just say no to multitasking

I recall a conversation between A, the director of the institute where I used to work many years ago, and D, a senior scientist in the same institute who was talking about his research. It was going like this:

D: “We did this and this.”
A: “Excellent.”
D: “We also did this and that.”
A: “Very good.”
D: “And last month we started the experiment on...”
A: “Good, but don’t you think you spread too thinly?”
D: “Well, no, I have a very talented PhD student, who also...”
A: “Wait, wait, let’s concentrate on the first thing for now. What was it, again?”
D: “It was this. While I was looking at the results of this compared with results of that, I thought I also should...”
A: “Oh, shut up. You can’t do everything at once.”

A bit too direct, perhaps, but that’s why A was a director. He did understand that multitasking is not always good for research; or maybe, never good for research. On the contrary, D thought that the more things you do simultaneously, the better. According to the excellent article by Christine Rosen,

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one sensed a kind of exuberance about the possibilities of multitasking. Advertisements for new electronic gadgets — particularly the first generation of handheld digital devices — celebrated the notion of using technology to accomplish several things at once. The word multitasking began appearing in the “skills” sections of résumés, as office workers restyled themselves as high-tech, high-performing team players.

Are multitaskers any better than, er, monotaskers? The recent study conducted by Stanford scientists shows that no, not really.

“We kept looking for what they’re better at, and we didn’t find it.”

What a relief for people like me, low-throughput monotaskers. But is this “skill” as valuable now as it was ten years ago? You bet. Check it out: today’s search for multitask in Nature brings 23 hits, while New Scientist has 82 jobs featuring this keyword! (Charmingly, this latter resource adds that “the most relevant jobs are listed first”.)

A high level of multitasking ability over several projects is expected.

Must be adaptable to changing work requirements, and be willing to multitask.

Self-motivated, ability to multitask, and willingness to work in a start-up environment.

Strong communication (verbal and written), organizational and multitasking skills are essential.

And this is not just directors and managers, the people who you’d expect to be no good at anything. These “competencies” are expected from post-docs too. I can’t help thinking that it is nothing but greedy employers trying to get many for the price of one. Good luck to them.

Smilla meets professor

From Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg (translated by Tiina Nunnally):

Even though he omits his title, it’s still understood. Along with the fact that we must not forget that the rest of the world’s population is at least a head shorter than him, and here, under his feet, he has legion of other doctors who have not succeeded in becoming professors, and above him is only the white ceiling, the blue sky, and Our Lord — and maybe not even that.

stroke of insight

Take 20 minutes off your busy schedule, pay no attention to anything else and watch Dr Jill Bolte Taylor telling an amazing story of a neuroscientist observing behaviour of her own brain. You will be impressed and moved with the courage and sense of humour of this lady. This video comes with a selection of subtitles in 23 languages, so really there is no excuse not to watch it.

...And in that moment my right arm went totally paralyzed by my side. And I realized, “Oh my gosh! I’m having a stroke! I’m having a stroke!” And the next thing my brain says to me is, “Wow! This is so cool. This is so cool. How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their own brain from the inside out?” And then it crosses my mind: “But I’m a very busy woman. I don’t have time for a stroke!” So I’m like, “OK, I can’t stop the stroke from happening so I’ll do this for a week or two, and then I’ll get back to my routine, OK.”

карта звезды

When I was about four years old, I was drawing all the time. Once, in kindergarten, I was creating another masterpiece of an illustrated sci-fi book, which included the map of a star.

science is cool

Science is not all about the books. It can be cool, filled new and creative, fun ideas.

This blurb for Mitochondria video by Michelle Bell can be applied to all of ChloroFilms, a collection of “videos illustrating the remarkable aspects of plant life”. Don’t dismiss it as stuff for (or by) undergraduates: for example, The Science of Cool by Sharon Robinson is an overview of her original research in Antarctic mosses. My favourites are La Bloomba by Kris Holmes and The Fastest Flights in Nature by Hayley Kilroy.

i felt like internet

From Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith. How painfully familiar.

They all looked the same, the bosses with their slightly Anglified accents and their trendily close-shaved heads. They all looked far too old for haircuts like that. They all looked nearly bald. They all looked like they were maybe called Keith.

the summer is almost over

With all these warm sunny days, you wouldn’t say that the Summer is almost over. But it is. Academics are returning from vacations and clean their messy desks. Only this could explain the fact that within a week I have received three responses (all negative ones) re. my long-forgotten job applications. (One of the applications was submitted last December, another one this January, and the most recent one in March.) Interestingly, or maybe not, one of the letters contains a copy of the evaluation committee’s report (which looks like, well, a concise version of my CV, but at least it’s an evidence that somebody actually did read it) and a note that I am welcome to comment on this report not later than some day last month.

Needless to say, it doesn’t do much good to my ego. Even if I take the view that it is their loss. Which it is, but it is not my gain either. In any case, I am not getting paid for them losing me. (Hey, I’d like to develop this line of thought one step further. It seems that in some institutions people spend lot of time evaluating my applications. By not applying, I could save their time, effort, and valuable desk/disk space, so it’s only fair to get remunerated for that.)

Oh well. With these three off my Christmas card list, my potential employers are not exactly queuing outside. Which means I can go away again and not miss anything.

cool badges

The Science Scouts develop some seriously cool badges. For all humankind.

Anyone is welcome to use these badges, although a link to this site (or the specific badge entry) is much appreciated. Even better is if you provide an anecdote in the comments section to explain your reasons for awarding yourself the badge.

Excellent. I allow myself to award myself a few.

she’s such a geek

You will be wanting to read my excellent essay, ‘Suzy the Computer’ vs. ‘Dr. Sexy’: What’s a Geek Girl to Do When She Wants to Get Laid? in She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff.

It was this charming announcement on Zuska’s blog that prompted me to get hold of the said book. And what a book it is!

a threat to scientific communication

Once again, I am getting spammed by Nature — this time it is an email with a modest subject “Impact Factor confirms Nature is top research journal”. It informs me that its Impact Factor is 31.434 now. The reason they bother to send me this?

To celebrate we are offering you an exclusive 30% discount if you subscribe to Nature this week.

No thank you.