But you can multitask if the activities you choose are done completely independently in the brain. For example, you can ride a stationary bike and read a book. Riding a stationary bike only involves your cerebellum and reading a book only involves your cerebrum. But you can steer a normal bike and read at the same time because you need your cerebrum to plot a course through traffic.
I totally agree with Shawn. Listening and reading both need the vocal cortex to operate. But I can easily listen to someone speaking (vocal- and audio-cortex) without dropping my knitting (motor- and visual-cortex). It even helps me listening because that way I reach a pleasant activation level in the brain that helps me shut out distractions. Well science... what now? ^^
I think if there is a pole on the road you will crash against it which means you didn't multitask. If it is an exercise bike, riding and reading is just like walking and breathing.
That would be a mess, the picture in your imagination would be changing all the time and you'd have to be making corrections on the drawing constantly. I think it's better how it is right now, just imagining something and then drawing it,
And guess what, I can breathe while I'm sleeping. Hey, still there're more. I can also chew food while sitting down and still hear if someone calls me. Some of the basic functionalities have been embedded deep in the brain that you do it unconsciously. Like driving, if you drive for enough time you will have what's called muscle memory and your unconscious brain will basically do that for you. However, let's say you are writing an essay about multi-tasking and at the same time talking on the phone with your little sis about her lost dog. Wondering how much you accomplish and how long would it take you to do that. This is what he called in the vid as Serial Task. You type a word (or a bunch), then you shift your focus to the call, then you shift your focus to the paper again. Some people can do that better than others. But you will always sacrifice the quality of focus.
This video is mostly about confusion about words, definitions and reality. In reality, said peripheral+focus vision multitasking works because we have a lot of practice doing it - for evolutionary purposes. So much that it becomes semi-unconscious. Multitasking in its intended use just means doing several things at the same time that require conscious attention, and naturally this would require some splitting of attention, just like computers are doing it, by assigning portions of CPU time to different tasks and thus quickly alternating between them. Now if you as a human being do that a lot, what happens is what is almost a universal law of nature: You keep doing something, you get better at it. Some people are very good at multitasking, others not. If your job requires you to do it and you did that job for a decade, you will be quite able to multitask to a more or less flexible degree, depending on the nature of your 'training regimen'.
kotosqopos You, too, are doing said confusing now. Everybody knows what is meant with "doing several things at the same time", and any attempt to logically pick that apart will only end up in spriritual-philosophical musings about the time continuum, the nature of events in the universe and the fringes of physics. And that's definitely not the intended use of the word "multitasking". The word serves a practical purpose and does it well, and it isn't even misleading. What I was describing and what happens a lot in theoretical sciences and philosophy is changing a definition in order to validate one's own argument. It's a bit like fighting windmills, to use a literary metaphor.
Dowlphin I completely understand you. It's like "Is anything really empty?" thing. Some people can get into so many superfluous things but if it wasn't for it we geeks would have no reasons to discuss. I like the way you make valid your point. High 5 bronie =)
I think it would be more accurate to say we can't MENTALLY multitask WELL. We can certainly physically multitask (like walking and chewing gum at the same time), and we can sort of mentally multitask (like having a conversation while watching a movie), though we may not get quite as full an experience from either. Of course, if the mental tasks are unconscious, then we can't help but multitask. I can be consciously listing to the words someone is saying to me, while simultaneously subconsciously reading their body language, and one does not detract from the other.
Multitasting is simply doing two things at once. Any one can do it. Talking to a friend while playing a video game is a good example of multitasking because youv'e got hand/eye coordination, planning, and communication all at once. Another example would be watever you are doing while your'e thinking, or while talking to someone. Or how about imagining a story as you are reading a book? Even critisizing something in your as you are observing it. We are allways mulititasking.
Out of curiosity... does thinking about somethign and doing something else count as multitasking? And honestly, I have actually found certain kinds of visual stimulation allows aural focus. All my questions centre around tetris, as its simple and repetitive task allows me to think clearly and logically while remaining fully focused on the game. I could be thinking about politics and be doing the best I've ever done with tetris. Thus also goes for my listening ability, it actually improves when I have simple visual stimulation. Perhaps visual and aural stimulation is capable in multitasking, but not relatively difficult visual and sensory stimulation, such as typing in a conversation while listening to Dnews. Of course, this could be just rapid serial tasking, but I dont think it is.
I wouldn't consider thinking while doing something else multitasking. I think eye-to-hand coordination is mostly related to instincts and reflexes, so I don't think it could be considered multi-tasking.
so you talk with food in your mouth and use your both hands on a controller/keyboard and in a chip bag AND on a phone. you my friend just serial task. if it was multi-tasking you would be getting your 12th kill while talking about it to your friends with food in your mouth. Grow 2 more hands and I believe you.
Eating and playing video games don't always use the active part of the brain. So you could do all three things at once (ignoring logistics), in the same way that you "multitask" in breathing and walking and talking on the phone at the same time. So it's not really multi-tasking unless it's two things that both require lots of brain power and focus.
I have friends like you.. and they drive me bananas!! First of all they can never really pay attention to what the fuck I'm saying, I can hear them eating and they sometimes randomly start screaming profanities in the middle of the conversation... Its not really multitasking because its more like doing multiple things at the same time while not really paying attention to any of them.
I agree with these findings on multitasking, but can't reading, say, a paragraph out loud while, and through a separate stream of consciousness, be daydreaming/analyzing a completely different thought pattern, also be considering multitasking? I even though my memory doesn't record what I'm reading, still, words are coming out of my mouth and I'm analyzing the events of a friend's wedding at the same time.
Because, to your brain, it's all one thing. Driving is similar in that you must navigate, correct the vehicle, handle collision avoidance, track multiple objects, monitor fuel and engine, and watch the weather; Your brain treats this as one job.
So... non-rhetorical question: Is singing and playing an instrument at the same time considered multitasking? Because a lot of people do that. How is that accomplished if multitasking is so impossible/elusive? DNews
is playing an interment multitasking? for example a cello. you have to do a lot of movements with your right arm, place your left hand's fingers in the right positions for the note, read the music, follow the director and listen to the people around you and your own notes. isnt that multitasking?
