Multitasking

It is very common for the new generation to admit that they do multitasking. As a matter of fact, they consider that as an important trait that commands respect among their peers and build credibility to their efficiency. How many times we have seen teen-aged boys and girls watching a television program, texting their friends over their mobile phone and eating dinner at the same time? Earlier, parents punished children by telling that they lose their privileges of watching television or speaking to their friends over phone to discipline them. Nowadays, children do not make phone calls and text or chat with their friends so that the parents won’t hear what they are discussing. If they are not allowed to watch television, they play computer games or listen to the albums in their iPod or watch their favorite video shows in their iPod.



The question is whether it makes sense to multitask? In order to get an answer first let us take the help of science. Is our brain a sequential processor or a parallel processor? Is brain built with a capability to process multiple instructions and multiple data at the same time? Even when application programming is carried out, the programmers discuss whether the system that is going to run their program has sequential processors or parallel processors built in it. Certainly, the information storage is in the right hemisphere of our brain while any analyzes of the information stored happens in the left hemisphere of our brain. It is my understanding that, in general, the left hemisphere works efficiently when it could access all possible information to analyze one thing at a time. Occasionally, a few have developed multitasking capabilities due to their natural biological capabilities or through repetitive training. The left hemisphere of our brain is capable of arriving logical conclusions only when it focuses its attention on one thing at a time. What it means is when our children are working in multiple tasks; they truly are concentrating only on one thing. It is also a concern that the children who multitask are also prone for reduced attention span. This habit to multitask will make them become very uncomfortable if they were to sit in a gathering and listen to a lecture for an hour. Even in our work place, we see some of our peers sending text messages while attending a meeting. That is not only a sign of disrespect to the peers’ time but also a sign of their reduced attention span.



Let us also take help from our ancient philosophies. For us to focus on God, the first step is withdrawal from the world, the second is concentration, the third is contemplation and the last one is meditation. That is the way to achieve immortality (Samadhi). These steps are also very common for our day to day activities as well. When we get a thought in our mind, if we like to focus on it, we need to withdraw our mind from all other thoughts. Then we need to concentrate on that one thought and contemplate to understand that thought completely. When we execute that into action, we need to do it skillfully, selflessly and lovingly dedicating the fruits of that action to God. This is called meditation in Karma Yoga. That removes our samskara (burden) arising out of that action which otherwise would have been imbibed in our Soul. Therefore, even our ancient philosophies are encouraging us to be focused when we do our day to day actions. Needless to say that multitasking is neither proved good in science nor advised in spirituality.


If you see a child multitasking in future, please politely explain the need to focus and concentrate on one task. The old habits die hard and the adults are a little difficult to fix. Let us at least try to help the next generation of people. The most precious thing we ever possess in our life is inside of us. We need to keep it simple. It is not possible for us to display in our physical form “Soul Inside” in the same style that Intel wants users of their micro-processors to display in the computers. Moreover, it is not others action but our own action which causes the burden on our Soul. We can at least make every step ourselves to preserve our Soul with no burdens.

 

Most of the people are multitaskers. But do you really think on two things at the same time or one task is in auto pilot while the other is the focus?

Somehow, I still believe our mind is a sequential processor and can only handle single instruction with multiple data (SIMD)and not multiple instructions and multiple data (MIMD).

Viswa