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In college, I had a friend who always studied with his music on. He was having a really hard time with chemistry -- or was it bio? -- and was worried that he was not going to make the cut for pre-med.

I suggested he try studying without music.

After his next test, he sought me out and thanked me. His last score was at least a grade level higher than he had been achieving.

He'd always studied to music. He didn't know the difference, until he experienced it.

Admittedly, individual reactions vary.

However, I also worked with some people who were very aggressive multi-taskers and rather proud of their ability to juggle numerous assignments and responsibilities.

Whenever I touched something they had worked on, inevitably I immediately ran into numerous and significant errors, including quite often apparently a very superficial approach and lack of insight into deeper implications as well as relationships to a broader context.

I've rarely encountered a noise, or music, embracing person nor a heavy multi-tasker, who actually performed well.

Many of the best developers I worked with at Big Co, after our "cubification" (or "veal-ification", as it were), spent numerous hours in the evening actually getting the meat of their design and programming work done, at home. There they would be, on IM.

And as a virtual presence became increasingly tolerated, they signed up for as many days out of the "farm" as policy would allow and they could manage without getting into political issues.




My observations are the same. Especially the significant errors that reveal a superficial approach.

I have another thought to offer:

I love music. There's a reason that when I listen, it is either when doing nothing or doing nothing complex. I want to dedicate my brain to it.

Most people listen to highly repetitive music[1] so this may not apply.

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUT5rEU6pqM




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