4.01.2010

Cellphone while Driving- Multitasking and Anxiety


From "Think You’re Good at Driving While on Your Cellphone? You May Be Right" in Wired Science:
About one in 40 drivers qualifies as a “supertasker,” able to combine driving and cell phone use without impairing performance of either activity, say psychologists Jason Watson and David Strayer, both of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. These unusual exceptions to the general rule that performance declines when a person does two things at once (SN: 3/13/10, p. 16) may offer insights into the workings of attention and mental control, Watson and Strayer propose in an upcoming Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Well I guess my article about the anxiety of multi-tasking is proven a bit flawed. I have so say, sometimes my obessive mind can totally focus on all the balls in the air, juggling tasks like crazy.

Yes, it can be efficient to train the mind to "supertask". We only have so many hours here, so better pack in everything you can! At least thats what I tell myself as I run from gym to dog run to work and finally to bed.

But does that lead to a better life? Are we happier if we all train ourselves to "supertask" and get manage to get in 4 more phonecalls before we pull into the driveway?

Or are we just going to miss the scenery out the window?

It's good to have a choice, to be able to supertask when its needed, and still be able to pull back and breathe once and awhile.

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