
Think You're Multitasking? Think Again - makimaki
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794
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qaexl
I think most coders know this by now, particularly since multitasking on a
single-core system merely involves some really fast context-switches.

However, there is something that humans can do very well that is similar to
multitasking, but it isn't really multitasking. Ask any high performance
athelete or martial artist who has hit "the zone". Japanese Zen archers, for
example, specifically train for this ability to see everything (using the
peripheral vision), see significant details (for example, the weak spot on the
target's armor), but done in a way without attaching the focus to the details.
The result is the ability to take out the target without becoming so narrow-
focused that you lose perception of things going on around you. However,
unlike multitasking, you're aimed at just one goal instead of hopping from one
goal to the next. You can get a glimpse of this skill if you try to pick out a
specific detail out of the corner of your eye (using your peripheral vision).

Finally, the most important part of this skill is being able to focus without
attatchment. The sensation is very weird since we're mostly socialized to
avoid this state of mind. It is really useful when you need any sort of high
performance.

Your target doesn't have to be an physical object. The target can be getting
that beta product launch out the door.

If you want to read more about this, check out the book "Art of Learning".
There is an entire chapter devoted to developing this skill so that it can be
triggered at will.

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extension
Who actually thinks this?

"Think your hair is made of spaghetti? Think again!"

