This metaphor totally gets muddied once you consider some of the most optimized programs are run on a single thread in an event loop. Communication between threads is expensive, epolling many io streams is less so. Not quite sure what implications this has in life but you could probably ascribe some wisdom to it.
Single-threading is also what allows you to stay up all night writing the 8 page essay that's due at 6:00am, what lets you drive for hours on end, what remembers protocol during a crisis. Not detracting from the OP's point at all, just single threading doesn't always have to be pleasant. One of its advantages is powering you through unpleasantries and getting what needs to be done done. Sometimes when we think we are 'multitasking,' we're just looking for ways to avoid the problem.
Every one of your examples are things that I find really enjoyable. As someone who is a terribly scatter brained procrastinator, the 6AM deadline is clarifying. Realizing at 11:30pm that I haven't started the essay is (or was, long ago) a jolt of wakefulness and focus. The time between 11:45pm and 5:45am flies by in a blur. Driving 1000mi in a day--18+hr of focus. Keep the speed high enough above the speed limit to make decent time over ground but avoid the risk of a sneaky traffic cop. Take advantage of the lulls in traffic, long sight lines (or tight, windy sections) to increase your average speed. Eat just enough to not lose energy but not enough to not be hungry--a little hunger sharpens focus. Drink enough water to not be totally dehydrated, but little enough that your bathroom breaks coincide with fuel stops. Pager goes off at 3AM. Critical alert, connection pools full, database CPU 100%, p99 response times equal to the configured timeout, circuit breakers tripping. The urgency gives life some meaning. You were groggy and sleepy 1min ago and now you're blasted wide awake, throttle firewalled. Don't threaten me with a good time ;)
I love reading this article start to finish. I really love the way the author has explained. And believe this is a tech-savvy explanation of mindfulness.
Blocking is laying in bed waiting for my paycheck before I can get up.
Multi-threading is handing off a simple task to someone else who will do it slower and need constant explanation, so that it looks like I'm less busy.
Single-threading is writing and sending an email before returning to my work.
> The human brain is not a state-of-the-art multi-core processor. It is closer to an old single-core chip from the 90s.
That is plain bullshit. Make your case, but don't mix biology with it.
Studies have shown again and again how detrimental "multitasking" is to our cognitive abilities, which is the author's point.
This metaphor totally gets muddied once you consider some of the most optimized programs are run on a single thread in an event loop. Communication between threads is expensive, epolling many io streams is less so. Not quite sure what implications this has in life but you could probably ascribe some wisdom to it.
Single-threading is also what allows you to stay up all night writing the 8 page essay that's due at 6:00am, what lets you drive for hours on end, what remembers protocol during a crisis. Not detracting from the OP's point at all, just single threading doesn't always have to be pleasant. One of its advantages is powering you through unpleasantries and getting what needs to be done done. Sometimes when we think we are 'multitasking,' we're just looking for ways to avoid the problem.
Every one of your examples are things that I find really enjoyable. As someone who is a terribly scatter brained procrastinator, the 6AM deadline is clarifying. Realizing at 11:30pm that I haven't started the essay is (or was, long ago) a jolt of wakefulness and focus. The time between 11:45pm and 5:45am flies by in a blur. Driving 1000mi in a day--18+hr of focus. Keep the speed high enough above the speed limit to make decent time over ground but avoid the risk of a sneaky traffic cop. Take advantage of the lulls in traffic, long sight lines (or tight, windy sections) to increase your average speed. Eat just enough to not lose energy but not enough to not be hungry--a little hunger sharpens focus. Drink enough water to not be totally dehydrated, but little enough that your bathroom breaks coincide with fuel stops. Pager goes off at 3AM. Critical alert, connection pools full, database CPU 100%, p99 response times equal to the configured timeout, circuit breakers tripping. The urgency gives life some meaning. You were groggy and sleepy 1min ago and now you're blasted wide awake, throttle firewalled. Don't threaten me with a good time ;)
I love reading this article start to finish. I really love the way the author has explained. And believe this is a tech-savvy explanation of mindfulness.
Blocking is laying in bed waiting for my paycheck before I can get up.
Multi-threading is handing off a simple task to someone else who will do it slower and need constant explanation, so that it looks like I'm less busy.
Single-threading is writing and sending an email before returning to my work.
> The human brain is not a state-of-the-art multi-core processor. It is closer to an old single-core chip from the 90s.
That is plain bullshit. Make your case, but don't mix biology with it.
Studies have shown again and again how detrimental "multitasking" is to our cognitive abilities, which is the author's point.
Can you share those studies?
https://www.apa.org/topics/research/multitasking
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0903620106
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12710835/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4174517/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12172848/
https://otl.du.edu/plan-a-course/teaching-resources/the-mult...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11543232/
https://ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf
It's just a metaphor.
That's my point, this is a terrible metaphor.