Just wondering...

I'm definately not!!!

if you are, whats it like to be the leading edge of evolution??

http://wired.jp/2012/03/01/multitasking/

(english version: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/02/multitasking/ )

And the other view on multitasking (the video there is informative too).

http://www.newsucanuse.org/tweenage-mult...dvantaged/

Are there any pictures of these people? I'm pretty sure one person at my school is one.

There's also a contrary opinion:
http://brainrules.blogspot.ca/2008/03/br...sk_16.html

I'd really like to know how the various studies compare, and if the "multitasking exists" study has been replicated anywhere else.

well, those other articles actually DO agree with the conclusions of the 1st article. The difference is only a difference of scientific method.

They're calling multitasking a "myth" because they are based on statistical studies... and if the 1st article i posted is correct, any statistical study is going to show that 98% of people can't multitask. They take the number of errors people *in general* make while multitasking, and compare them to the number of errors people make when single tasking, and obviously come up with the conclusion that multitasking increases the amount of errors hugely. Because 98% is such a huge number, the other 2% can't tip the balance there. Hence the conclusion "Multitasking is damaging / is a myth".

What was interesting about the 1st article, i thought, was that they actually took a look at that 2% that didn't confirm the conclusion and looked deeper, into the way their brains are structured, and found that their brains actually do function differently to the rest of us. So those results that don't confirm the conclusion "multitasking is a myth" aren't just being discounted, they are actually explainable.

I don't know if the figure 2% is correct though, because when you think about it, almost everyone should know someone who is capable of this... it's 1 in 50... 2% isn't so small a number in real life.

So i was thinking that lots of people who visit these forums should be 超人類, and it'd be interesting to hear the more personal side of this statistic, because i don't think i do know anyone that can truly multitask.

@imabi hahaha i don't think you can tell who they are by looking at them...

isn't anyone who sings while playing an instrument multitasking? Pretty sure more than 1 in 50 can do that...

yes, it should be. But there's 2 important points here. The first is that they have to be able to sing AND play their instrument just as well as they can do either on their own. It's not like most people literally can't do multitasking, it's just that they do both tasks worse than they would when single tasking when they try.

The 2nd is the point that that study only tested a limited type of multitasking, so we don't really know if every type is impossible for everyone, or if different people are capable of different types of multitasking.
For the record, i have never been able to sing and play an instrument at the same time at all. The only kind of multitasking i can do is walking and listening / talking.

***
Btw, i just want to point out that whenever you hear a statistic in science, it's generally similar to what i was talking about above. For instance, "doing X leads to a 20% higher risk of illness Y" doesn't necessarily mean that your personal risk of getting "illness Y" is 20% higher if you do X. It could mean that, of the population, 20% of the people are probably going to have some genetic feature that means that doing X too much will cause "illness Y" something like 100% of the time. Well, that isn't proven yet, and the reality is probably way more complex, but this is where science is heading, anyway. So, anyway, just be aware of this when reading scientific articles

[Zgarbas]

depends on the singing. Most people play harmonically matched vocals+chords. The instrument playing is pretty mechanical and the voice just follows the instrument. Intricate playing+vocals would be another thing though... Then again once you're intricately playing an instrument I guess you're already multitasking.

Wouldn't all one-man bands fit into this though?

Zgarbas Wrote:Wouldn't all one-man bands fit into this though?

Yeah!!! They must do, surely.

i wonder if the ability to play the accordian in general also is? it always came off as something like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time to me...