unitasker

Assignment 8

Parker Wallace

Talking about this short story, “Unitasker,” as a dinner conversation isn’t extremely difficult because I have often wondered how much time in my life I have wasted because I was distracted. This type of analysis is called Dinner Conversation because the way we analyze it is similar to how a conversation at the dinner table goes. At my table growing up we would talk about our day, ask questions, and talk about plans for the rest of the week. Unitasker does this in a way by providing many personal anecdotes and context to the topic, and builds on assertions in order to make the author’s point stronger. Beginning on the first two pages when he talks about the time he crashed his car because he was distracted, A. J. Jacobs uses a personal anecdote to tell his story about his connection with being distracted by constant multitasking. He builds off of the statement “Consider this: multitasking almost killed me, (147)” throughout the story citing studies and other anecdotes to strengthen his case against multitasking. I personally agree with his argument that multitasking is a subconscious thing all humans do too much. He later references a study made on multitasking and the effects it has on the brain. The study shows that doing a simple task like sorting cards is tougher with a simple distraction like music. This basic distraction strains the brain enough to make the person have to think very hard which has a negative effect on your brain. Jacobs later claims that “multitasking rots your skull (155).” His claims are relatively hyperbolic, but the facts and anecdotes he uses to support the claims bring them back into reality. A major part of dinner conversation involves bring the story back around, and A. J. Jacobs does a great job of this. In the beginning of the story he references his son Zane, and tells the reader he isn’t paying attention to anything going on around him, and attempting to unitask. The end of the story is another anecdote about him not looking at his phone or the news, but simply putting coins into a piggy bank with his son, Zane.