Non-motoring > Head count - see or hear?	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Crankcase	Replies: 24

New Mon 27 Sep 10 22:28   Head count - see or hear? - Crankcase

Richard Feynmann tells one of his long and amusing stories about counting up to a minute in your head. I won't bother to describe it here, but his conclusion was that some people "hear" the numbers in their heads as they count, and some "see" them. His "experiment" showed if you "hear" the numbers then you can't easily talk whilst counting to 60 - but you can type a paragraph sensibly. If you "see" them it's the other way about - type and you lose your place in the count. If you do the wrong activity for you then your estimate of a minute is considerably worse than doing the "right" activity. I'm a hearer. I can type whilst counting but no way can I talk and get anywhere near the minute. In the spirit of data gathering - which are you? Unless you can't do either, in which case how do you do it? Last edited by: Crankcase on Mon 27 Sep 10 at 22:30 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 27 Sep 10 22:50   Head count - see or hear? - Kevin

Doesn't matter to me. I get an interrupt every 60 seconds from the watchdog timer. #define _ZZZZZZ (60 * cpu_ticks) . . case SIGALRM: yes_dear(); snooze(_ZZZZZZ); break; . . Kevin... Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 27 Sep 10 22:56   Head count - see or hear? - MD

? Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 27 Sep 10 23:28   Head count - see or hear? - Kevin

Sorry Martin. A watchdog timer is something that interrupts you at pre-determined intervals if you don't acknowledge it's presence. A SIGALRM means that you've just run out of time and received an elbow in the ribs. yes_dear() is what you immediately jump to do to try and placate the watchdog timer. You can then try to snooze for a while ;-) Kevin... Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 08:30   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

Scuse me if I've got the wrong end of the stick but, could the OP have any relationship to multi tasking? I simply find it absolutely impossible to multi task and if I'm concentrating on something I'll be completely thrown off course if I'm interrupted, Whereas wifey, who is a practice manager for 23 souls couldn't do her job if she wasn't a competent multi tasker. I'm a 'hearer' btw. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 08:32   Head count - see or hear? - Pat

It's a myth that men can't multitask..they can if they want to. They just don't want to. Pat Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 09:00   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

>>It's a myth that men can't multitask..they can if they want to<< Nay lass, I really can't ... I'm a tad Autistic (ASD) and if I'm in *my* scullery preparing a roast dinner with all the pans singing away, and the Furor comes in to say something, it'll throw me completely 'off the job'. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 09:10   Head count - see or hear? - Iffy

...It's a myth that men can't multitask..they can if they want to... Neither men nor women seem able to drive and use a handheld mobile without their attention to the road suffering. I think my ability to do two things at once has declined with advancing age. I'm sure I used find it easier to drive and adjust the radio than I do now. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 09:21   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

>>I think my ability to do two things at once has declined with advancing age<< That's probably it ifih ~ Oldteimers disease :-D Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 13:10   Head count - see or hear? - Bagpuss

>> Neither men nor women seem able to drive and use a handheld mobile without their attention to the road suffering. No, I find it's my attention to the phone conversation that suffers. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 10:09   Head count - see or hear? - Fenlander

>>>preparing a roast dinner *with all the pans* See you're already multitasking. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 10:21   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

>>See you're already multitasking<< Perhaps Mrs Peacock is right then, men CAN multitask, what with the chicken & roast tatties in the oven, the broccoli, g/beans & carrots on the hob, teapot on the go, but I can handle all that (and more) the problem comes when I'm interrupted :) Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 11:52   Head count - see or hear? - Pat

You could cope with being interrupted, but that would mean making an effort:) Mr D! Pat Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 12:02   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

>>You could cope with being interrupted, but that would mean making an effort:)<< Effort! The dreaded word - for someone who suffers from Ergophobia :} Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 12:50   Head count - see or hear? - Tooslow

fear of well designed goods? John Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 13:31   Head count - see or hear? - AnotherJohnH

Regarding the business of "multitasking" there was an article earlier this year relating to research performed in Utah: if you google "supertaskers utah" the pdf second down the results is worth a read. It appears there are a small number that really can. Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 14:24   Head count - see or hear? - Dog

>>if you google "supertaskers utah" the pdf second down the results is worth a read<< Yep! That article explains a lot (for me), I know we have covered the subject here and over at the dead place before now, but this article really *hits* home Re: using mobile phones while driving! Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 13:04   Head count - see or hear? - Cliff Pope

>> It's a myth that men can't multitask..they can if they want to. >> >> They just don't want to. >> >> Pat >> You mean just one wife and hardly any mistresses? (The English custom, Saki possibly?) Last edited by: Cliff Pope on Tue 28 Sep 10 at 13:04 Reply to this message | Report message

New Tue 28 Sep 10 15:55   Head count - see or hear? - Mapmaker

I have just discovered I can type or read whilst counting. Speaking... there's no hope at all. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 08:37   Head count - see or hear? - Cliff Pope

>> I have just discovered I ...>> Only a few days ago I suddenly noticed I frequently read one thing while thinking about something completely different. I was reading a novel or a newspaper at the same time as working out what batten spacing I need for the kitchen ceiling insulation. Another good way to solve a problem is to think about it for a bit just before going to sleep. Often in the morning the answer is obvious. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 08:50   Head count - see or hear? - BiggerBadderDave

I can have sex with one woman while thinking about another. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 09:01   Head count - see or hear? - Pat

You should have been a lorry driver Dave. Pat Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 09:09   Head count - see or hear? - sherlock47

>> I can have sex with one woman while thinking about another. >> OK, but do NOT use the wrong name! Last edited by: pmh on Wed 29 Sep 10 at 09:09 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 09:19   Head count - see or hear? - DeeW

One chap I know solved this problem by marrying two women with the same name - and not a common one at that! Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 29 Sep 10 09:32   Head count - see or hear? - Iffy

...marrying two women with the same name... I've come across a few bigamists. What startles me is how each woman seems to accept regular three and four-day absences of the husband. I've known men lead double lives like this for years. I don't think any woman can be that stupid, they want to believe he's working - not playing - away. Last edited by: Iffy on Wed 29 Sep 10 at 09:32 Reply to this message | Report message