The Myth of Multitasking

[Zelenius]

A few posters have mentioned that juggling with 3 or more balls or objects comes close to being true multitasking. I'm not sure if I agree with this, and I am a juggler. Perhaps it is because I am so used to it, it doesn't feel like multitasking to me.

On the other hand, there are people who can run and juggle at the same time. They are called "jogglers".

Man joggling 3 balls

The Bloggling Joggler

Some jogglers are so well trained they can joggle for many miles without dropping a ball or tripping. Does this count as multitasking? Does it require a special kind of brain to do this, or is it just the training? Do you believe you could joggle with enough training?

 

[arthwollipot]

Some jogglers are so well trained they can joggle for many miles without dropping a ball or tripping. Does this count as multitasking? Does it require a special kind of brain to do this, or is it just the training? Do you believe you could joggle with enough training?

Yeah, easy. Juggling is one task, regardless of how many balls you're juggling. You're concentrating on the pattern, and all the balls are doing the same thing. Jogging is a pretty independent function. You don't have to expend a great deal of mental effort on it. Anyone can jog on automatic, good jugglers can juggle on automatic; I'd expect a good joggler to be able to do a third thing with little difficulty.

 

[I Ratant]

A few posters have mentioned that juggling with 3 or more balls or objects comes close to being true multitasking. I'm not sure if I agree with this, and I am a juggler. Perhaps it is because I am so used to it, it doesn't feel like multitasking to me.

On the other hand, there are people who can run and juggle at the same time. They are called "jogglers".

Man joggling 3 balls

The Bloggling Joggler

Some jogglers are so well trained they can joggle for many miles without dropping a ball or tripping. Does this count as multitasking? Does it require a special kind of brain to do this, or is it just the training? Do you believe you could joggle with enough training?

.
I saw a video of a unicyclist flying a helicopter.. THAT'S multitasking!

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I'm actually not trying to be a smart-ass about this, and i wonder if any experiments along these lines have been done?

Suppose a blind-folded willing participant was poked with needles, in 3 separate areas of their body, precisely at the same time...

Would the poke-ee be able to correctly assess the poking?
What about 4 needles, and so forth?

I'm pretty sure that when my autoimmune arthritis flares up I hurt in more than one joint at the same time. Can you not envision a whole leg hurting and at a different time only a single bruised part of your leg hurting?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Good example.


I've given up listening to podcasts while browsing online. I just end up not hearing so much of it that I might as well not have bothered.

I do my podcast listening whilst doing housework, and even then I find myself losing track in parts of a show.

I don't know your age, but I consider my lesser ability to concentrate on too many things at once to be a 'getting older' thing, not a 'never noticed it before' thing. I'm pretty certain that as I get older it has become harder to concentrate in general.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But three rights make a left.

Why that sounds like a box turn. I've been to your country and driven a car there. Or it is two rights to make the box? I'm confused, can't concentrate.

 

[Orphia Nay]

I don't know your age, but I consider my lesser ability to concentrate on too many things at once to be a 'getting older' thing, not a 'never noticed it before' thing. I'm pretty certain that as I get older it has become harder to concentrate in general.

I was never able to listen to podcasts and surf the net at the same time. That's why I gave up, after several unsuccessful attempts.

When I was a teenager (I have a son in his teens) I used to listen to (modern) music while studying. I knew it made me lack concentration, but I still persisted in doing it. Now my son does it. Gaah!

 

[arthwollipot]

The only time I can listen to podcasts is while driving.

 

[roger]

It took years of practice but I've mastered the ability to peruse gentleman's entertainment media whilst pleasuring myself.

Well, actually I was a bit of a natural at it, but I figured that I should practice two, three, four, even five or more times per day in case the first time was a fluke.

 

[quarky]

I'm pretty sure that when my autoimmune arthritis flares up I hurt in more than one joint at the same time. Can you not envision a whole leg hurting and at a different time only a single bruised part of your leg hurting?

I'm trying not to.

 

[quarky]

I'm typing and digesting beer simultaneously.

 

[Cassandrena]

While reading your post I was feeling a slight itch on the side of my nose. So I pressed the edge of my thumbnail hard against a finger. The result? Itch and pain at the same time.

Ah, right now as I write this I'm feeling an itch on my left knee. Now to press a semi-sharp object against the same spot... Itch and pain in the same spot at the same time.

