Posted on March 25, 2007
Filed Under Akimbo, Business, Ideas, On the Road, Technology, Video Podcasts

Whether partial attention or multi-tasking, our brains appear to be changing as a result of exposure to so much media and technology.

I learned a lot from reading these two articles, after recording today's show:
Here's the NY Times article on multitasking. (May require login after a few days.) Continuous Partial Attention is described here by Linda Stone.

Thanks LV, for bringing my attention to "cpa."

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Hawaiian words
NÄnÄ: attention

Tags: attention, hawaii, vlog, video, stressless, podcast, walk, roxanne darling, kaimoku, travel

Comments

9 Responses to “Beach Walk #395 OTR – Matters of Attention”

Jonnie From San Diego on March 26th, 2007 4:34 am

I agree with SC, and I don't care for multitasking; I do it at work and it's exhausting. I probably cannot actually multitask, and itâ€™s more like task switching.

In business, multitasking is touted as an asset. It sounds like youâ€™re doing more if you have 5 processes occurring at once. But I think the math would probably reveal that starting and stopping 5 processes continuously throughout their completion actually adds time overall and increases the incidence of error as well.

I looked on Google Earth for the Mystery Beach of the Day, got dizzy following miles of coastline, and gave up.

jen on March 26th, 2007 5:35 am

Great insight! I am so interested in how this affects younger generations.When i was growing up they called the multi-tasking mind ADHD.
But I've had the sense this tendency has to do with the evolution of consciousness.

Kent is also always trying to get me to "focus" because I can headaches from all the noise. We are both 3O so we are right on the cusp of this.

I have also noticed something going on with synchronicity and group thought forms. Rupert Sheldrake calls this tendency morphogenic fields.

marie on March 26th, 2007 6:17 am

Hmmmm, my first thought of the beach was San Diego, but then my attention went to the people on the beach without much tan, and Florida came to mind, but then again it could be in Mexico.....anywhere it is, the sound of the ocean sounds lovely.......Thank you for sharing and starting my day with a nice walk on the beach and thoughts to ponder. Going through my 800 pictures of Kauai, I can almost feel the air and the wonderful Aloha spirit that abounds in the Islands.
Aloha,
Marie in Talent Oregon

peter d on March 26th, 2007 8:06 am

I wonder if that has anything to do with the 'stealth' ring tones that only teenagers can hear the frequency of.

I would guess you are on the east coast of Florida judging from those waves and the architecture.

aloha!

Debi on March 26th, 2007 8:09 am

Perhaps your beach today is in Florida?
When you think about it, all "Tasks" require multitude effort to accomplish, hand, eye, brain, breath, feet, arms and so on.
Keep your tasks happy and positive!
Thanks for all you do Rox & Secret Camera Man.
Calmtouches,
Debi-

Phillip B on March 26th, 2007 8:27 am

I totally agree with you and not SC because I'm a serious multi-tasker. I find I get twice as much done in one day as other people doing the same thing. I do agree with him in that some people's definition of multi-tasking is just ADHD but I'm a computer guy. I believe that while I'm working there are no empty spaces of time. When things that don't require my constant attention can be running while I'm focussing on other things.

At home, I may have clothes washing, dinner cooking, computers running different long running processes, kids getting ready for bed, and working on a client's database.

Multi-tasking is such a relative word just like "busy" is.

SoCalGal on March 26th, 2007 10:22 am

I find working in a "zone" a more satisfying experience than multi-tasking. This is especially true when I work on a drawing or painting -- time flies and at the end am tired but happy with creating something.

Secret Camerman on March 26th, 2007 12:15 pm

@Phillip: Sounds like you're just busy, man! Kids and working from home certainly require having multiple things going on at once.

My definition of multitasking is talking on the phone to someone, while writing an email, while cleaning off your desk. In my observations, the email tends to contain typos and grammatical errors while the conversation with the person on the phone is not as attentive as it could be, and the papers cleared off the desk...good chance you won't remember where you put them 5 days from now.

In terms of where we are, watch carefully in the background, of the entire show, for famous and/or very well known landmarks.