Multitaskin: 'I'm both proud of and repelled by my ability to multitask, since it reflects the best of our human ability to perform complex tasks, but also the worst of our capacity to accept an increasing amount of chaos and tension in our lives'

摘要

Human language is a truly remarkable evolutionary innovation, allowing for extraordinarily detailed communication and adapting quickly to novel trends in human life with the creation of subtle new words that capture telling snapshots of our nature. Take the word "multitasking," a term originated by computer nerds to describe how computers can do more than one thing at once, but a word that has matured to encompass the essence of what modern life is all about. In any five-minute period, I might simultaneously type an answer to an e-mail message concerning the upcoming Apimondia conference while talking to my wife on the phone about our dinner plans, and at the same time beckon to a waiting student to come into my office and have a seat until I'm done with my computer/phone output. If I'm really cruising, I might even be drinking a cup of coffee in between keystrokes, "yes, dears," and gestures, and if it's a personal best moment in sensory overload, I could file a paper or two besides.