Lynse Leanne

I love NPR. We all know this. One of the shows that i really enjoy on NPR is called Radio Lab. It used to come on Saturday mornings and it was convenient because I was working alone in a drive thru coffee cart. I would look forward to the Saturdays I was scheduled because of the NPR line up…i know, kind of nerdy, but it was so good. Since leaving that coffee shop I have continued to listen to Radio Lab. I have some of the podcasts, but mostly while i am doing the boring work of writing Social Security Numbers on stacks of paper at the community college i work at instead of listening to Pandora or whatever I listen to Radio Lab. It helps pass the time. Each episode is 1 hour and so intriguing. This is the “about” from Radio Lab‘s website….

Radiolab believes your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we’ll feed it with possibility.

It truly makes me think. It is awesome.

One of the things it got me thinking about recently is what and how technology could or would evolve again if for some reason we lost all our modern conveniences and were forced to primitive, Little House on the Prairie type living. Could we, knowing and experiencing what we know in 2011, be content living without electricity, internet, phones, cable tv. Or would technology re-invent in the current circumstances.

One of the podcasts on Radio Lab that I enjoyed is “What Does Technology Want?” It kind of asks the questions of inventions and technology almost evolving itself.

So, my question to you is, if something like Y2K (because i know it can’t actually happen, Y2K that is) were to happen and our modern conveniences were wiped out worldwide do you think we could get back to where we are currently or do you think it would even be possible or desired?

I have always said that i was an awesome multi tasker….that i can focus on several things at once and do them all well. i can be in 2 conversations at once and not miss a beat.

But the other morning i was listening to NPR (Dont stone me…i know it is liberal but it talks about cool things like this). They had an interview with a guy at Stanford that did a study on multi taskers.
(here is another link to a variation of it too)

It was interesting to listen to him talk about how those of us who say we are good multi taskers probably are not…and truth be told, i think i agree with him.

When i did my “social media fast” and cut out all online activities that always seem to suck me in for more hours than i would like i found that i got more done and was significantly more productive.

Here is a quote from the study….

“They’re suckers for irrelevancy,” said communication Professor Clifford Nass, one of the researchers whose findings are published in the Aug. 24 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Everything distracts them.”

I would love to hear what you think about this? Do you consider yourself a good multi tasker….or do you function better focusing on one thing at a time?