Comments on: Multithreading & The Complexity of Modern Experience

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Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:56:21 +0000

[...] Multithreading & The Complexity of Modern Experience | Productive Flourishing http://www.productiveflourishing.com/multithreading-the-complexity-of-modern-experience – view page – cached Experience isn't what it used to be. The complexity of experience continues to increase as technology advances, while our ability to process experience doesn't. — From the page [...]

By: David Dittell

David Dittell — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:12:50 +0000

Charlie, As someone who turns off the wireless while writing, I couldn't agree more. The visuals alone here tell the story very effectively. Thanks. David Dittells last blog post..How To Not Give A !@%$#@

By: Reginald Reglus

Reginald Reglus — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:08:50 +0000

This is all too true. There are so many distractions. I agree that we need to work on focusing on the task at hand. Indeed this will increase both the quality of our output and the quality of our experience.

By: Writer Dad

Writer Dad — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:43:02 +0000

I spend WAY too much time multi-tasking, thinking I'm getting way more done than I actually am. It's only when I slow down, breathe in and absorb the world around me that I get what I should be getting done done and enjoying it at the same time. At least I'm a quick study and am doing this less and less. The last thing I want to do is spin in circles. Writer Dads last blog post..How to NEVER run out of ideas

By: Zoe

Zoe — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:43:21 +0000

I think you are onto something, Charlie -- I feel a mental exercise in the works? Zoes last blog post..Answers to My Midnight Questions

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 22:04:31 +0000

@Jason: I see where you’re coming from regarding direct experience; the point that I should have expressed more clearly is that we have different ways of processing those experience streams. Couple that with how many streams we’re trying to juggle, and you get a problem with cognitive overhead. Thanks for pressing into that ambiguity!

@Doug: The newness and dynamism of experience are consistent, you’re right. What’s new, I think, is our lack of awareness that we’re trying to shove a basketball through a firehose. This is all much clearer to me as I think about it. Thanks for the feedback!

@Catherine: I’m in the same boat re: human connections. The difficult part has been balance for me, but isn’t that always the problem?

@Mike: As always, you’ve elevated the discussion here, Mike. And I agree that it’s not social media that the problem more than direct experience (for instance); the problem is trying to multithread too much at once. And “mastering” email and Twitter is a process – sometimes it’s good, and other times – well, we need to work on it a bit more.

@Zoe: It’s a really hard habit to break, indeed – it’s especially difficult since we spend so much time trying to make it easier to multitask and get to the things that are distracting us. Imagine, for instance, that you had to walk around the block before you checked email. How much less often would you do it? (Hmm, I may be on to something here.)

By: Zoe

Zoe — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:11:55 +0000

This is a really insightful perspective on the consume vs. create discussion. I constantly need to remind myself of this, because spending large chunks of time in front of a laptop makes it so easy to "multitask." There's no question in my mind that I'm more productive when I'm "mono-tasking," but I must say it's a hard habit to break! When I write fiction, I tend to be pretty disciplined about shutting everything else out. Now I am slowly applying that to my other activities... slowly, but surely I hope! Zoes last blog post..Answers to My Midnight Questions

By: Mike Stankavich

Mike Stankavich — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:25:01 +0000

Charlie, well said. I definitely agree that there’s a huge tendency to multithread and multitask in today’s culture. The problem is that the human brain operates more like Intel hyperthreading than true multithreading – we maintain multiple contexts, but we only actually process one context at any given moment, and quickly switch between them. Naturally the overhead involved in maintaining and switching between all those contexts consumes a big chunk of our processing capacity, which as you said leads to reduced quality and wheel-spinning.

I would submit that most people overload more on the the input side than on the output side. That’s a side effect of media saturation. Most forms of media employ various psychological tactics to grab our attention in order to gain a bigger slice of our attention from their competitors. Sci-fi author Charlie Stross posted a great rant about social media as an attractive nuisance that speaks to this point: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2009/04/antisocial_networking.html. But I believe that Charlie S’s point applies to most forms of media, not just social media.

Being aware of the problem and consciously working to avoid overload and multithreading will definitely improve quality and reduce stress. Just stepping back from TV and reading news sites has made a big difference for me. I still struggle with email and Twitter (damn those attractive nuisances), but I’ll keep working on it.

Charlie, thanks for a great call to action. Keep the wisdom flowing!

By: Catherine Cantieri, Sorted

Catherine Cantieri, Sorted — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:33:14 +0000

Excellent advice, Charlie. I recently wrote about how owning a puppy has taught me to focus on one thing rather than try to blog while making sure the couch doesn't get soiled. I've been thinking a lot about the power of connection lately, and about how a lot of folks -- me in particular -- could benefit from more human connections. Catherine Cantieri, Sorteds last blog post..Electric April: Cable management

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:40:33 +0000

Experience is EXACTLY what it used to be. Always new and always changing. Great tips! Keep rockin' Dougs last blog post..Mindgate