose is to write articles for Ithaka and I may take an hour on some of them but do not think of interrupting me while I do it. Regardless of how you judge the content, that's the process and it works. Conversely, people on Facebook don't produce anything and I therefore regard that as a threat to my own productivity because ... multitasking; I have no time to waste on it.
The idea of multitasking was romanticized for silly reasons but it's more destructive than anything else.
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