Your brain CAN'T Multitask - Here's why
Вставка
- Опубліковано 13 чер 2024
- This video explores what attention really is, what role it plays in learning and why people can't multitask - the issue of attention residue
OUTLINE:
0:00 - Sneak peek
0:20 - Introduction
0:57 - Why we need attention
1:46 - Thalamus as attentional filter
3:06 - Higher attentional systems
3:40 - Role of attention in learning
4:42 - Attention residue
6:00 - Conclusions and references
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Dude
I started binging on your videos after the Research rabbit video and honestly I'm surprised at the quality of the content
Please keep making these videos
Subbed!
Thank you so much! I’m flattered to hear that
I have sent this video to a group chat without context. I really love your work and it’s super useful. Please keep doing this!
How’d they react?
this channel is so sick. Even the sound design is clean, followed by the visuals and information, of course. My favorite video i’ve seen so far was of the “place” neurons; wild how they’re not only relevant with spacial mapping, but also with associations such as fear and love and etc. Crazy shit lol.
i’m a sophomore in Uni down at the Bay Area studying electrical and computer engineering. Just started working with the lab of cognitive and computational neuro and it’s exhilarating but difficult. Your vids have helped me stay on track and inspired every day this past week.
I thank you, artem.
Excellent video. Con gratulations Artem Krisanov for your special work.
Found your channel through your zettelkasten videos. Would just like to say that your content and delivery are second to none!
Thanks for all the great pointers and giving me an interest in how to learn better and more effectively.
There may be an optimal tradeoff between interleaving subjects and context switching when studying. You might practice different kinds of math problems when studying math, but you probably wouldn't interleave that study session with programming or anatomy or circuit design problems.
on the other hand, interleaving with totally unrelated topics or activities can do wonders for rest and recouperating, in the long run enabling you to keep at it.
What a gem I've found, sehr gute arbeit!
I love your content, extremely valuable and well presented! Please continue being awesome. 💕
Very happy to have discovered your channel!
Amazing! Thanks, Artem for sharing the explanation with solid reasoning and references. Got here after your recent video on getting started with Computational Neuroscience which I really needed.
Thank you!
Context switching is computationally costly (for example in operating systems) even when there is no physical analogue like friction or inertia.
No it isn't; context switching is computationally free, if you don't resist it. The habits you form reduce the cost of context switching based on sensory queues. Here's an example: If you want to reduce the mental effort needed to introduce more water into your life, put a glass next to you when you're studying. Then, the next time your attention wavers, and you start looking around the room for literally anything else to be distracted by, what do you suppose your "costly action" is going to be next? After some time, you get a dopamine reward for it, making it less than costly in your analogy.
Multitasking isn't impossible; it's a biological consequence of thinking with brains. That's why neural connections develop when you're NOT focusing on the task. The paradox of mental effort is that gripping an idea with maximum focus until it's done doesn't actually utilize maximum potential. (How simple life would be if that were the case.) The lighthouse metaphor in this video is a _terrible_ analogy. In fact, lighthouses themselves don't produce straight beams of light, because light itself doesn't form perfectly straight beams; always the radiation diffuses. The very physics of wave forms don't allow for linear tasking.
A circuited CPU can do this; but everything about the structure of organic brains indicates they struggle to 'singletask.'
The concept of attention residue is new to me, and explains why I find the constant barrage of social media notifications in public places so annoying. I have to work hard to get back on track with conversations, or paying attention to a lecture or film. I hate the b*****y things. Put them on silent mode please!
Maybe you find it easier to understand when put in different terms: Think about it in terms of having to adjust and settle in to the task at hand. How long this takes of course hugely depends on the type of task as well as the person, but a good rule of thumb is, that it takes about 15 minutes. Any interruption, and that counter starts again. (If you're lucky not completely again, but at least it is set back a good bit).
Brief and informative!
now i understand ADHD
I don't think you necessarily can't multi-task. Thanks for explaining these things in technical terms, because it's helping me dispel these myths.
I'm reasonably sure I have ADHD, I don't have issues multitasking, I feel understimulated if someone wants me to focus on one thing. If I hear someone clicking their pen during a lecture I actually feel so much relief, because it's like little pellets of joy hitting my brain which is just masochistically dying trying to focus on this very bland topic. I need information overload, people go too slow and say little useless things I already knew/inferred when they said one of their points way earlier. I understand people are different from me though, and repetition helps them, but I think my brain is just going way faster. This also tracks with why meditation in the buddhism sense when you focus on your body helps a lot with attention, I also find that I'm far more self aware, body-aware, and room/space-aware than other people, I think they tune out things to process information better but I love chaos and it helps me process information better.
The hyperfocus part is fun, if something is dense with information I just entirely lose myself and forget my body, so for once I guess I'm functioning like a normal person. Perhaps the "inattention" part of hyperfocus is due to a lack of being able to train attentional cues/copes others got to develop. If there's not enough noise outside, the noise inside my brain will win out as being, just frankly, much more engaging and interesting. No offense to lecturers 😝 (I actually didn't have issues with school but I do with everyday life/those who want to be treated as high status but don't know too much about what they're saying, oops)
Good stuff. Love your knowledge.