How is that multi-tasking? Your body does all that on it's own, no consious thought... usually. By that logic you'd have to consider every living thing on the planet to be constantly and actively multi-tasking just by breathing and walking at the same time..
with one hand i put my items in a bag and the other hand i insert my card and enter code.. while waiting for the seconds the pin-machine is loading i even continue filling my bag with both hands and switch back getting my card back with one hand while filling the rest of the bag with my other.. isnt that multitasking?
what I don't understand is why some tasks aren't considered to be multitasking. For instance, I have a youtube channel where I play video games and commentate at the same time. And the games I play require a lot of concentration but I'm still able to think about what I'm saying and think about what buttons to press. How is that not multitasking?
every body that drives a car can also have a conversation with the passenger at the same time perfectly fine, that is until a question is asked that is not in the immediate memory (it requires thinking, like a math problem) at the same time as manoeuvring say through a busy two way round about.
but in all cases unless very basic level you are actually very quickly switching between tasks but it goes undetected unless you film it in and put it in slow motion, for example write the alphabet while answering a relatively simple question from your friend. You will see a pause in your writing while you think to answer the question. But it is not something people notice because it's a small pause then you continue. If you have to line up somebody on the cross-hairs on your computer game with precision quickly you will pause if you are answering a question from your friend that requires taping into the memory.
Yes you can do that perfectly fine, but you won't be able to remember perfectly fine. Fair enough? That's the point, you won't remember everything exactly while if you focus on one task you can remember it properly.
What about reading and writing at the same time? I mean i do this all the time in school, i can read a book and at the same time write down what i'm reading. I also sometimes translate while reading and writing down. For example on a English test i can read, translate and write it down at the same time. Is that multitasking or isn't it?
What about multitasking through muscle memory? In my experience, if it is some thing I do all the time, it becomes easier to divert my attention while still achieving the task at hand.
I've seen a drummer in my music class who plays saxophone while drumming with his left hand (obviously his notes are limited this way but he does it) and no I don't mean just hitting the quarter notes, he actually does real drumming with a separate rhythm from the sax.
What about musicians who able to play guitar & sing at the same time? Is that not multi tasking? Example, I play a lot of riffs & having to sing different melodies with different rythems. It can difficult at times having to do both at the same time.
All depends on the definition, like stated before, I think the researchers here are viewing multitasking as 2 or more tasks that would normally take your full attention, like texting and driving, but if you can do a task without really consciously thinking about it, then you can handle multiple tasks.
This is a case of two groups of thought that only disagree because they are not actually talking about the same things. When science says multitask they mean thinking about more than one thing at a time...while the conversational use of the word implies working on more than one project at the same time. The former is certainly impossible, however, since many types of projects have large periods of waiting, the latter is actually quite common and certainly more efficient than a more focused approach. This means we can work very efficiently on multiple projects at the same time as long as we don't try to do two thought intensive tasks at any one point.
ok the definition of multitasking is to do more than 1 task at the same time, but what is really "at the same time"? what if the process so fast that both tasks only differ in 1 micro second (could be back and forth)? we won't realize the time difference, so we naturally call it multitasking? or technically not because it's still not "at the same time"?
What about how I always do puzzle games on my phone while listening to anything and still manage to keep up? or is that more then instinct of movements for the puzzle rather than taking in two things at once
I doubt this is what you were asking, but is it possible to have knowledge of something without connecting it to language? I feel like I've always known that you can't multitask in that way.
I don't know what counts as multi tasking but what about when I play guitar and my mind is focusing on listening to the rest of the band play. So I'm 1 hearing myself play ,2 playing the guitar and 3 hearing the drummer ext.
What if a person has their corpus callosum cut? You'd basically have two mini-brains working independent of the other. So is that multi-tasking or is it something else?
speaking of multitasking... is it better to study while playing music, or without it? sometimes i can remember much more when listening to music. cover it in DNews pls :)
I think this depends how you define multi-task, and the person... I'm eating while watching this. Is that not multi-tasking? My attention is not less present because of eating while watching.
I believe the term multi tasking refers to maintaining multiple active/dominative tasks. Things you really need to concentrate on. For instance, defusing a nerve agent based bomb with your toes in a room full of panicking people while playing an epic, 10 minute guitar solo with your hands. I know it is an outlandish example but I was going for extremes >.>
Falney Lol. Fabulous example. xD I'm just wondering like, who got to define multi-tasking and why? I mean, I would call watching TV while getting dressed multi-tasking, assuming you're actually attentive to what's on the TV. Talking on the phone and cooking... those are all things I can do without sacrificing my involvement in one for the other. Not as advanced of tasks but still... xD
VirginieVoyage Dressing while watching TV isn't multitasking. You have to shift your attention quickly, though some of the movements are automatic and don't require attention, so that might make it seem like multitasking. Really if you put full attention on the television you wouldn't be able to out your shirt on straight though. It's just not possible for a human being.
Podimann Well that's what I'm saying, different peoples' definitions of multi-tasking might vary, that's why I was asking how did they decide what the exact definition of multi-tasking was? Lol. I'd say if you're successfully doing 2 things in no less time than it would take you to do them separately, that's multi-tasking in my book.
VirginieVoyage Well I would guess that there is a commonly definition of multitasking in the behavioral sciences that differs from yours. Because that's where you start in science when considering a question, with the definitions.
So I sing while working on homework and it actually keeps me focused. I can even follow songs like Rap God by Emeiniem (butchered that spelling :p) without missing a word and my Calculus accuracy and speed actually improves. I don't understand is that not multitasking?
I knit and walk to classes every day. And knit and read subtitles on my anime. Haven't noticed any significant change in speed in either task when doing it with or without knitting.
Hi Trace! If you can't multitask efficiently with anything else but with your vision (because you said that reading a book and talking to someone would make the conversation unintelligible and you would finish a single page very slowly), then how are the brains of simultaneous interpreters different than the rest of us? Thank you in advance! :)
Or what I'm actually curious to know is whether simultaneous interpreting is multitasking in a "real" sense or not? So in the sense that your eyes/brain are doing it, and not in the sense that you just quickly switch between 2 tasks. My issue with simultaneous interpreting being simply a quick switching between 2 tasks is that these interpreters do the listening and talking at the same time, just like your example where you said that reading and talking at the same time would be "real" multitasking and not quickly switching up 2 things.
