Think You're Multitasking? Think Again
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794
Summary
This NPR article that I read was discussing the idea of multitasking. Multitasking has long been believed to be only a myth, and the research that is discussed in this article shows evidence for that myth. Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at MIT did a study on multitasking and discovered that people cannot actually multitask, but rather they can switch the focus of their brain from one thing to another very quickly. This brain action makes humans think that they are multitasking when really they are not. An example is used in the article to describe how difficult it is to actually multitask. If you we to try typing and email and talking on the phone at the same time, it would be impossible to focus on both at the same time. Instead, the thoughts would quickly switch from email to conversation, however, when the brain was working on writing the email, the information heard on the phone conversation would probably not be absorbed. There is no way for the brain to concentrate on two things simultaneously, therefore making it impossible to actually multitask.
Personal Response
After reading this article I understand in a lot more detail, why the brain cannot multitask successfully. I personally have never been "good" at multitasking and I have always wondered why some people are much better than me. The only explanation I can think of is that some people's brains can switch focus on different things much quicker than other people. Or, the people that claim they are great multitaskers are really just lying about being able to do 4 different things at once. Reading this article helped me understand a lot more why I was never good at doing my homework in front of the TV, or while I was listening to music. The ability to listen to words and write words at the same time is something that I have never been able to do and now I understand why; my brain does not switch topics as easy as some people's brains do.
Connections
This is very significant to the field of education because so many children watch TV and do other things while they are studying and doing their homework. When students do this, they cannot successfully absorb the information and recall that information from memory when needed for a test or quiz. With the immense amount of technology that students are in possession of today, there is the continuing worry among educators that students are spending more time using technology than doing schoolwork. Also, when students are doing their homework at home, I would guess that more than not those students are doing their homework in front of the TV just as I did when I was a high school student. This is a problem that needs to be addressed or students will continue to multitask while doing schoolwork.
Opinion
In my opinion, I think there are many people that would benefit from reading this article. Not only would teachers and students benefit from the information described in this article, but almost all adults and teenagers would too. There are so many people that believe they can do anything, whether it be eating, using the phone, or listening to the radio, while they are driving. This is something that is extremely unsafe, and this article proves why. When a person is driving they need to be completely focused on the task they are doing, which is driving, but when they are doing something else, the focus of their brain is quickly switching from one thing to the other causing them to become distracted. Many people know that this is an unsafe activity but I think this article really shows why it is so unsafe and maybe knowing the reason would help people realize the dangers more.