Human Distraction: Humans specialize in distraction, especially when the task at hand requires intellectual heavy lifting. But in the era of e-mail, instant messaging, Googling, e-commerce and iTunes, potential distractions while seated at a computer are not only ever-present but very enticing. Distracting oneself used to consist of sharpening a half-dozen pencils or sipping coffee. Today, there is a universe of diversions to buy, hear, watch and forward, which makes focusing on a task all the more challenging. A growing number of computer scientists and psychologists are studying the problem of diminished attention. And some are beginning to work on solutions. Microsoft is developing software that can learn to gauge where and how a computer user is directing attention. One piece of software in development learns to assign a level of urgency to incoming e-mail messages while shielding people from messages they can see later - based on an assessment of how busy they are. (NY Times 2/10/05)
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