At work, I have to type addresses and on some cases translate them. While I listen to the speaker, I type down on another language while listening and thinking on what to ask next. I believe that counts.
if im eatimg and if I'm using my phone or reading a book i can focus on the eating as much as i focus on blinking. I don't see why isnt that multitasking
I personally have read and listened at the same time. It is tiring, and it isn't as comprehensive as it would if I focused on one at a time. I think it was more like I would hear a word, read a word, hear a word, read a word, or something like that. Still, I passed the literature test, so it worked well enough.
I have trouble multitasking in my dreams! I'm a server and I'm really good at my job ...except when I go to sleep and start dreaming about my job. I get so frustrated and upset in my dreams to where I want to quit which leads me to this video today! It literally just happened and I came to the conclusion of why I can't work productively in my dreams like I do on a daily basis when I'm actually awake is because maybe you don't multitask in your dreams!!
To me this video makes no sense whatsoever. Normally I agree with the things said on DNews but this is grinding my gears. How is drying my hands with a towel while examining my face for imperfections in a mirror not multitasking? Or eating chips while typing this message?! What about juggling whilst unicycling and chewing gum? Cause I can do that too (no bullcrap jus' saying)... Either my definition of multitasking is wrong, or there are some scientists that need to sort their shit out.
I think the point is that you can't focus on both at once - you can do something without thinking about it while thinking about something else (so you can unicycle without thinking about it while focusing on juggling), but you can't put your energy into both at once. It's a little more complicated than that, but there's my basic two cents (which in Canada round down to zero, so, take it for what you will).
This is to do with thinking tasks versus manual/physical tasks. I'm sure the very first time you got on your unicycle you weren't able to juggle at the same time. But, as you have gotten into a routine, or a habit, you are able to do these things because you're not actually actively thinking about it anymore. Chewing gum is easy, and so it becomes habitual quickly, and you aren't thinking about it. In short, as something becomes an automatic motor skill, you don't need to think about it, so you are able to do something else as well. The definition most used is related to focusing on a task, like writing a letter, or watching a video. You wouldn't be able to text somebody and listen to each word in a song intently at the same time, or call somebody on the phone while writing down what they are saying without a break. You can try these things yourself; all you need to do is pick two activities where you need to be actively thinking about what you need to do at that moment. Another example of the motor skill versus thinking skill would be doing a labouring task like mowing a lawn while you're making up a song in your head, which is the thinking aspect. You are able to do both because the first is physical and even habitual, and the other is a thinking task. Anyway, I hope I was of some help!
the point is you CAN but you are horrible at splitting your attention so you'd mostly be doing fine at one thing but horrible at the other but it would be fine IF the 2 things you're doing involve different senses for example listening to someone next to you while riding a bicycle listening takes the hearing sense (to listen) but riding involves the looking sense (to see where you are going) of course I'm talking about the senses everybody knows but doing the 2 obviously involves a lot more if you do not know about the senses checkout vsauces touch video.
Has anyone who is not already a musician ever tried something like playing guitar hero, or an instrument, while maintaining a conversation or answering a question? At first it's pretty hard but you get used to it and after a while you can play an instrument or game without distracting your brain too much. Is that multitasking? I can do that with reading also but I don't retain the information as well. I also find I can read one thing and look at another with my peripherals but I cant look at one thing and read another with them.
I've watched this for the 2nd time in 6 months (due to a comment from another DNews video) and only now did I get what's on Trace's shirt. Hurrah for witty shirts.
But aren't we all breathing and blinking,as well as living,and watching this video,all at the same time? .-. Wouldn't that be considered multitasking,even though breathing,blinking and living are involuntary?
What about playing an instrument while talking to someone? I am a musician so I have had a lot of practice with my guitar... I am human so I have had a lot of practice with socializing. I can do both simultaneously, and not sound like an idiot doing either.
I can read, write at the same time (different text & even languages) and speak with someone meanwhile without any problem. But when I'm doing only 1 thing (for example reading a book), I can't stay focused on it and I soon forget what I just read.
smoking and watching tv, multitasking is possible unless there is a precise definition of task like u can easily walk and talk at the same time but is walking a task?
Still no. Your brain will dish out the orders individually. Press key, then shoot. They just happen very quickly that it appears to us to be at the same time.
Revan The actions are still independent. You didn't think "move" and "shoot" at the same time, nor did you perform the actions at the exact same time. There is still a delay between them, even if you don't notice it.
GlintTheStrong the character in the game will considered multitasking, However you the player would really be just '*holding*' 2 buttons. Example: (In a tank) 1st - press W to move forward 2nd - move mouse to aim (W is still being pressed) 3rd - Click to shoot. It's not multitasking, like the guy said.
GlintTheStrong the character in the game? well yeah, now that i think about it. it's all just insanely fast code, carrying out tons of commands, all of which happen is such an insanely fast rate but never in the same microsecond as another.
Vision is a sensory input, ie. passive. One *can* process multiple passive sensory inputs at once, but one *cannot* perform multiple motor outputs simultaneously. That's why you can eat while watching TV, for example. But watching TV is only a passive input function, so that's not really active "tasking". You *can* take in all the simultaneous events on a video game screen (passive sensory inputs) but you *cannot* handle two game controllers at once (active motor outputs). Both driving and eating are mostly done unconsciously, so again it's not active "tasking", that's why one can eat and text, or drive and talk, at the same time, because only one of those activities occupy your mind at any moment.
I multitask all the time via muscle memory, when I have done something enough times I don't have to pay much attention to that because I can react almost automatically, while it may be true my full attention never goes to both at the same time I can shift my attention rapidly as needed to accomplish both tasks.
I would like to be able to do arithmetic/mathematic tasks while doing other things… I hate to have to focus only on arithmetic/mathematic task until I find the result, before being able to interpret the result!
ok he says you cannot talk and text on a phone at the same time.. but i do that litarly all the time, and it is very easy to be speaking in two places at once.. its the same as listening to somone elses conversation while your talking to somone in front of you.. i understand that it might be hard to do this but it is not impossible, and it is easy with practice.