(also this has interesting implications, ADHD is associated with prefrontal cortex oddities, but what if the causation is going the other way around?)
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I use dopamine residue from "social media" or games to help me do boring useless tasks. See I thought I was nuts about that too. Everyone just wants to starve you of dopamine like that's going to fix the problem, when it really doesn't and it messes you up repeatedly no matter the number of detoxes you do. You can't avoid dopamine traps in the modern world, we can't even agree to remove ads. Everything at all time is knocking on that door like desperate Jehovah witnesses. Back when I was a kid I would "hibernate" during march break, and it took 3 days for my acclimation to dopamine to wear off. You simply don't have the time for that, considering how likely it is a new Jehovah witness is going to come knocking. Everything from friends choice of quality time to mail flyers to snuck-in slogans/buzzwords everywhere people take as truisms without even knowing, everything anyone is trying to tell you has some "mystery" or something you want behind it.
i had adhd and can sorta relate lol like my phone is always on me playing some type of video if i can shower with music on i always prefer that even when medicated i get the urge to have different sources of stimulation all at once
Thank you for explaining the nature of multi tasking
Seeing and feeling those concepts apply in my day to day life is both kinda scary and highly interesting at the same time.
Funnily enough most of the time I refer to "multitasking" I refer to non-learning experiences where you need to prioritize focus on the most urgent doable task at hand, and as such that "attention residue" is actually a *huge* help in that kind of multitasking
Do you know anything about what's different in people with ADHD? I have a pretty severe case of it so it feels like the lighthouse never knows where to point its beam towards. And why do stimulants like Adderall make it so much easier for the beam to stay on one thing?
Wanted to comment on adhd as well. If you’re still interested in an answer:
In an adhd brain the amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum are smaller in volume (esp in childhood) and the dopamine “pathways” (two of four, namely the “dopamine reward pathway” and the “mesocortical pathway”) seem to be impaired.
For me this feels like I pay attention to everything and nothing at the same time. Unfortunately my brain will bombard me with multiple things at once and nothing is going to stick the way it should.
Since I take Stimulants I’ve realised, that reading is more like guessing bc I have to be quick before the next “thing” comes in. I also look for patterns and guess what I’m supposed to do instead of really “looking”, bc I just don’t have the time.
That’s my main issue, a lot of the other stuff is cancelled out by asd, bc that forces me to have schedules and stick to plans and be less impulsive. (And my special interests are all of academic, only reason I ever made it through school).But everything cognitive is basically guessing and trying to make it in time before my brain decides we do other things. Unless I get hyperfocus, but I don’t think I have to describe that to a fellow person with ADHD.
I have friends with ADHD who don’t have to seem that much chaos in their heads, btw. They just have a hard time to keep doing what they are doing and don’t really need meds. They are also capable of doing “schoolwork” (including university) as long as they manage to “just” sit down and stay seated (without a phone or pc).
Top-notch content
I've known this for decades. I'm seriously amazed that anyone has been able to convince themselves otherwise.
I want to mention the concept of old school rts games. They typically required several related skills and effective multi-tasking to be proficient. Something akin to rapid habit-switching?
Good content.
Seems like it is the attention focus that is unable to multitask.
The brain has many parallel functions running besides the attention.
The connection between learning difficulties and lack of attention seems clear.
Thanks
I’ve found that I can switch attention to another task, say task B and then switch back to task A, the memories of task A slowly come to my attention like I’m joining back together two peoples memories. I still think it’s a myth that we can multitask though because I’m switching between tasks for a brief moment (4s) and no higher cognitive tasks have been completed on the memories.
I keep wondering though, what if this attention vector had a greater capacity, where it could attend to more at once, or with more bandwidth. One time I came home on psylocibin mushrooms, went into my room, fired up Halo on the Xbox, started a multiplayer match, and was quickly able to play with my feet, at least navigating, while with my hands I ran toward the player my feet were controlling. I was able to simultaneously navigate the map with both players running toward each other and with my hands having the ability to trigger the weapons I would kill the feet player. I was able to do this within a minute, and continue doing it for a half hour at least. I can't imagine being able to do that without the inclusion of the psilocybin's effect. It felt like I had a more holistic awareness that wasn't so zeroed in on specific things and I was able to operate in that broader abstract space. I remember reading somewheres that psilocybin removes a "filter" that allows you to attend to things more effectively by shutting out all the distractions, and it felt like that really the filter's aperture was broadened, as opposed to removed entirely. The aperture was still there, I wasn't a blabbering vegetable, but it was opened up to where I could simultaneously be aware of and articulating more things at once. Anyway, just my two cents.
@Artem Kirsanov Given whole brain emulation, could we basically create several attention threads by creating temporary independent cortex copies and doing several modifications to the thalamus? I know there is much more to it, but it should be somewhat possible since digital "neurons" can be created from nothing and connected over an endless distance given a sufficiently powerful computer.
