More electronic gadgets = lower IQ?

[Craig R.]

;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
Fly safe and have fun.

[s6]

Le mardi 21 octobre 2014 16:08:15 UTC-4, Craig R. a écrit*:
> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>
> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
>
> Fly safe and have fun.

Hi
Sometime I think you are right. One club member I fly with has been flying for 45 years.
Is current glider is a ASG 29 with one vario, a 45 years old Badin type 100 mechanical vario, nothing else. Take off first fly all over the place land last. I wonder???
Gilles

[Martin Gregorie[_5_]]

On Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:08:15 -0700, Craig R. wrote:

> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of
> electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider
> pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that
> multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly
> bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay
> attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well
> as those who complete one task at a time".
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-
damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with
> basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
> Fly safe and have fun.

Hmmm. Apart from the usual aircraft instruments, (Alt,ASI,compass,radio)
I carry:

- two varios - both happen to be electronic
- one electronic nav system (LK8000), which I reckon is less
distracting than periodically fiddling with a paper map
- one FLARM display

I'd be interested to know chucking out the FLARM, replacing the varios
with a mechanical one and using a folding map in place of the
automatically scrolling one is supposed to keep me safe and reduce
cockpit workload. A mechanical vario means more head in cockpit time
because you have to look at it instead of listening to an electronic one.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

s6 wrote, On 10/21/2014 1:27 PM:
> Le mardi 21 octobre 2014 16:08:15 UTC-4, Craig R. a �crit�:
>> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation
>> of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of
>> glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate
>> that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are
>> regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information
>> cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to
>> another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
>>
>> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>>
>>
>>
RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>>
>> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly
>> with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray
>> matter!
>>
>> Fly safe and have fun.
>
> Hi Sometime I think you are right. One club member I fly with has
> been flying for 45 years. Is current glider is a ASG 29 with one
> vario, a 45 years old Badin type 100 mechanical vario, nothing else.
> Take off first fly all over the place land last. I wonder??? Gilles

Unless your club member also flies contests or posts on the OLC, you
don't really know how efficiently and effectively he is flying. If it's
been a long time in the same place, he doesn't need navigation
equipment, and staying up a long time isn't difficult in an area one
knows well.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

[BobW]

<Snippage...>

>> ...Sometime I think you are right. One club member I fly with has been
>> flying for 45 years. Is current glider is a ASG 29 with one vario, a 45
>> years old Badin type 100 mechanical vario, nothing else. Take off first
>> fly all over the place land last. I wonder??? Gilles
>
> Unless your club member also flies contests or posts on the OLC, you don't
> really know how efficiently and effectively he is flying. If it's been a
> long time in the same place, he doesn't need navigation equipment, and
> staying up a long time isn't difficult in an area one knows well.
>

Oookay - winter must be approaching in the northern hemisphere. :-)

Coupla comments...
- Certainly contests and OLC are helpful gauges of "soaring efficiency and
effectiveness" but, somehow or other, along the way I concluded people enjoy
the sport for a heckuva lot more reasons than "just" those two. SOMEthing
must've been keeping Gilles' fellow clubmember at it for the more than 3
decades he or she was at it before OLC came on the scene! Just my guess, of
course. If a person's having fun at soaring all their life, who am I to care
whether or not they're being efficient and effective, so long as they're being
safe and are happy. Everyone associated with the sport benefits. JMO...
- Regarding navigation, as one having gained the bulk of his soaring time
around mountains (Alleghenies and Rockies), I long felt no sectional was
necessary once a person had learned "their local area" - which of course might
easily have a radius of hundreds of miles. But then a friend broke his PIK-20
on a (horribly) botched outlanding in the mountains, not 35 air-miles from our
home field. His excuse at the time? "I couldn't find the airfield my sectional
said was in the valley!" So after commiserating with him for a while on the
grief he'd caused himself, we got around to the twin facts that he wasn't in
the valley he thought he was, and, the airfield didn't exist in any event.
Worse, had he flown his pattern properly - and into the wind (!) - the forest
opening that miraculously appeared when he absolutely needed one, would've
likely been landable damage-free. I'm sure there are several morals in this
dubious tale. The good news is my friend stuck with it and at least didn't
repeat his errors...
- As for staying aloft and soaring, in the intermountain west, the biggest
obstacle to doing so in the absence of airspeed and vario was - I found -
belief in one's ability to do so. XC soaring sans functioning ASI was
trivially easy, XC w/o functioning vario only slightly less so, while I had to
convince myself that I could (relatively) easily remain aloft without both,
before daring to venture XC. I blame all those experiences on water in the
lines and cheapness. No FARS were violated and no damage was inflicted on the
sailplane in the learning of these things...

Bob W.

