Multitasking "Older Brains" Have a Harder Time Getting Back to the Orignial Task: Time for "Quiet Hours"

Well damn it all to hell. Thanks Jim for providing empirical evidence that we Boomer-generation law librarians truely are aging and decrepit. In his recent Legal Skills Prof Blog post, Jim Levy covers a NYT's post, Multitasking Takes Toll on Memory, Study Finds, observing in pertinent part (applicable part?) that "the subjects [of the study] were older - 60 to 80 - rather than digital natives" and that "[t]he researchers concluded that older brains have a harder time reengaging with the original task. 'As your brain ages, it’s harder to get back to the task at hand after an interruption.'"

Why? Short term memory more negatively affects "older brains" in a multitasking context than "younger brains." Personally, I would have preferred that this wasn't publicized. Got any idea how often, for example, I go to one of my email accounts to do X, then see Y and Z and forget about X because something else has come up. Guess I need "Quiet Hours." Hat tip to another of Jim Levy's posts, Distracted at work? There's an app for that. [JH]