They don't seem mutually exclusive to me.

Your first try makes total sense to me. At least from what I recall in my biological psych courses the different pathways would only compete for the same area. So pain in your hand and an itch on your face wouldn't mess with each other.

For the second one I am curious, did the itch stay at the same intensity when you applied pain, or was one dimmed?

...But then again I thought it was pain and pressure that were competing, as itch is sort of a mild pain reaction. Explains why often one's initial reaction to pain is the application of pressure to the area (at least depending on the pain that is mine). But as I don't have my books on hand I can't confirm one way or another, this is just based on what I think I remember (and we all know how awesome memory is )

 

[Brian-M]

For the second one I am curious, did the itch stay at the same intensity when you applied pain, or was one dimmed?

Sort-of mixed together and hard to clearly distinguish one from the other, so hard to say if it was the same intensity.

 

[Orphia Nay]

The only time I can listen to podcasts is while driving.

How much do you remember of the podcast and the drive?

 

[arthwollipot]

How much do you remember of the podcast and the drive?

Most of my driving is pretty much automatic and I'm not sure that remembering any of it specifically is much of a priority. I have pretty good recall of the podcast. The only time I have a problem is when something on the podcast starts making me think about something, and I usually realise I've missed a few seconds and have to rewind.

 

[Modified]

I'm typing and digesting beer simultaneously.

Little Big Man: Be quiet now. I'm digesting.

 

[TjW]

Good comments. Although the article is not merely about terminological differences.

It goes further to say that this rapid multi/serial tasking (call it what you will) is not efficient.

"[W]hen you shift focus from one task to another, that transition is neither fast nor smooth. Instead, there is a lag time during which your brain must yank itself from the initial task and then glom onto the new task. This shift, though it feels instantaneous, takes time. In fact, up to 40 percent more time than single tasking - especially for complex tasks."

For example, say you're typing a letter. Then you see an email notification. You switch to your inbox and read the title or whole email.

Then you switch back to the letter. You have to then read over what you were typing and summon your thoughts again. When you've finished the email, when you get back to your inbox, you have to read the email again to get your brain refocused on its contents.

You've just made two tasks take probably twice as long.

Yes. In the computer programming jargon that "multi-tasking" is taken from, this is called a "context switch", and if you do it too often, it eats up cycles that could be used by other processes.
You also need to context switch when the processor gets an asynchronous signal -- an interrupt. And while I've met many people who are proud of their ability to multi-task, I've never met anyone who liked to be interrupted.

 

[Multivac]

You will notice me, I drive on the right.

If you drive on the right, on single carriageways, then you wouldn't last long as you would be driving into the traffic that is driving on the correct side of the road.

Me staying away from your roads doesn´t mean that nobody else eats a Big Mac meal behind the wheel on your roads. The drive-in lane serves the meal right to the driver´s seat, by the way.

True, but you were saying that you text while driving. This needs more concentration than eating a big mac, but I agree that it should be illegal to eat anything that requires being held while you are driving.

 

[aggle-rithm]

I've griped before on these forums how fast-food places make their employees sound mentally challenged by forcing them to multitask in the drive-thru...taking orders, assembling orders, and taking money at the same time. The conversation goes like this:

"May I help you?"
"I'll take a hamburger and fries, please."
"OK...um...is that a strawberry or chocolate shake?"
"...what...?"
"Anything else?"
"You got my order wrong. I want..."
"That'll be three-fifty. Drive to the first window please."

The stupid thing is that it would be so easy to farm out the order taking to call centers, so people who are focused entirely on the customer, with no distractions, are the ones doing the communicating.

 

[Orphia Nay]

I've griped before on these forums how fast-food places make their employees sound mentally challenged by forcing them to multitask in the drive-thru...taking orders, assembling orders, and taking money at the same time. The conversation goes like this:

"May I help you?"
"I'll take a hamburger and fries, please."
"OK...um...is that a strawberry or chocolate shake?"
"...what...?"
"Anything else?"
"You got my order wrong. I want..."
"That'll be three-fifty. Drive to the first window please."

The stupid thing is that it would be so easy to farm out the order taking to call centers, so people who are focused entirely on the customer, with no distractions, are the ones doing the communicating.

Yes! Good point.

And you would also think they could work out that this system is costing them in refunds and complaints.