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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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MULTITASK SCHMULTITASK
Most of us can spot a drunken driver swerving in and out of a lane of traffic. Alcohol impairs the brain’s ability to respond. There are, however, other ways that driving can be impaired. I’ve seen drivers doing all kinds of things while driving. They eat meals, brush teeth, apply make-up and shave while swerving similarly to a drunk. I’ve noticed drivers talking on cell phones or even texting while using their knees to steer their vehicles. Last week, though, I saw something I’d never seen before. While walking to work I saw a pedestrian reading a paperback book while walking on the edge of a road without sidewalks. I’m quite certain he thought he was walking in a straight line, but the drunk taking a roadside exam from a sheriff’s deputy thinks he’s walking in a straight line, too. Brain research clearly shows that we really can’t do two things at once. We switch our focus back and forth between multiple tasks. Still, we have convinced ourselves to the contrary. After all, the firing of synapses in the brain takes place so quickly that it truly can appear that we are doing multiple tasks at once. Who can’t chew gum and walk at the same time? Who can’t talk on the phone while cooking a meal or folding clothes or making change at a cash register? Those are all simple tasks, but complex tasks require longer intervals of focus. If we try to multitask with complicated activities, the intervals that we ignore one task for another become longer. Our brains are adept at filling in the gaps, but anyone carefully observing us can see what is going on. Still, in the name of efficiency, we are encouraged to multitask more and more in all that we do. One day, just like the drunken driver, we’re going to make a mistake for which "I’m sorry" is not an acceptable answer. Is that kind of "efficiency" worth the price?
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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