The Unitasker Huxley’s Analysis

A.J Jacobs reveals the negative impacts of multitasking. He first begins supporting his claim by discussing his own experiences. Jacobs reveals his own testimony of an almost death experience through the dangers of multitasking. As a result of multitasking Jacob and his wife sat for a few seconds with “the bottom ripped off and the hood crinkled” (page 148). Throughout the rest of the book, Jacob writes down his experiment on unitasking. His inner experience, thoughts, and outcomes are relayed throughout. Jacob tests out different ways to not be distracted, but continuously fails. He fails everyday and finds out why by describing the universal problem that people believe multitasking is efficient. In reality, it slows our thinking down because our brains cannot handle more than one cognitive function at the same time. The objective of Jacob’s experiment was to focus on only one thing. His mind and actions were focused on one thing at a time. For example, when he would go to the bathroom, he would say it aloud and only use the bathroom. No phone, no other thoughts, and or distractions. An abstract and universal idea is that humans are never satisfied; they crave more and more. As technology is advancing, society is so fast paced and people demand things at a faster pace. There is no time to breathe because it may be a waste of time. If you are eating breakfast, why enjoy the food when you can read emails and get work done? Life is so fast paced it is hard to slow down and simplify actions. In the chapter “Unitasker”, Jacob successfully portrays difficulty of opposing what society encourages. It is hard to retain yourself from what feels natural. The good things are usually what harm one the most. Although Jacob conveys that living out his daily life unitasking his almost impossible, he learns to be more aware through the experiment. He learns to focus more and is more aware of what is being thought. The author writes, “It’s like I’ve created a lifeguard for my mind, always watching, scanning.” Jacobs ultimate purpose of writing this chapter is to bring awareness to society on this unresolvable yet habiting issue.