Writing Journal Entry #2

Sarah Fitzpatrick
Eng1050 – 20
Writing Journal Assignment #2

In Christopher Chabris’s article, “You Have Too Much Mail,” he contrasts the capacity of working memory with the amount of tasks we attempt to do at one time. I found this article easy to relate to, as when I was reading it I also had seven tabs minimized at the bottom of my screen. I found it interesting when Klingberg spoke of people who consider themselves “multi-taskers” and how this cannot be true from a scientific standpoint. I, myself, am aware that I cannot multitask – even when I’m on the phone, listening to music distracts me and makes me lose my train of thought. At the end of his article, Chabris states that “(Mr. Klingberg ) and other brain researchers are trying to find ways to increase mental capacity,” although I believe that even if they can increase the brain capacity, they will never be able to reach something as complex as their goal. To change one’s ability to take on many tasks at once would require altering the way the brain fires neurons, which I do not believe is possible through simple brain teasers. Chabris’s article is thought-provoking, however, and I realize how much harder it is for me to finish my work when I have to do it on a computer, than when I can put my computer away and do work out of a textbook.