I can listen to music and play some games, I can sew/knit and listen to someone talking/music. i wish i could play video games and finish homework (and get every question/assignment right).
how do Drummers do it? or drummers that also sing and scream lyrics while they're drumming multiple instruments at the same time? You guys should make a video on this. :-)
Being able to think about what I'm going to say while I'm already speaking would be my wish. My sentences tend to have pauses for me to catch up serial tasking between thinking and speech.
I talk on the phone every morning with my Mother while playing Animal Crossing. And I have no problem doing both at the same time. Or watching a movie while reading a book. I do that one all the time too. How is that not multitasking?
I agree with some of the others. Sure if you are texting to communicate and at the same time speaking to communicate that is too complex (for I). But I can multitask (not serial task) if I can sepatate the tasks in different parts of my brain. It is hard for me to listen to long speaches if I do not do a menial task during. If I doodle I can memorize all they key points. So it can be harder to not multitask, for me for many specific situations. Everyone's minds work differently. On that note check out synesthesia, if you have not researched it. I do not have it, but very interesting if hou like the brain.
I found that I can do this: Read a book (in my head or out loud) and think about something completely different / irrelevant, and while my eyes and mouth follow the text in the book, my mind is doing something utterly different, like thinking about meetings, activities, etc. Of course I can't remember what I read during that time, but I *can* read a book out loud and think about something else simultaneously.
I'd choose sleeping while watching movies. But that would be more like dreaming. I wish while I was asleep somehow I would dream-watch a movie and remember all of it while still waking up refreshed. Imagine that! I think scientists could make some serious money if they could achieve that. I'd sure as hell pay for dream-movies (tm) ;) (remember you heard it here first)
If people are gong to borrow words from computer science at least use them correctly. The term "multitask" in computer science refers to a computer running several tasks at once. In a computer with more than one processor/brain, sometimes these tasks can run in parallel, but in acomputer with only one processor things are run in serial, one after another, giving the illusion of parallelism. So humans with one brain are multitasking even though they are doing the tasks in serial.
For the record on the side of computer science, machines multitask in a serial way too, but they do so quickly and efficiently they give the illusion they do it effortlessly. Additional tasks do slow them down.
What about watching a video and fiddling with a pen, or eating popcorn while at the movies? Doesn't that count as multitasking? And if we can't multitask, how is it that we can still understand whats going on?
So, ignoring the whole sight part of this... does this mean that if we learn to do something really well, our brains can be conditioned to do it in a way that is automatic and qualitatively different from how we used to do it? Some guy with brain damage was talking about how he had to think about placing each foot in order to walk. On the other hand, people do walk and chew gum at the same time just fine. I'd like to be able to listen to something and read at the same time, but I think that would require an extra brain because the point is to be able to understand and relate it to stuff that I already know. I don't think my brain would be able to engage memory and make pattern recognition associations of two things at once because there could be contention. So, is it just certain movement tasks that can be learned to be done simultaneously? I think we do think about more than one thing at a time to a certain extent, but because it's not a singular experience, we don't call it awareness. It could be that awareness is by definition when we're only thinking about one thing. Maybe?
I was about to say "But I'm really good at that Multitask game!" when you said there's no multitasking, but the game is visual so I guess I really was multitasking.
I can walk home from school while I'm on my phone, playing games or writing something, and just looking at my phone. I dont even look away when I'm about to cross the road. And I'm safe because I can hear if a car is on its way and I know how it feels to walk on the road. If you don't call that multitasking I don't know what multitasking is.
But you can multitask if the activities you choose are done completely independently in the brain. For example, you can ride a stationary bike and read a book. Riding a stationary bike only involves your cerebellum and reading a book only involves your cerebrum. But you can steer a normal bike and read at the same time because you need your cerebrum to plot a course through traffic.
Fascinating video but I thought he rushed the ending - could have used another 30 seconds of detail and examples.
I totally agree with Shawn. Listening and reading both need the vocal cortex to operate.
But I can easily listen to someone speaking (vocal- and audio-cortex) without dropping my knitting (motor- and visual-cortex). It even helps me listening because that way I reach a pleasant activation level in the brain that helps me shut out distractions.
Well science... what now? ^^
Julia Warren Sounds like they need to get back to basics - a cure for cancer, fixing world hunger, find world peace and doing my tax return.
I think if there is a pole on the road you will crash against it which means you didn't multitask. If it is an exercise bike, riding and reading is just like walking and breathing.
I want to multitask being able to imagine something while actively drawing it and/or writing it down with high detail.
Peter Aguilar
WHAT? WHAT DID HE DO?!!!!!
That would be a mess, the picture in your imagination would be changing all the time and you'd have to be making corrections on the drawing constantly.
I think it's better how it is right now, just imagining something and then drawing it,
This has to be my fav youtube channel
I'm eating while watching this.
I also can use my phone while i'm taking a shit...
me too hahaha
And guess what, I can breathe while I'm sleeping.
Hey, still there're more. I can also chew food while sitting down and still hear if someone calls me.
Some of the basic functionalities have been embedded deep in the brain that you do it unconsciously. Like driving, if you drive for enough time you will have what's called muscle memory and your unconscious brain will basically do that for you. However, let's say you are writing an essay about multi-tasking and at the same time talking on the phone with your little sis about her lost dog. Wondering how much you accomplish and how long would it take you to do that. This is what he called in the vid as Serial Task. You type a word (or a bunch), then you shift your focus to the call, then you shift your focus to the paper again.
Some people can do that better than others. But you will always sacrifice the quality of focus.
This video is mostly about confusion about words, definitions and reality.
In reality, said peripheral+focus vision multitasking works because we have a lot of practice doing it - for evolutionary purposes. So much that it becomes semi-unconscious. Multitasking in its intended use just means doing several things at the same time that require conscious attention, and naturally this would require some splitting of attention, just like computers are doing it, by assigning portions of CPU time to different tasks and thus quickly alternating between them. Now if you as a human being do that a lot, what happens is what is almost a universal law of nature: You keep doing something, you get better at it. Some people are very good at multitasking, others not. If your job requires you to do it and you did that job for a decade, you will be quite able to multitask to a more or less flexible degree, depending on the nature of your 'training regimen'.
