Could You be a Supertasker?
I caught part of Hidden Talent the other day. This is a show on Channel 4 where Richard Bacon manages to find at least two people each week more talented than he is.
Ah, I'm being facetious! They survey 200 people looking for certain characteristics or traits that would be useful or essential to do the sorts of jobs that the CASCADE computer system we used at school could never even dream of offering us. Remember CASCADE?
So, you like taking photographs, do you? Do you really? Well, maybe you should just be a fucking PHOTOGRAPHER then! Oh, except you can't, because you have a crappy disc camera that just granulates everything and you have a tendency to move the whole camera when you press the button, so most of your pictures are of your friends' knees. Let's see what else you put... oh never mind, I'll just randomly suggest you should be a fence installer as well. It seems a bit specific, and also a bit of a long shot considering your other hobby of 'reading' I know, but there isn't a job description on my list for 'professional idiot' so it'll have to do.
Yeah, thanks, CASCADE. I think I'll just ask HAL next time...
What did CASCADE actually stand for? Computerized annihilation of schoolchildren's aspirations, dreams and expectations?
Well, anyway, this week they were looking for 'supertaskers' who could skip 3 weeks' training and go and work in a live ambulance control centre - cos that's all safe enough! Safer than the woman they tried to fast-track to free-diving championships who got a mild case of lung-squeeze. Well, safer for the person doing the challenge, anyway.
But I was intrigued by the premise... so, to be a supertasker, you are in your element when handling more than one thing at the same time, and the more you have to do, the easier you handle things. Hey, I know that person - it's me!!!
But, researching this thing on the net, and the concept of supertasking has alarm bells ringing all over the place, particularly as 'I can manage' thinking often leads to dangerous practices like texting while driving.
Here are some places where people are worried about this sort of thing:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201003/you-are-not-supertasker
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36090382/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/think-youre-supertasker-probably-not/
...and there are dozens of articles focusing on the same thing, probably from the same source: texting and driving.
But taking risky practices out of the equation, and just looking at the example on the show, we are looking at individuals who are able to pick up related systems and processes fairly easily and make judgements based on the situation. This is known in radio as 'driving the desk', and in most places including where I am now, rather nebulously as 'doing the job'. Having trained people in various companies on using systems, I am aware that the individual who can follow all processes without a hitch is rare, but you need high-calibre people to cope in fast-paced industries with constant technological changes (and we're only talking about application usage here, nothing as complex as developmental work). From my observational point you have a)the person who manages whatever is thrown at them b)The person who manages most things, and prioritizes those, neglecting new processes for as long as they can get away with it c)the person who can manage most things in a set pattern, but any fluctuation, they don't have the problem-solving nous to work out how to get back to where they need to be d)the person that doesn't last too long.
I still think I might be a supertasker... but I have to acknowledge my off-days.
Perhaps most usefully, I cannot drive. But I can sit on a bus and use Facebook at the same time. I think that counts.
Ah, I'm being facetious! They survey 200 people looking for certain characteristics or traits that would be useful or essential to do the sorts of jobs that the CASCADE computer system we used at school could never even dream of offering us. Remember CASCADE?
So, you like taking photographs, do you? Do you really? Well, maybe you should just be a fucking PHOTOGRAPHER then! Oh, except you can't, because you have a crappy disc camera that just granulates everything and you have a tendency to move the whole camera when you press the button, so most of your pictures are of your friends' knees. Let's see what else you put... oh never mind, I'll just randomly suggest you should be a fence installer as well. It seems a bit specific, and also a bit of a long shot considering your other hobby of 'reading' I know, but there isn't a job description on my list for 'professional idiot' so it'll have to do.
Yeah, thanks, CASCADE. I think I'll just ask HAL next time...
What did CASCADE actually stand for? Computerized annihilation of schoolchildren's aspirations, dreams and expectations?
Well, anyway, this week they were looking for 'supertaskers' who could skip 3 weeks' training and go and work in a live ambulance control centre - cos that's all safe enough! Safer than the woman they tried to fast-track to free-diving championships who got a mild case of lung-squeeze. Well, safer for the person doing the challenge, anyway.
But I was intrigued by the premise... so, to be a supertasker, you are in your element when handling more than one thing at the same time, and the more you have to do, the easier you handle things. Hey, I know that person - it's me!!!
But, researching this thing on the net, and the concept of supertasking has alarm bells ringing all over the place, particularly as 'I can manage' thinking often leads to dangerous practices like texting while driving.
Here are some places where people are worried about this sort of thing:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201003/you-are-not-supertasker
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36090382/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/think-youre-supertasker-probably-not/
...and there are dozens of articles focusing on the same thing, probably from the same source: texting and driving.
But taking risky practices out of the equation, and just looking at the example on the show, we are looking at individuals who are able to pick up related systems and processes fairly easily and make judgements based on the situation. This is known in radio as 'driving the desk', and in most places including where I am now, rather nebulously as 'doing the job'. Having trained people in various companies on using systems, I am aware that the individual who can follow all processes without a hitch is rare, but you need high-calibre people to cope in fast-paced industries with constant technological changes (and we're only talking about application usage here, nothing as complex as developmental work). From my observational point you have a)the person who manages whatever is thrown at them b)The person who manages most things, and prioritizes those, neglecting new processes for as long as they can get away with it c)the person who can manage most things in a set pattern, but any fluctuation, they don't have the problem-solving nous to work out how to get back to where they need to be d)the person that doesn't last too long.
I still think I might be a supertasker... but I have to acknowledge my off-days.
Perhaps most usefully, I cannot drive. But I can sit on a bus and use Facebook at the same time. I think that counts.