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Listening requires so much focus from me that if I try to multitask I’ll just realize, after a span of seconds to minutes, that I’ve not heard a single word tha

Listening requires so much focus from me that if I try to multitask I’ll just realize, after a span of seconds to minutes, that I’ve not heard a single word that was said. It’ll happen again as soon as I pick the multitasking back up. May as well read or watch a video. Same focus required either way. Though I do think I’m unusual. Basically can’t enjoy podcasts the way most people do, which is a bummer. In hindsight, the high school calculus teacher who forced us to take notes while they lectured, and got upset if you stopped, was not setting me up for success. I’d get to the end with a bunch of notes but having understood nothing I heard, because I was too busy transcribing to actually listen. I knew she was messing me up at the time and what I needed to be able to do to succeed, but it took me years to realize it’s a general problem I have. Can’t take information in unless my attention is undivided.

jackthetab 3y ago
I guess we're both "unusual" then.
paulpauper 3y ago
most podcasts suck because they are full of ads and filler.
xeonmc 3y ago
Like Feynman once discovered how different people have different processing architectures, just from the simple act of counting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4y0EUlU-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4y0EUlU-Y
- RoyalHenOil 3y ago
  That is very interesting. I am like Fenyman in this regard: counting internally is verbal, while reading is visual. I can count, recite the ABCs, sing, etc., while reading, just so long as I have it sufficiently well memorized that I can do it mindlessly. (I can't read and also actively think about something else. The reading takes up all of my thought process.) I would be curious to know if Fenyman experienced an internal monologue while he was thinking. I do not (my internal verbalizing is basically limited to recalling information that I've memorized rote), and I've often wondered if this is why I am adept at reading without verbalizing.
RoyalHenOil 3y ago
Some people struggle with multitasking more than others, but nobody is actually good at it: https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking That being said, some easy/mindless tasks (such as doodling in this example) can actually improve focus, which might be mistaken for multitasking: https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodling-listening-pencil https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodlin... I can imagine that background noise, like a podcast, might not hinder some people's focus; it may even improve it. However, if they are not focusing closely on both the podcast AND on the other task they are performing, I would not call that multitasking. For example, I listen to the radio when I drive long distances because it stops me from feeling bored or fatigued, but I don't consider it multitasking because the driving itself is mindless in this scenario. As soon as I need to focus more actively on driving, I stop paying attention to the radio.

jackthetab 3y ago

I guess we're both "unusual" then.

paulpauper 3y ago

most podcasts suck because they are full of ads and filler.

xeonmc 3y ago

Like Feynman once discovered how different people have different processing architectures, just from the simple act of counting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4y0EUlU-Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4y0EUlU-Y

RoyalHenOil 3y ago
That is very interesting. I am like Fenyman in this regard: counting internally is verbal, while reading is visual. I can count, recite the ABCs, sing, etc., while reading, just so long as I have it sufficiently well memorized that I can do it mindlessly. (I can't read and also actively think about something else. The reading takes up all of my thought process.) I would be curious to know if Fenyman experienced an internal monologue while he was thinking. I do not (my internal verbalizing is basically limited to recalling information that I've memorized rote), and I've often wondered if this is why I am adept at reading without verbalizing.

RoyalHenOil 3y ago

Some people struggle with multitasking more than others, but nobody is actually good at it: https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking That being said, some easy/mindless tasks (such as doodling in this example) can actually improve focus, which might be mistaken for multitasking: https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodling-listening-pencil https://university-relations.umn.edu/blog/2021/07/16/doodlin... I can imagine that background noise, like a podcast, might not hinder some people's focus; it may even improve it. However, if they are not focusing closely on both the podcast AND on the other task they are performing, I would not call that multitasking. For example, I listen to the radio when I drive long distances because it stops me from feeling bored or fatigued, but I don't consider it multitasking because the driving itself is mindless in this scenario. As soon as I need to focus more actively on driving, I stop paying attention to the radio.