Since this is my first post here, I wanted to find something around the theme of “one.” Having also been doing some serious multitasking almost nonstop recently, I can certainly appreciate the advantages of monotasking–a sign of getting older? Research shows that the ability to multitask declines with age, which is associated with a decline in white matter integrity in the anterior thalamic radiations of the brain.
What a twisted maze we navigate day to day!
Nose Prose 
After our talk today I decided to venture deep to find maybe your oldest post… I think I have….
So, OK, interesting concept. So far I haven’t noticed a reduction in multi-tasking. If anything, mine is increasing with age as I start to see it less and less as a bad thing and more as something to be embraced.
ADD puts a negative denotation to the situation. I prefer now to think of it as ASD (Attention SURPLUS Disorder), and ability that allows my brian to work on multiple things at once. While it may have promoted poorer behavior in school, in the workplace it’s every excellent. Sort of like a quad-core computer, that runs multiple function chains at the same time. But of course I’m no doctor. I just write poetry B)
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You certainly have found the oldest post!
I suppose it depends on how you define multitasking. Is it truly doing multiple things at the same time, or doing one thing at a time very quickly?
That is an interesting way to reframe things. Also in line with the push to change lexicon in the world of medicine to remove stigma from certain conditions and put people at the center of focus. I think it might need to be explained that the “surplus” isn’t applied as a fixation of attention on one thing.
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DASD Diversed Attention Surplus Disorder B) I usually do what I would consider juggling many things in my brain at once. For example now playing on my blog, while listening to YouTube and also reconciling bank accounts at work. But I can get everything done with no errors. And if someone was talking to me, I could also cognitively listen while seemingly not paying attention.
This reminds me of a “game” that was was brain exercises… it would show you numbers one after another on a quick timer, while at the same time you need to write down the number that showed two numbers ago, while remembering the last number and the current number. To me it is all the same thing. So I guess what I am saying is that I can obviously only do one thing at once but I keep multiple running thoughts it my mind in different bubbles, taking in multiple sets of information at once while sending out a different set of information at the same time. (I only have two hands, one mouth, etc for example so I am physically bound to how much I do at once). But I also play music so consider you are taking in information listen to the band while releasing information of playing the guitar, while also releasing a different set of information as singing words even at a different rhythm or timing as the playing, or perhaps listening, playing, and having a conversation (speaking and thinking about what they say) with someone all at once, while playing guitar and listening to music. That type of ability might get you in trouble at school as you’ll be restless just sitting in a chair listening (at the very least I would practice fancy hand-writing as “taking notes”) but is quite useful in the real world!
So this became quite a long reply!
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Yes, the ability is certainly useful. It’s probably quite taxing on the brain, though, and would be easier if some processes can be habituated into a sort of “autopilot” mode. More power to you if you can “multitask” well!
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That’s a good point. Have you ever done a personality test?
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I’ve done several. They showed that I like evidence and clarity, need time to think about things, prefer small-group over large-group interactions—and, by extrapolation, prefer monotasking over multitasking. 😉
What about you?
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Oh ya. I did 16personalities.com and I got logisitician. I think you would come put pretty similar as me 😎
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