5 ms·

I think multi-tasking with an audiobook only works when the other task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving). If you're doing anything th

I think multi-tasking with an audiobook only works when the other task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving). If you're doing anything that requires any thought or decision making, then you might as well not bother with the book. Also, I think the kind of audiobook is important: 1. Fiction usually works best, since narratives and action are easy to follow. 2. Simple non-fiction is worse but still doable (I'm thinking bestseller-type popular nonfiction and narrative history). 3. Nonfiction with technical or conceptually challenging content is the worst, and really requires full undivided attention.

NoGravitas 10y ago
I agree. I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks while doing dishes, but that's about the limit.
- inputcoffee 10y ago
  I wonder if that is because if you miss a part of the narrative, you can usually make out what is going on. It is rare when an author doesn't hang a lantern on an important plot device.
  - r00fus 10y ago
    I do more complex things but then I just go back 30 seconds or more if I have lost the plot.
DanBC 10y ago
> when the other task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving) Fucking hell no, please do focus your attention on driving.
- 49531 10y ago
  Listening to audio while driving is pretty ubiquitous. Audiobooks are no different than talk radio.
- dyeje 10y ago
  It's really no different from listening to the radio.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    It's not the "listening to audio" bit that's worrying, it's the "task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving)" which is scary.
    - abakker 10y ago
      Don't you ever drive somewhere and realize you have no idea memory of doing several of the steps involved in driving? I've been driving ~15 years, and can certainly say that at this point my daily vehicle operations are not all performed with full focus. I still check for traffic, and drive safely, but it is more automatic than just about anything else I do. Substitute in "riding a bike" for driving, and I bet you do the same.
      - DanBC 10y ago
        No, I'm aware I'm driving a machine that is a major cause of death in every country it's operated in and I concentrate on what I'm doing.
    - Crito 10y ago
      Unless you're an unskilled driver, driving becomes "automatic" in much the same way that riding a bike does. When you ride a bike, are you concentrating on not falling over? Maybe for the first week or so that you're learning...
      - DanBC 10y ago
        Concentrating on not falling over is very different from concentrating on the road. Also, every stupid cunt thinks they're a skilled driver, but most people suck at driving.
        10y ago
riffraff 10y ago
I agree low-attention multitasking is what works. Standing on the bus, running, kneading dough, ok. Listening to a book and trying to code, no chance. I disagree on what kind work best, for me "divulgation-level" non-fiction is the one. Think Malcolm Gladwell. Actual fiction can be complex because it requires attention on who is talking, where they are, whether you're in a time skip or flashbacks etc. Divulgation doesn't. For example, I've recently listened to The World Until Yesterday[0] and Masters of Doom[1]. They are both reasonably light, they tend to hit the same concepts over and over, there are few "characters", and generally missing 30 seconds of narration has close to zero impact. But also, I'm fairly sure reading skills is what counts the most. I'm not even sure it's a matter of "being best" as it is a matter of a reader just sounding better for a specific person. [0] http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-World-until-Yesterday-Audiobook/B00AEB2RAG http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-World-until-Yesterday-... [1] http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/Masters-of-Doom-Audiobook/B008K8BQG6/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1491590880&sr=1-1 http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/Masters-of-Doom-Audio...
- flor1s 10y ago
  I found Malcolm Gladwell amazing to listen to while running: motivating, exciting and interesting.
goshx 10y ago
I agree with multi-tasking only with other "automatic tasks", but regarding the kind of audiobook my list looks like yours in reverse. I've listened to dozens of audiobooks and by far my favorites are the nonfiction with technical or conceptually challenging content.

NoGravitas 10y ago

I agree. I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks while doing dishes, but that's about the limit.

inputcoffee 10y ago
I wonder if that is because if you miss a part of the narrative, you can usually make out what is going on. It is rare when an author doesn't hang a lantern on an important plot device.
- r00fus 10y ago
  I do more complex things but then I just go back 30 seconds or more if I have lost the plot.

DanBC 10y ago

> when the other task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving) Fucking hell no, please do focus your attention on driving.

49531 10y ago
Listening to audio while driving is pretty ubiquitous. Audiobooks are no different than talk radio.
dyeje 10y ago
It's really no different from listening to the radio.
- DanBC 10y ago
  It's not the "listening to audio" bit that's worrying, it's the "task is one you can perform automatically (e.g. highway driving)" which is scary.
  - abakker 10y ago
    Don't you ever drive somewhere and realize you have no idea memory of doing several of the steps involved in driving? I've been driving ~15 years, and can certainly say that at this point my daily vehicle operations are not all performed with full focus. I still check for traffic, and drive safely, but it is more automatic than just about anything else I do. Substitute in "riding a bike" for driving, and I bet you do the same.
    - DanBC 10y ago
      No, I'm aware I'm driving a machine that is a major cause of death in every country it's operated in and I concentrate on what I'm doing.
  - Crito 10y ago
    Unless you're an unskilled driver, driving becomes "automatic" in much the same way that riding a bike does. When you ride a bike, are you concentrating on not falling over? Maybe for the first week or so that you're learning...
    - DanBC 10y ago
      Concentrating on not falling over is very different from concentrating on the road. Also, every stupid cunt thinks they're a skilled driver, but most people suck at driving.
      - 10y ago

riffraff 10y ago

I agree low-attention multitasking is what works. Standing on the bus, running, kneading dough, ok. Listening to a book and trying to code, no chance. I disagree on what kind work best, for me "divulgation-level" non-fiction is the one. Think Malcolm Gladwell. Actual fiction can be complex because it requires attention on who is talking, where they are, whether you're in a time skip or flashbacks etc. Divulgation doesn't. For example, I've recently listened to The World Until Yesterday[0] and Masters of Doom[1]. They are both reasonably light, they tend to hit the same concepts over and over, there are few "characters", and generally missing 30 seconds of narration has close to zero impact. But also, I'm fairly sure reading skills is what counts the most. I'm not even sure it's a matter of "being best" as it is a matter of a reader just sounding better for a specific person. [0] http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-World-until-Yesterday-Audiobook/B00AEB2RAG http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-World-until-Yesterday-... [1] http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/Masters-of-Doom-Audiobook/B008K8BQG6/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1491590880&sr=1-1 http://www.audible.com/pd/Bios-Memoirs/Masters-of-Doom-Audio...

flor1s 10y ago
I found Malcolm Gladwell amazing to listen to while running: motivating, exciting and interesting.

goshx 10y ago

I agree with multi-tasking only with other "automatic tasks", but regarding the kind of audiobook my list looks like yours in reverse. I've listened to dozens of audiobooks and by far my favorites are the nonfiction with technical or conceptually challenging content.