But even when you are "multitasking" you are just doing one thing at a time no matter how many activities you have to perform in a short period.
kotosqopos
You, too, are doing said confusing now. Everybody knows what is meant with "doing several things at the same time", and any attempt to logically pick that apart will only end up in spriritual-philosophical musings about the time continuum, the nature of events in the universe and the fringes of physics. And that's definitely not the intended use of the word "multitasking". The word serves a practical purpose and does it well, and it isn't even misleading.
What I was describing and what happens a lot in theoretical sciences and philosophy is changing a definition in order to validate one's own argument. It's a bit like fighting windmills, to use a literary metaphor.
Dowlphin I completely understand you. It's like "Is anything really empty?" thing. Some people can get into so many superfluous things but if it wasn't for it we geeks would have no reasons to discuss.
I like the way you make valid your point. High 5 bronie =)
kotosqopos
⁵(\
I think it would be more accurate to say we can't MENTALLY multitask WELL. We can certainly physically multitask (like walking and chewing gum at the same time), and we can sort of mentally multitask (like having a conversation while watching a movie), though we may not get quite as full an experience from either. Of course, if the mental tasks are unconscious, then we can't help but multitask. I can be consciously listing to the words someone is saying to me, while simultaneously subconsciously reading their body language, and one does not detract from the other.
I couldn't agree more!
Multitasting is simply doing two things at once. Any one can do it. Talking to a friend while playing a video game is a good example of multitasking because youv'e got hand/eye coordination, planning, and communication all at once. Another example would be watever you are doing while your'e thinking, or while talking to someone. Or how about imagining a story as you are reading a book? Even critisizing something in your as you are observing it. We are allways mulititasking.
Eating and looking good
*****
Kicking names and taking ass
What about multitasking within the same task...such as listening to music. Can you not listen to the guitar and drums at the same time?
I can walk and chew gum at the same time.
Impressive
I can too
I can also eat an entire pizza while walking
Out of curiosity... does thinking about somethign and doing something else count as multitasking? And honestly, I have actually found certain kinds of visual stimulation allows aural focus. All my questions centre around tetris, as its simple and repetitive task allows me to think clearly and logically while remaining fully focused on the game. I could be thinking about politics and be doing the best I've ever done with tetris. Thus also goes for my listening ability, it actually improves when I have simple visual stimulation.
Perhaps visual and aural stimulation is capable in multitasking, but not relatively difficult visual and sensory stimulation, such as typing in a conversation while listening to Dnews.
Of course, this could be just rapid serial tasking, but I dont think it is.
I wouldn't consider thinking while doing something else multitasking. I think eye-to-hand coordination is mostly related to instincts and reflexes, so I don't think it could be considered multi-tasking.
Dreaming and peeing at the same time, Mutitasking!!
YR2050
haha nice one !!
It's more like time slicing than multitasking. Our brains run Windows 3.1. How do I get an upgrade?
You can't. At least, not now. Ever seen the show Intelligence?
I can multitask...I play video games and speak on the phone while eating a snack/drinking a soda.
so you talk with food in your mouth and use your both hands on a controller/keyboard and in a chip bag AND on a phone. you my friend just serial task. if it was multi-tasking you would be getting your 12th kill while talking about it to your friends with food in your mouth. Grow 2 more hands and I believe you.
***** It's hero time!
FOUR ARMS!!
Eating and playing video games don't always use the active part of the brain. So you could do all three things at once (ignoring logistics), in the same way that you "multitask" in breathing and walking and talking on the phone at the same time. So it's not really multi-tasking unless it's two things that both require lots of brain power and focus.
SilverSHAQ BEN 10 REFERENCE!!!!
I have friends like you.. and they drive me bananas!! First of all they can never really pay attention to what the fuck I'm saying, I can hear them eating and they sometimes randomly start screaming profanities in the middle of the conversation... Its not really multitasking because its more like doing multiple things at the same time while not really paying attention to any of them.
I agree with these findings on multitasking, but can't reading, say, a paragraph out loud while, and through a separate stream of consciousness, be daydreaming/analyzing a completely different thought pattern, also be considering multitasking? I even though my memory doesn't record what I'm reading, still, words are coming out of my mouth and I'm analyzing the events of a friend's wedding at the same time.
Sleeping and doing homework
You are awesome!
The truth has been spoken, both of you!!
I was once sleep writing.
Why is it ppl can sing and play piano/guitar simultaneously?
Because, to your brain, it's all one thing. Driving is similar in that you must navigate, correct the vehicle, handle collision avoidance, track multiple objects, monitor fuel and engine, and watch the weather; Your brain treats this as one job.
So... non-rhetorical question: Is singing and playing an instrument at the same time considered multitasking? Because a lot of people do that. How is that accomplished if multitasking is so impossible/elusive? DNews
is playing an interment multitasking? for example a cello. you have to do a lot of movements with your right arm, place your left hand's fingers in the right positions for the note, read the music, follow the director and listen to the people around you and your own notes. isnt that multitasking?
Sure sounds like it.
So walking while breathing while talking and seeing and hearing and feeling is not considered multi tasking...
Do you consciously make the decision to move each leg or breath?
If so and you can do all those thing together sure.
nbs90 No, my body does whatever it wants, I sometimes end up in strange places because my legs decide to walk there.... Idiot.
How is that multi-tasking? Your body does all that on it's own, no consious thought... usually.
By that logic you'd have to consider every living thing on the planet to be constantly and actively multi-tasking just by breathing and walking at the same time..
with one hand i put my items in a bag and the other hand i insert my card and enter code.. while waiting for the seconds the pin-machine is loading i even continue filling my bag with both hands and switch back getting my card back with one hand while filling the rest of the bag with my other.. isnt that multitasking?
What about drumming? The feet on double bass pedal and your two hands doing two separate rhythms at the same time?
