Re: [Phys-L] multitasking

["John Clement" <clement@hal-pc.org>]

This is a good point.  The need for a radio probably outweighs the risks
inherent in using it.  But it is different from shifting because decoding
what was said and understanding it is a cognitive task.  Shifting becomes an
automatic task which does not require multitasking because it is a true
parallel process.

One comment came to mind about this.  Students tell me that they can't
concentrate on what is being said and what is being written even though they
are the same thing.  In other words you have 2 competing cognitive tasks.

The difference between a cognitive task and an automatic one is obvious to
any folk dancer.  When you first start dancing a particular dance cognition
and planning is required.  But after a while "your feet know what to do".
You no longer have to conciously think about what you are doing and the
music cues your motions.  At that point you can carry on conversations
(cognitive task) with your neigbors and just enjoy the motion.  Apparently
doodling is an automatic task and people who do it generally pay more
attention according to studies, but I can't tell you why.

I wonder if anyone did any studies about the old CB radios and automobile
safety.  A CB is limited in that you can't talk to your girlfriend on it
unless she is in a nearby car.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


> One big difference with talking on a radio in an airplane and 
> talking on a phone in a car is that the use of the radio in a 
> plane is a necessary part of flying right from the very 
> beginning. After a while, the radio becomes just another part 
> of controlling an aircraft.  It's very similar to first 
> learning to drive on a standard shift car. You become 
> unconscious of the shifting and your main focus is on the 
> driving itself. Driving is the primary task - shifting is an 
> almost unconscious secondary task.
>
> A big problem with using a phone in a car is that it is 
> obvious that, for many people, talking on the phone is the 
> primary task and driving becomes relegated to a secondary 
> supporting role - something you physically do so you can 
> sustain the conversation without having to pull of to the 
> side of the road.