I wrote the following to the article's author: While your article attacks the advice that one should study in a consistent, distraction-free environment, it on

I wrote the following to the article's author: While your article attacks the advice that one should study in a consistent, distraction-free environment, it only pays lip service to the importance of motivation and focus. Yet most educators will tell you that motivation and focus are prerequisites for effective learning. Students ignore this conventional wisdom at their peril -- sporadic, effort-free "study" in novel contexts is assuredly less effective than genuine, effortful undistracted study, irrespective of other factors. If you had reviewed the literature[1] on the effects of distractions on learning, you might have realized that the conventional wisdom on focused study is, in fact, extremely valuable. Instead, I worry your article will see hundreds of students studying even more poorly than they already do, filled with a sophmoric confidence that what they are doing is scientifically superior to the more challenging alternative. [1] E.g., a quick search turned up Helene Hembrooke and Geri Gay "The laptop and the lecture: The effects of multitasking in learning environments" 10.1007/BF02940852