IF you’re a supertasker – Psychologists have found a small group of people with an extraordinary ability to multitask: Unlike almost everyone they’ve studied, they can safely drive while chatting on a cell phone (although it’s against the LAW in some places)!
These “supertaskers” are only 2.5% of the population, but they are able to successfully do 2 things at once: in this case, talk on a cell phone while operating a driving simulator without noticeable impairment.
Researcher Jason Watson says, “According to cognitive theory, these individuals ought not to exist, yet clearly they do. Given the number of individuals who routinely talk on the phone while driving, one would have hoped that there would be a greater percentage of supertaskers. And while we’d probably all like to think we are the exception to the rule, the odds are overwhelmingly against it. In fact, the odds of being a supertasker are about as good as your chances of flipping a coin and getting five heads in a row.”
So if there’s a law against this where YOU’RE driving and you’re stopped by a traffic cop, you can plead that you’re a “supertasker” (but we doubt that you’ll have much luck convincing him!)
Meanwhile, Watson is now studying expert fighter pilots under the assumption that those who can pilot a jet aircraft are also likely to have extraordinary multitasking ability.
Our subscribers are GREAT supertaskers: They get to chat every Wednesday with good friends about the many strange things that have happened to them. Join us, and join the fun this summer too! (And if you want to find out how much fun we had LAST summer, click here).
Art credit: Dreamstime.com
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