«

»

Jun 07

Multitasking and distractibility (and ADD, and…other stuff…)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html

My distraction test results, originally uploaded by NDeRC2.

Click on the image to visit the source.

The Technology section in yesterday’s online New York Times Business Day featured an interesting article on gadgets, multitasking and distractibility. (Did I spell that right?) The article was featured in today’s Google Certified Teachers listserve, which is where I saw it. (It’s the CTC, not the NYTBD, btw, that’s on my daily reading list.) The article caught my attention, since I would have thought that if there were dangers in the area of gadgets and distraction, I’d be afflicted with them like Job.

Inserted into the text of the article was a distracting but really cool test of distractibility. I had to try it. My score is posted above…honestly, I didn’t much get the “distraction” part. The distractors were in BLUE, after all. The test takes less than 5 minutes, warmup-to-scored, so give it a try.

What do you think…are gadgets too distracting, or can they be woven into a rich and flowing pattern of life? Try the test, and remember to come back to comment.