As I said in an earlier post, many people believe they can not only multi-task but do it well.  One particular experiment my stats students do is to read the following paragraph.

THE NECESSITY OF TRAINING HANDS FOR FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FRIENDLY FARM LIVESTOCK IS FOREMOST IN THE MINDS OF FARMS OWNERS. SINCE THE FOREFATHERS OF THE FARM OWNERS TRAINED THE FARM HANDS FOR THE FIRST-CLASS FARMS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM LIVESTOCK, THE OWNERS OF THE FARMS FELL THEY SHOULD CARRY ON WITH THE FAMILY TRADITION OF TRAINING FARM HANDS IN THE FATHERLY HANDLING OF FARM STOCK BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE IT IS THE BASIS OF GOOD FUTURE FARMING.

While listening to Black Eyed Peas : Smells like Funk.

Their task:   Count the Fs and List how many different things smell like Funk.

Then I give them the same amount of time to find how many “f”s appear in this paragraph:

Black holes stand at the very edge of scientific theory. Most scientists believe they exit, although many of their theories break down under the extreme conditions within. But Professor Conelius Van Bockstein of the University of Ushuaia says he knows what you would find inside, and challenges the traditional idea that gravity would cause you death by “spaghettification.”  Frank Litherfield states in his ground breaking trestle: “Phantasms within super fine gravity wells”, that the gravitational forces in a black hole ebb and flow. For example at the event horizon there finite areas that would not feel the effects of gravity and could sustain an elliptical orbit.

without playing the music.

Students then can discuss their ability to multitask after having direct experience with it.   The results are common: They start to acknowledge that they do not multitask as well as they thought they did.