If you're like me, when you hear the word "multitasking", you probably think of the awesomeness that modern day smart phones have brought. Talking AND surfing the web? Genius!!
I think everyone is concerned with multitasking, if you can do more than one thing at the same time, productivity goes up right? Well it turns out our brain has already beat us to the punch, it is constantly multitasking through parallel processing of sensual stimuli. Basically our brain will create a perception of a stimulus and either superimpose our perceptions and biases to form a concept or construct the whole concept from its parts. I think everyone is intrigued by the concept of multitasking, whether it is a real-life application to get more done quicker or sharpening our brain power by capitalizing on parallel processing.
I find myself multitasking a lot. Eating and talking, watching TV and painting my nails, singing and showering. Multitasking is definitely part of my everyday life. In some situations though, multitasking can be destructive. Certain situations require your full attention. Using a cell phone while driving, for instance, can be potentially harmful to many people. For me, listening to music or watching TV while attempting to do my homework is a bad use of my time. I always get more done when I am completely focused on the task at hand.