I listened to this video and checked my 43 emails and deleted 41 of them for spam does this count as multitasking?
what I don't understand is why some tasks aren't considered to be multitasking. For instance, I have a youtube channel where I play video games and commentate at the same time. And the games I play require a lot of concentration but I'm still able to think about what I'm saying and think about what buttons to press. How is that not multitasking?
every body that drives a car can also have a conversation with the passenger at the same time perfectly fine, that is until a question is asked that is not in the immediate memory (it requires thinking, like a math problem) at the same time as manoeuvring say through a busy two way round about.
but in all cases unless very basic level you are actually very quickly switching between tasks but it goes undetected unless you film it in and put it in slow motion, for example write the alphabet while answering a relatively simple question from your friend. You will see a pause in your writing while you think to answer the question. But it is not something people notice because it's a small pause then you continue. If you have to line up somebody on the cross-hairs on your computer game with precision quickly you will pause if you are answering a question from your friend that requires taping into the memory.
Yes you can do that perfectly fine, but you won't be able to remember perfectly fine. Fair enough? That's the point, you won't remember everything exactly while if you focus on one task you can remember it properly.
ZeroRekoning That does make sense. Thanks yo.
Listening to a teacher and being able to take notes at the same time would be amazing!
Isn't playing the harmonica while playing the guitar multitasking or like singing while dancing?
What about reading and writing at the same time? I mean i do this all the time in school, i can read a book and at the same time write down what i'm reading. I also sometimes translate while reading and writing down. For example on a English test i can read, translate and write it down at the same time. Is that multitasking or isn't it?
SO heres a question. Would drumming be a succession of serial tasking?? n that goes for any other rapid sequence of multiple percussion/action
So when I'm asked in a job interview, "Can you multitask?" I'll just refer them to this video. Sweet.
I watch the video while reading comments.
What about multitasking through muscle memory? In my experience, if it is some thing I do all the time, it becomes easier to divert my attention while still achieving the task at hand.
I've seen a drummer in my music class who plays saxophone while drumming with his left hand (obviously his notes are limited this way but he does it) and no I don't mean just hitting the quarter notes, he actually does real drumming with a separate rhythm from the sax.
What about musicians who able to play guitar & sing at the same time? Is that not multi tasking? Example, I play a lot of riffs & having to sing different melodies with different rythems. It can difficult at times having to do both at the same time.
I can play games like guitar hero and have a perfectly normal conversation with someone without stopping/pausing. Is that considered multi-tasking?
All depends on the definition, like stated before, I think the researchers here are viewing multitasking as 2 or more tasks that would normally take your full attention, like texting and driving, but if you can do a task without really consciously thinking about it, then you can handle multiple tasks.
Is drawing while listening not considered multitasking?
No, the music is just there, you are not making songs and drawing exactly at the same time.
This is a case of two groups of thought that only disagree because they are not actually talking about the same things. When science says multitask they mean thinking about more than one thing at a time...while the conversational use of the word implies working on more than one project at the same time. The former is certainly impossible, however, since many types of projects have large periods of waiting, the latter is actually quite common and certainly more efficient than a more focused approach.
This means we can work very efficiently on multiple projects at the same time as long as we don't try to do two thought intensive tasks at any one point.
THANK YOU. More people need to understand this.
ok the definition of multitasking is to do more than 1 task at the same time, but what is really "at the same time"? what if the process so fast that both tasks only differ in 1 micro second (could be back and forth)? we won't realize the time difference, so we naturally call it multitasking? or technically not because it's still not "at the same time"?
What about how I always do puzzle games on my phone while listening to anything and still manage to keep up? or is that more then instinct of movements for the puzzle rather than taking in two things at once
what about using mouse and keyboard at a same time?
when i play games i uselly do alot of stuff at same time with mouse and keyboard.
Like you said in the beginning, being able to hold a conversation and text/read/write would be amazing.
I doubt this is what you were asking, but is it possible to have knowledge of something without connecting it to language? I feel like I've always known that you can't multitask in that way.
Dear DNews,
Where can I get all those amazing and funny shirts you have? Seriously. They're awesome.
Study on task and play games at the same time would be nice. c:
I don't know what counts as multi tasking but what about when
I play guitar and my mind is focusing on listening to the rest of the band play. So I'm 1 hearing myself play ,2 playing the guitar and 3 hearing the drummer ext.
What if a person has their corpus callosum cut? You'd basically have two mini-brains working independent of the other. So is that multi-tasking or is it something else?
speaking of multitasking...
is it better to study while playing music, or without it?
sometimes i can remember much more when listening to music.
cover it in DNews pls :)
I think this depends how you define multi-task, and the person... I'm eating while watching this. Is that not multi-tasking? My attention is not less present because of eating while watching.
I believe the term multi tasking refers to maintaining multiple active/dominative tasks. Things you really need to concentrate on.
For instance, defusing a nerve agent based bomb with your toes in a room full of panicking people while playing an epic, 10 minute guitar solo with your hands.
I know it is an outlandish example but I was going for extremes >.>
Falney Lol. Fabulous example. xD
I'm just wondering like, who got to define multi-tasking and why? I mean, I would call watching TV while getting dressed multi-tasking, assuming you're actually attentive to what's on the TV. Talking on the phone and cooking... those are all things I can do without sacrificing my involvement in one for the other. Not as advanced of tasks but still... xD
VirginieVoyage
Dressing while watching TV isn't multitasking. You have to shift your attention quickly, though some of the movements are automatic and don't require attention, so that might make it seem like multitasking. Really if you put full attention on the television you wouldn't be able to out your shirt on straight though. It's just not possible for a human being.
Podimann Well that's what I'm saying, different peoples' definitions of multi-tasking might vary, that's why I was asking how did they decide what the exact definition of multi-tasking was? Lol. I'd say if you're successfully doing 2 things in no less time than it would take you to do them separately, that's multi-tasking in my book.
VirginieVoyage
Well I would guess that there is a commonly definition of multitasking in the behavioral sciences that differs from yours. Because that's where you start in science when considering a question, with the definitions.
So I sing while working on homework and it actually keeps me focused. I can even follow songs like Rap God by Emeiniem (butchered that spelling :p) without missing a word and my Calculus accuracy and speed actually improves. I don't understand is that not multitasking?
When we r watching a video we r taking in visual info and audio. And interpreting them both at the same time isn't that also multitasking?
