Re^4: Personality Splits and Programming (IQs)

Thanks for your thoughts.

I don't have a strong opinion one way or another about "multiple intelligences". It certainly makes sense in many ways to me.

But it also seems to at least somewhat contradict one phenomenon I noted. Certain programming tasks require so much concentration that I must have utter peace. I really don't think that these programming tasks exercise every single one of my brain's "intelligences" so I don't see how total lack of distraction is advantageous there when using this theory of "distracting your other intelligences".

And, there really does appear to be an optimal level of over-all stimulation that most people strongly work toward. Any number of forms of stimulation work for me, each by itself. So I'm happy riding my bike or reading or doing a puzzle, usually without any extra stimulation. But riding the bus or watching a show or less intense conversation leaves me almost desperate for something to fiddle with. And watching an interesting show or programming usually has me wanting some background task to go along with it.

Brain wave studies might shed some light on this. Concentrating results in a certain frequency of "brain wave" to become dominant, perhaps to globally communicate to your whole brain to shut up with the distractions unless you are involved in the important work currently being concentrated on?

- tye

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Re^5: Personality Splits and Programming (IQs) by fullermd (Vicar) on Aug 06, 2009 at 10:11 UTC
But it also seems to at least somewhat contradict one phenomenon I noted. Certain programming tasks require so much concentration that I must have utter peace. I really don't think that these programming tasks exercise every single one of my brain's "intelligences" so I don't see how total lack of distraction is advantageous there when using this theory of "distracting your other intelligences". Oh, I certainly wouldn't claim it's a perfect model. I think anything that can be expressed in less than a large tome is unlikely to be anything more than a napkin-sketch analogy to what really goes on in the ol' noggin. For me, though, it seems like the "bribing parts of my brain to shaddup and lemme alone" model fits better how it feels like I deal with situations than the "aim for a specific level of overall stimulation" model. Of course, you could write my model of my mind in a very small part of my mind (rather by necessity :), so it's very incomplete even there. And that says even less about its applicability to other people, since I've noticed a time or two that they kinda aren't quite like me. Perhaps one way in that model of looking at the total-concentration situation is that the parts of my mind that are involved are working so hard and so loudly that they drown out attempts by other parts to demand their own satisfaction.	[reply]

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Re^5: Personality Splits and Programming (IQs)
by fullermd (Vicar) on Aug 06, 2009 at 10:11 UTC

But it also seems to at least somewhat contradict one phenomenon I noted. Certain programming tasks require so much concentration that I must have utter peace. I really don't think that these programming tasks exercise every single one of my brain's "intelligences" so I don't see how total lack of distraction is advantageous there when using this theory of "distracting your other intelligences".

Oh, I certainly wouldn't claim it's a perfect model. I think anything that can be expressed in less than a large tome is unlikely to be anything more than a napkin-sketch analogy to what really goes on in the ol' noggin.

For me, though, it seems like the "bribing parts of my brain to shaddup and lemme alone" model fits better how it feels like I deal with situations than the "aim for a specific level of overall stimulation" model. Of course, you could write my model of my mind in a very small part of my mind (rather by necessity :), so it's very incomplete even there. And that says even less about its applicability to other people, since I've noticed a time or two that they kinda aren't quite like me.

Perhaps one way in that model of looking at the total-concentration situation is that the parts of my mind that are involved are working so hard and so loudly that they drown out attempts by other parts to demand their own satisfaction.

[reply]