Djvaselaar sends along an article from The New Atlantis that summarizes recent inquisition indicating that multitasking may be detrimental to work and learning.. It begins, "In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the coming advice: 'There is time enough for gross in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.' To Chesterfield, singular focus was not merely a practical way to structure one's time; it was a mark of intelligence... E-mails pouring in, cell phones ringing, televisions blaring, podcasts streaming--all this may become background noise, like the 'din of a foundry or factory' that James observed workers could scarcely avoid at first, but which eventually became just another part of their daily routine. For the younger generation of multitaskers, the great web banking din is an anticipated part of routine life. And given what neuroscience and anecdotal hold water have shown us, this state of constant intentional self-distraction could well be of profound detriment to distinguish and corrective well-being."

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Mark