I knit and walk to classes every day. And knit and read subtitles on my anime. Haven't noticed any significant change in speed in either task when doing it with or without knitting.
Is listening to a video and playing a game at the same time multitasking?
Hi Trace! If you can't multitask efficiently with anything else but with your vision (because you said that reading a book and talking to someone would make the conversation unintelligible and you would finish a single page very slowly), then how are the brains of simultaneous interpreters different than the rest of us? Thank you in advance! :)
Or what I'm actually curious to know is whether simultaneous interpreting is multitasking in a "real" sense or not? So in the sense that your eyes/brain are doing it, and not in the sense that you just quickly switch between 2 tasks.
My issue with simultaneous interpreting being simply a quick switching between 2 tasks is that these interpreters do the listening and talking at the same time, just like your example where you said that reading and talking at the same time would be "real" multitasking and not quickly switching up 2 things.
At work, I have to type addresses and on some cases translate them. While I listen to the speaker, I type down on another language while listening and thinking on what to ask next. I believe that counts.
How can you say you can / cannot multitask when it's really subjective what defines a single task?
if im eatimg and if I'm using my phone or reading a book i can focus on the eating as much as i focus on blinking.
I don't see why isnt that multitasking
I personally have read and listened at the same time. It is tiring, and it isn't as comprehensive as it would if I focused on one at a time. I think it was more like I would hear a word, read a word, hear a word, read a word, or something like that. Still, I passed the literature test, so it worked well enough.
Is blinking and breathing multitasking?
I have trouble multitasking in my dreams! I'm a server and I'm really good at my job ...except when I go to sleep and start dreaming about my job. I get so frustrated and upset in my dreams to where I want to quit which leads me to this video today! It literally just happened and I came to the conclusion of why I can't work productively in my dreams like I do on a daily basis when I'm actually awake is because maybe you don't multitask in your dreams!!
To me this video makes no sense whatsoever. Normally I agree with the things said on DNews but this is grinding my gears. How is drying my hands with a towel while examining my face for imperfections in a mirror not multitasking? Or eating chips while typing this message?! What about juggling whilst unicycling and chewing gum? Cause I can do that too (no bullcrap jus' saying)... Either my definition of multitasking is wrong, or there are some scientists that need to sort their shit out.
Please upload a video of that(juggling uni-cycling thing), PLEASE!
I think the point is that you can't focus on both at once - you can do something without thinking about it while thinking about something else (so you can unicycle without thinking about it while focusing on juggling), but you can't put your energy into both at once. It's a little more complicated than that, but there's my basic two cents (which in Canada round down to zero, so, take it for what you will).
This is to do with thinking tasks versus manual/physical tasks. I'm sure the very first time you got on your unicycle you weren't able to juggle at the same time. But, as you have gotten into a routine, or a habit, you are able to do these things because you're not actually actively thinking about it anymore. Chewing gum is easy, and so it becomes habitual quickly, and you aren't thinking about it.
In short, as something becomes an automatic motor skill, you don't need to think about it, so you are able to do something else as well.
The definition most used is related to focusing on a task, like writing a letter, or watching a video. You wouldn't be able to text somebody and listen to each word in a song intently at the same time, or call somebody on the phone while writing down what they are saying without a break. You can try these things yourself; all you need to do is pick two activities where you need to be actively thinking about what you need to do at that moment.
Another example of the motor skill versus thinking skill would be doing a labouring task like mowing a lawn while you're making up a song in your head, which is the thinking aspect. You are able to do both because the first is physical and even habitual, and the other is a thinking task.
Anyway, I hope I was of some help!
***** I second that sentiment. :)
the point is you CAN but you are horrible at splitting your attention so you'd mostly be doing fine at one thing but horrible at the other but it would be fine IF the 2 things you're doing involve different senses for example listening to someone next to you while riding a bicycle listening takes the hearing sense (to listen) but riding involves the looking sense (to see where you are going) of course I'm talking about the senses everybody knows but doing the 2 obviously involves a lot more if you do not know about the senses checkout vsauces touch video.
Has anyone who is not already a musician ever tried something like playing guitar hero, or an instrument, while maintaining a conversation or answering a question? At first it's pretty hard but you get used to it and after a while you can play an instrument or game without distracting your brain too much. Is that multitasking? I can do that with reading also but I don't retain the information as well. I also find I can read one thing and look at another with my peripherals but I cant look at one thing and read another with them.
I've watched this for the 2nd time in 6 months (due to a comment from another DNews video) and only now did I get what's on Trace's shirt. Hurrah for witty shirts.
i can text look away from my phone carry on a conversation while walking all at the same time if that's not multitasking what is
I would choose homework+gaming and/or watching youtube videos
But aren't we all breathing and blinking,as well as living,and watching this video,all at the same time? .-. Wouldn't that be considered multitasking,even though breathing,blinking and living are involuntary?
that's what i thought
Watching tv while being online? (Doing it now)
Works if you've already seen what you're watching, not so much if it's new :P
What about playing an instrument while talking to someone? I am a musician so I have had a lot of practice with my guitar... I am human so I have had a lot of practice with socializing. I can do both simultaneously, and not sound like an idiot doing either.
i can type a paragraph and have a conversation at the same time with someone else. does that count?
I can read, write at the same time (different text & even languages) and speak with someone meanwhile without any problem.
But when I'm doing only 1 thing (for example reading a book), I can't stay focused on it and I soon forget what I just read.
smoking and watching tv, multitasking is possible unless there is a precise definition of task like u can easily walk and talk at the same time but is walking a task?
Walking is only a task if you are doing it voluntarily, most of the time is automatic.
where did he get that shirt?
wait wait wait... in say an FPS game, I move and shoot (in a tank, as a soilder, etc) is that multitasking?
Still no. Your brain will dish out the orders individually. Press key, then shoot. They just happen very quickly that it appears to us to be at the same time.
Revan The actions are still independent. You didn't think "move" and "shoot" at the same time, nor did you perform the actions at the exact same time. There is still a delay between them, even if you don't notice it.
GlintTheStrong the character in the game will considered multitasking, However you the player would really be just '*holding*' 2 buttons.
Example: (In a tank)
1st - press W to move forward
2nd - move mouse to aim (W is still being pressed)
3rd - Click to shoot.
