Shades of Mediocrity

"No matter how smart you are, you spend most of your day being an idiot."

Apparently, e-mail makes us dumber. A study done in the UK shows that those who are constantly distracted by e-mail, phone calls, or text messaging lose more IQ points than regular pot smokers. The "constant shifting of concentration makes the brain more tired and less focused," and therefore slightly impaired. It seems the IQ loss is temporary, though the article provides no details on how long it may take to recover.

I like to think of myself as someone who deals effectively, more or less, with distractions at work, but these results don't really surprise me. The constant intrusion of e-mail reduces my efficiency, since I always have to retrace at least a few mental steps when I return to whatever I was working on before the e-mail arrived. Most of us probably think we are accomplished and efficient multitaskers, but maybe we would be better served by concentrating on one thing at a time. I could try it, but first I have to read my new messages...