E-mails 'hurt IQ more than pot'

LONDON, England -- Workers distracted by phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than a person smoking marijuana, a British study shows.

The article says that the IQ of the test subjects was tested periodically during the day. I wonder how they did that.

OK, does this next sentence make any sense?

Nine out of 10 people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude, while three out of 10 believed it was not only acceptable, but a sign of diligence and efficiency.

So there were some people who thought it both rude and acceptable and the sign of diligence and efficiency?

I think I'd do better on the job if I were high on pot. I'd cry a lot less from anxiety, that's for sure.

Ah well. Not going to test that theory though, however tempting.

Nine out of 10 people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude,

I do that to a colleague when I'm trying to get him to shut up, so I'd have to say they're right on the money.

Depends on how the phone call is answered, too -- do they excuse themselves, are they expected to be responsible for some ongoing crisis no matter what they're doing, et cetera? If it's a work beeper or cell, I'd say they're diligent.

Now back to work getting highanswering my email....

Dana, try this one. [link] They include a decent outline of their criteria, but I didn't see if they listed scores.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

The article says that the IQ of the test subjects was tested periodically during the day. I wonder how they did that.

I am thinking, your average IQ battery is not exactly the kind of thing you can test 10 times a day, like your blood sugar. It takes a while, you know?

Now, speed on particular cognitive tests I could buy, since being distracted (e.g. by email) could slow you down on thinking tasks, but speediness of response in any given context is not equal to IQ. Also, it's not groundbreaking to say that being pecked at by several communications methods at once makes one distracted. Anybody who has tripped while talking on a cell phone could tell you that.

re: Grey's Anatomy my thoughts were exactly what Trudy said regarding the Burke/Yang kiss. Personally, I think the resident (forgot her name) will not be happy to find out about Dr. Burke kissing anyone but her, maybe .

The resident is Dr. Bailey -- that was my thought too. If she felt like she had an opportunity for leverage with the discovery of Shepard/Grey, she is just going to be ANGRY when/if she discovers the Burke/Yang. But I'll be she'll use it as leverage too.

Grey's Anatomy

My only thought on Burke/Yang was that it was extremely hot. Sandra Oh is brilliant at faces. She doesn't overplay it, but she is so expressive.

Random question. If you were going to spend 3 weeks looking at magical realism, what books would you teach together. Pick 3. And, ftr, it can't be all Garcia Marquez.

Something by Salman Rushdie?