Where do I get that wallpaper that’s so rad
I guess the reason why switching subjects is kognitively expensive is at least partly because the brain needs to replace the contents of its limited working memory?
Does this also affect studying whilst listening to music?
I don't know if you'll still read this after a while, but is doing something automatically a case of multiple subsystems in the brain having their own "attention" of sorts? Ex: If I drive a car and I talk to a friend and I am invested in the conversation, though my driving still remains good, is that sort of a "muscle memory" of the brain or is 'myself' divided between the conscious process of talking and a subconscious process of driving (both are EQUALLY important to me, my survival, etc)
I have observed that everytime something harder to process happpens on the road (there are other examples but this one I deem to be the easiest to understand) I usually stop talking or slow down, as if the cognitive power use is shifting towards driving.
My point is not really to ask why is that, but to hear your opinion about it. For me it seems like the brain can multitask, coming with a cost of quality of the tasks itself. It also would be interesting to compare the cortex activity between sexes, as female brains are generally thought to be more multitask-equiped than males. Maybe there is a difference in the size or connectivity of cortexes? Maybe the brain can shine multiple "lighthouse beams" on different things. It seems like the subconscious brain can and will record all information, as consciousness cannot really decide what REALLY is important.
Anyway I am curious to hear what you might be able to extract from my loosely coherent thoughtprocess xd
Also I really enjoy your content, keep it up :)
I agree: if a task does not require attention, then you can multitask using that task. E.g. I play guitar, and when I'm doing a new song, I can't sing and play at the same time, but when I've played the song several dozen times, then I don't have to pay attention to the playing anymore and can sing. I'm sure it's similar for people dancing while singing.
Heck, even walking is a pretty complex task, and people walk and hold conversations all the time.
Late reply to a late reply, but I think it’s more focused on attention of learning. When you’re driving or playing a song you’ve practiced a ton, you aren’t learning. You may be constantly processing input, but the input now isn’t relevant to the future. Hence, no learning. Meanwhile a lecture and social media both have a form of learning. One being information about some study and the other about what happened in the world or to someone you know.
@@jgained5065 fair
Like making my heart beat and regulating body temperature while watching this video?
I've been microdosing lsd daily since months (which is proven to trigger neurogenesis and neuroplasticity) and this video probably will make me objectively a lot smarter. Thanks for your outstanding and interesting, and most of all professional channel. Keep it up!
😱
Then I assume you can’t learn a language by passively listening to it. Great video
this video gives me so much dopamines haha
Can you train multitasking?
Idk why but I don't think so
maybe, but there's definitely an extremely low ceiling
Yes.
There's a book / cult about this. Search for Atomic Habits. As an example, if you always practice dribbling and running on a basketball court, then just the sight and smell of that environment will prime your brain to perform both tasks better every time you walk through one, whether you're playing basketball that day or not. The body's evolved to multitask, and the stimulus which selects which tasks to 'multi' is _not_ attention, it's _not_ what you decide to concentrate on with mental effort; it's sensory perception.
For those who suggest that multitasking is impossible, please explain to me how dribbling and running at the same time is something humans do. Do you really think people are going around, switching their focus between their arms and legs at high frequency? Seriously? Your hang-up is believing that it's concentration which primes for task prioritization, but most animals don't have that; they do it by sensory input. Learning to design your environmental with cues specific to task prioritization is the key to integrating behaviors so that they can perform both effectively simultaneously.
If 'singletasking' were the cognitive norm, then animals wouldn't dream.
I listened to this while doing Duolingo passively... oops
Multitasking is the biggest lie. It's how quickly we can switch from one task to another. And some people intrrpret it as multitasking.
You need four arm’s to multitask silly
Sounds like multi-learning is impossible and multi-tasking can not include learning. Dont even get me started yall are behind. Straw man video, but cool science.
Misinformation, you can actually multitask.
I agree.
The bit about attention residues proves this. If humans are automatically engaged in activities that they stopped doing a while ago, or are preparing to do in the immediate future, then there you go; that's multitasking.
People who bad at controlling their automatic behaviors, and can't switch tasks to suit the situation without suffering for it are bad at multitasking. This makes it a skill, which can be trained.
Is there some study or research you're talking about there? Would be interested to know if so as I'm not sure I've come across almost any that suggest broad multitasking capabilities, at least on the cognitive/conscious level.
So the only "tasks" that count as tasks are ones that require focus... which colloquially means the **opposite** of multitasking. If this wasn't intentional clickbait garbage, I would ask you to run your scripts past someone who knows shit.
Are these sudden changes in contrast part of some experiment to try and stimulate your viewers' brains? (Came here from 3b1b.)
This is why most people at most offices are TOTALLY CRAP at their work, ...way too much "multitasking" and distractions. Businesses that are smart have SEPARATE offices!!!!!!
Multi taskers are CRAP at many (all) things. Single taskers are great at one thing only!
It's why 1) our school system is crap, and 2) most people are so stupid and will NEVER get any better. ...very sad,m but that's genetics!
Then I assume you can’t learn a language by passively listening to it. Great video