Folding Time

Recent research on multitasking by Watson and Strayer at the University of Utah has demonstrated — despite all the Sunday supplement stories to the contrary — that some people CAN effectively multitask, people that Watson and Strayer call ‘supertaskers’.

2.5% of a test group of 200 could in fact drive in a difficult car simulation while conversing on the phone without significant loss of ability of the individual tasks. The ‘conversing on the phone’ wasn’t just talking about TV: it was a complex set of behaviors called OSPAN tasks, like remembered lists of items while performing mathematical calculations.

This means that there are some of us who can drive and talk on the phone safely. And it seems like their superpower is multitasking itself, not just the ability to do these two specific things together.

Obviously, much more research is needed to determine what goes into this. I am going to suggest a few ideas though: Being good at multitasking draws on more than one cognitive center, and no matter who you are, you can get better at multitasking, just like anyone can learn to juggle.

I am also going to suggest that being exposed to certain stimuli — video games, juggling, flight simulators, social streaming, martial arts, playing music — increase our capacity to fold time. And that participating in social groups where others have these skills will reinforce different ways to operate in the world.