Multitasking Muddles the Mind?

Not that this is surprising, but a new study has indicated that the more we multitask, the more what we are doing suffers. It clearly indicates that our cognitive ability drops while we are multitasking.

The HMMs (heavy media multitaskers) did worse than the LMMs (light media multitaskers) across the board. Surprisingly, says co-author and sociologist Clifford Nass, "They're bad at every cognitive control task necessary for multitasking." They were more easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli, and although their memories were no worse than those of theLMMs, they had more difficulty in selecting stored information that was relevant to the task at hand. In one filtering test, for example, the LMMs took 323 milliseconds to discern the correct answer, but the HMMs averaged 400 milliseconds.

Nass says the study has a disturbing implication in an age when more and more people are simultaneously working on a computer, listening to music, surfing the Web, texting, or talking on the phone: Access to more information tools is not necessarily making people more efficient in their intellectual chores. Also disconcerting, he notes, is that "people who chronically multitask believe they're good at it." The findings are reported this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In other words, if you think that by doing many things simultaneously will make you more efficient and finish those things faster, you're wrong.

Which brings us back to driving while talking on cell phones. This only confirms earlier findings that such multitasking should not be allowed.

Zz.

Guilty Pleasures

Against my better judgment, I will admit I've watched and listened to this video more than a couple of times. Not only that, I've even tapped my feet to it!!



I feel so dirty!

:)

Zz.

World's Largest Truck Stop

We travel this stretch of I-80 quite often when we drive between Chicago and Iowa City. So I've seen this truck stop many times. It is the world's largest truck stop, and it has been featured in at least a couple of shows on the Travel Channel.

Strangely enough, I don't stop here very often. In fact, I think of all the years that I've passed by it, I've only stopped there 2 or 3 times. This past trip last weekend, I stopped and finally took a picture of the big sign they have right by the highway.



It is quite large, and I think I've explored maybe about 1/4 of the place.

Zz.

More 2009 Halsted Street Market Days

We went back to Market Days later in the afternoon, and of course, the street fair now is totally packed. The sky was still overcast, and there was rain in downtown Chicago. But it appeared that, other than a few strong gusts of wind, the fair has been sparred with any significant rain.



Usually, getting dunked on a hot day in August is a good thing. But it has been cloudy and a bit chilly all day. So this isn't that much fun as it could be.







I think the go-go boys dancing high up in front of Minibar booth were quite a hit with the crowd. :)



The various stages at the fair were also filled with performers already. This is one of them, in front of the 7-11 at Roscoe.

2009 North Halsted Street Market Days

The 2009 North Halsted Street Market Days is going on this weekend (Aug. 1 and 2) in Chicago. This is the largest 2-day neighborhood street fair in the Midwest.

We walked down there (we live a block away) right when they opened at 11:00 am. Many of the vendors were still setting up, and it was crowded yet. We always like to scout around this early in the day before it gets VERY crowded later in the afternoon just so we can get a feel for what's around and where. We usually go back to it several times a day, especially around meal times since we usually buy stuff there to eat over the 2 days.

So we just got back after walking around for about an hour. Grabbed a bite to eat - my favorite grilled chicken-on-a-stick with fried rice. Yummy, and easy to eat while you walk. Here are some early pictures of the street fair before the big crowds arrive. The weather is a bit overcast, and there's some rain in the forecast for this afternoon. It should clear up by late afternoon/early evening, and it should be nice tomorrow.














Zz.