Why do we always insist we can multi-task? I used to insist I could, too.
Sure, you can walk and chew gum or perform several physical tasks in unison; however, any deep, meaningful work that requires focus cannot be multi-tasked because we don’t have the ability to multi-focus.
Multi-focused activities tend to leave us at the surface and never allow us to dive deeply into the work we have at hand.
When we attempt to learn in a multimedia, multifaceted, multi-distraction filled environment (such as the web), we can peruse a vast array of information very quickly. However, we never achieve a deep and abiding knowledge unless we focus–without distraction–on one thing at a time.
The way to deep learning is to be in one place focused on one thing.
Maybe Seneca had a point after all when he said: “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”