It's not multitasking, like the guy said.
TheLPRnetwork It still isn't multitasking in the sense that this video is talking about.
GlintTheStrong the character in the game? well yeah, now that i think about it. it's all just insanely fast code, carrying out tons of commands, all of which happen is such an insanely fast rate but never in the same microsecond as another.
Where do you get your tumbnail pictures
The book shown from 2:15 to 2:19 is Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller.
How does gaming not count as multitasking? Especially when I'm carrying on a conversation over TS at the same time.
Vision is a sensory input, ie. passive. One *can* process multiple passive sensory inputs at once, but one *cannot* perform multiple motor outputs simultaneously. That's why you can eat while watching TV, for example. But watching TV is only a passive input function, so that's not really active "tasking". You *can* take in all the simultaneous events on a video game screen (passive sensory inputs) but you *cannot* handle two game controllers at once (active motor outputs). Both driving and eating are mostly done unconsciously, so again it's not active "tasking", that's why one can eat and text, or drive and talk, at the same time, because only one of those activities occupy your mind at any moment.
I multitask all the time via muscle memory, when I have done something enough times I don't have to pay much attention to that because I can react almost automatically, while it may be true my full attention never goes to both at the same time I can shift my attention rapidly as needed to accomplish both tasks.
I would like to be able to do arithmetic/mathematic tasks while doing other things… I hate to have to focus only on arithmetic/mathematic task until I find the result, before being able to interpret the result!
I can poop, text, and eat a donut, so take that science!!!
you eat on the toilet?
Old Mate, if it comes to that, yes.
Go to google and type in "Define sanitary". Your welcome.
gulfmen86 I sit, I eat, I wipe. I don't wipe, eat, and then sit. So my hands are clean to devour my delicious donut. You're welcome for the tip.
crazyphysicsguy
You da maaaan
ok he says you cannot talk and text on a phone at the same time.. but i do that litarly all the time, and it is very easy to be speaking in two places at once.. its the same as listening to somone elses conversation while your talking to somone in front of you.. i understand that it might be hard to do this but it is not impossible, and it is easy with practice.
what about playing guitar and singing?
I can listen to music and play some games, I can sew/knit and listen to someone talking/music. i wish i could play video games and finish homework (and get every question/assignment right).
how do Drummers do it? or drummers that also sing and scream lyrics while they're drumming multiple instruments at the same time? You guys should make a video on this. :-)
Being able to think about what I'm going to say while I'm already speaking would be my wish. My sentences tend to have pauses for me to catch up serial tasking between thinking and speech.
I talk on the phone every morning with my Mother while playing Animal Crossing. And I have no problem doing both at the same time. Or watching a movie while reading a book. I do that one all the time too. How is that not multitasking?
I agree with some of the others. Sure if you are texting to communicate and at the same time speaking to communicate that is too complex (for I). But I can multitask (not serial task) if I can sepatate the tasks in different parts of my brain. It is hard for me to listen to long speaches if I do not do a menial task during. If I doodle I can memorize all they key points. So it can be harder to not multitask, for me for many specific situations. Everyone's minds work differently. On that note check out synesthesia, if you have not researched it. I do not have it, but very interesting if hou like the brain.
I found that I can do this: Read a book (in my head or out loud) and think about something completely different / irrelevant, and while my eyes and mouth follow the text in the book, my mind is doing something utterly different, like thinking about meetings, activities, etc.
Of course I can't remember what I read during that time, but I *can* read a book out loud and think about something else simultaneously.
I am not saying that this is multitasking, I just never found a situation where saying this was more relevant.
I'd choose sleeping while watching movies. But that would be more like dreaming. I wish while I was asleep somehow I would dream-watch a movie and remember all of it while still waking up refreshed. Imagine that! I think scientists could make some serious money if they could achieve that. I'd sure as hell pay for dream-movies (tm) ;) (remember you heard it here first)
If I try to watch a video and type at the same time, I find it easy to lose track of the sound.
What about the little know subspecies of Time Lord that along with 2 hearts they also have 2 brains. Can they multitask?
If one thing is a habit, say humming a specific tune, you can do it at the same time as another thought-provoking task, like reading a book.
I eat while I shit because I have no self respect.
If people are gong to borrow words from computer science at least use them correctly. The term "multitask" in computer science refers to a computer running several tasks at once. In a computer with more than one processor/brain, sometimes these tasks can run in parallel, but in acomputer with only one processor things are run in serial, one after another, giving the illusion of parallelism.
So humans with one brain are multitasking even though they are doing the tasks in serial.
One can breath, think, see, listen (and the list goes on), all at the same time.
two things at the same time like travelling through time while teleporting?
For the record on the side of computer science, machines multitask in a serial way too, but they do so quickly and efficiently they give the illusion they do it effortlessly. Additional tasks do slow them down.
What about watching a video and fiddling with a pen, or eating popcorn while at the movies? Doesn't that count as multitasking? And if we can't multitask, how is it that we can still understand whats going on?
So, ignoring the whole sight part of this... does this mean that if we learn to do something really well, our brains can be conditioned to do it in a way that is automatic and qualitatively different from how we used to do it? Some guy with brain damage was talking about how he had to think about placing each foot in order to walk. On the other hand, people do walk and chew gum at the same time just fine. I'd like to be able to listen to something and read at the same time, but I think that would require an extra brain because the point is to be able to understand and relate it to stuff that I already know. I don't think my brain would be able to engage memory and make pattern recognition associations of two things at once because there could be contention. So, is it just certain movement tasks that can be learned to be done simultaneously? I think we do think about more than one thing at a time to a certain extent, but because it's not a singular experience, we don't call it awareness. It could be that awareness is by definition when we're only thinking about one thing. Maybe?
I was about to say "But I'm really good at that Multitask game!" when you said there's no multitasking, but the game is visual so I guess I really was multitasking.
I can walk home from school while I'm on my phone, playing games or writing something, and just looking at my phone. I dont even look away when I'm about to cross the road. And I'm safe because I can hear if a car is on its way and I know how it feels to walk on the road. If you don't call that multitasking I don't know what multitasking is.
Where do you get your tshirts??