On 8/18/2015 3:51 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 8/18/2015 7:39 AM, SeaNymph wrote:

Dunno about people... We have only one brain, but the brain has multiple
areas dedicated to different processing so I would think the jury is
still out.

The science still seems to indicate that multitasking is a myth.
Seems the
brain can only focus on one thing at a time.

The key word there is *focus*.

Note that you can be in a crowded room, engaged in a conversation and
still manage to "pick out" a conversation of interest "in the background",
amidst all the other noise and conversations. I.e., something in your head
is "monitoring", looking for triggers of interest.

There are also short-term memory issues in play. Your mind can only hold
onto a relatively small number of "ideas" at any given time. An exercise
we used to do when younger was to listen to long numeric strings read to
us. Then, engage in conversation for a while. Finally, be quizzed to
recall a *specific* string ("the one that begins with '3'").

The strings don't get a chance to be committed to your long term
memory (like your home phone number, SSN, etc.). And, the other
topics of discussion compete for the few spots in that short term
memory. Inevitably, the numeric strings get crowded out -- because
they were "least recently referenced"

If you are bouncing back and forth between tasks, all of the stuff in your
short term memory becomes vulnerable; it's not had a chance to be
committed to long term memory so you risk losing it -- details of the
previous task, etc.

E.g., you can pick up a home repair project some WEEKS after having
been called away from it. But, there is a considerable effort
required to sort out (i.e., RECALL!) what you were doing, before
you were interrupted. The major issues had previously been committed
to long term memory and could be "refreshed" with an examination of
the MESS before you.

Multitasking calls for far more frequent "attention switches"; you
don't have the luxury of spending a bit of time trying to recall
what you were previously doing (because you'll soon be expected to move
on to the *next* task!).

Notice how many email/sms replies you receive that don't properly
address the questions you posed in the *preceding* message. As if
the respondent just threw a quick/inexpensive (not well thought out)
answer to ONE of your comments and failed to perceive the others.

You, in turn, repeat those unaddressed issues and, over the course
of several exchanges, manage to get an ALMOST complete reply. And,
find it unsatisfying, to boot!

I simply do not believe, nor have I seen any real evidence, that people
can actually multitask. I've seen people switch quickly between 2
things, but that's not multitasking.

I have a photographic memory for numbers, even long numeric strings.
While I see no practical use for that in my daily life, it's an
interesting thing.

Personally, I prefer to do something and finish it if that's possible. I
just work better that way. It probably has to do with what I did during
most of my working life, which involved the big picture and a lot of
smaller details. But it all had a beginning, a middle and an end.