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  • Essay / The New Brain By Richard Restk Summary - 727

    When we perform a certain task, we may receive a text message or we have to check our social networks due to our dependence on them. These things cause us to stray from what we are actually focused on. Sometimes we may be doing something, like reading, and our mind unconsciously drifts to another topic, like our plans for tomorrow. Some people believe, however, that if the two tasks you are doing use different sections of the brain, it is okay to multitask. The example Restak gave was “an example of the principle of brain geography: the brain functions optimally with the activation of different rather than the same brain areas. This is why doodling while talking on the phone is not a problem for most people, since speaking and drawing use different areas of the brain. But writing a thank you note over the phone causes mental strain, because speaking and writing share some of the same brain circuits” (Restak 422). While this may be true, we still don't spend all of our time on just one specific task we're working on.