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

BobW wrote, On 10/21/2014 8:04 PM:
> <Snippage...>
>
>>> ...Sometime I think you are right. One club member I fly with has been
>>> flying for 45 years. Is current glider is a ASG 29 with one vario, a 45
>>> years old Badin type 100 mechanical vario, nothing else. Take off first
>>> fly all over the place land last. I wonder??? Gilles
>>
>> Unless your club member also flies contests or posts on the OLC, you
>> don't
>> really know how efficiently and effectively he is flying. If it's been a
>> long time in the same place, he doesn't need navigation equipment, and
>> staying up a long time isn't difficult in an area one knows well.
>>
>
> Oookay - winter must be approaching in the northern hemisphere. :-)
>
> Coupla comments...
> - Certainly contests and OLC are helpful gauges of "soaring efficiency
> and effectiveness" but, somehow or other, along the way I concluded
> people enjoy the sport for a heckuva lot more reasons than "just" those
> two. SOMEthing must've been keeping Gilles' fellow clubmember at it for
> the more than 3 decades he or she was at it before OLC came on the
> scene! Just my guess, of course. If a person's having fun at soaring all
> their life, who am I to care whether or not they're being efficient and
> effective, so long as they're being safe and are happy. Everyone
> associated with the sport benefits. JMO...

The comments weren't intended to reflect on your club member's abilities
or happiness! Instead, it was directed at the idea that "a lot" of
instruments might make a pilot "dumber" and less effective. My
experience is going fast and far safely, especially in less familiar
places, is much easier with a moving map soaring computer and audio
vario; conversely, at my home field, when wandering around
opportunistically, they aren't much benefit.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

[John Galloway[_1_]]

At 05:29 22 October 2014, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>BobW wrote, On 10/21/2014 8:04 PM:
>>
>>
>>>> ...Sometime I think you are right. One club member I fly with has
been
>>>> flying for 45 years. Is current glider is a ASG 29 with one vario, a
45
>>>> years old Badin type 100 mechanical vario, nothing else. Take off
first
>>>> fly all over the place land last. I wonder??? Gilles
>>>
>>> Unless your club member also flies contests or posts on the OLC, you
>>> don't
>>> really know how efficiently and effectively he is flying. If it's been
a
>>> long time in the same place, he doesn't need navigation equipment, and
>>> staying up a long time isn't difficult in an area one knows well.
>>>
>>
>> Oookay - winter must be approaching in the northern hemisphere. :-)
>>
>> Coupla comments...
>> - Certainly contests and OLC are helpful gauges of "soaring efficiency
>> and effectiveness" but, somehow or other, along the way I concluded
>> people enjoy the sport for a heckuva lot more reasons than "just" those
>> two. SOMEthing must've been keeping Gilles' fellow clubmember at it for
>> the more than 3 decades he or she was at it before OLC came on the
>> scene! Just my guess, of course. If a person's having fun at soaring
all
>> their life, who am I to care whether or not they're being efficient and
>> effective, so long as they're being safe and are happy. Everyone
>> associated with the sport benefits. JMO...
>
>The comments weren't intended to reflect on your club member's abilities
>or happiness! Instead, it was directed at the idea that "a lot" of
>instruments might make a pilot "dumber" and less effective. My
>experience is going fast and far safely, especially in less familiar
>places, is much easier with a moving map soaring computer and audio
>vario; conversely, at my home field, when wandering around
>opportunistically, they aren't much benefit.
>
>--
>Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
>email me)
>- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
>https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-
guide-1
>- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
>http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl
>

[s6]

Le mardi 21 octobre 2014 16:08:15 UTC-4, Craig R. a écrit*:
> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>
> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
>
> Fly safe and have fun.

Hi
My comment was about vario sophistication. My friend has a Nano and a Garmin
for navigation.
It was also a reflection on my obsessive quest for a better vario.
Gilles

[Martin Gregorie[_5_]]

On Wed, 22 Oct 2014 04:10:18 -0700, s6 wrote:

> Le mardi 21 octobre 2014 16:08:15 UTC-4, Craig R. a écritÂ*:
>> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of
>> electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider
>> pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that
>> multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly
>> bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay
>> attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as
>> well as those who complete one task at a time".
>>
>> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-
damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>>
>> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>>
>> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with
>> basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
>>
>> Fly safe and have fun.
>
> Hi My comment was about vario sophistication. My friend has a Nano and a
> Garmin for navigation.
> It was also a reflection on my obsessive quest for a better vario.
> Gilles
>
I'm happy with my old SDI C4 an (I think) even older Borgelt B.40. Both
make nice noises of the appropriate type and the B.40 has a really fast
response.

Conversely, a friend recently installed an S.3 and is less than delighted
with its sounds and especially with its lack of a silent band between
zero and -1 kts.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |

[Cookie]

If we take this electronic gadget stuff to the logical conclusion...we will let the computer fly the glider and the "pilot" will just sit there....

They tell us that "driverless automobiles" are just a few years off.

Driverless cars will save 30,000 lives per year in the USA...accidents will be nearly non existent...they will reduce fuel usage tremendously....they will allow more cars on a highway at a given time, yet reduce traffic jams. You will always be on time, nobody will get any traffic tickets nor will they have to pay any fines.

Computer cars will require nearly zero skill and intelligence to operate!


So if you are looking for safety and efficiency in glider flying...eliminate the weak link...the pilot!

Cookie



On Tuesday, October 21, 2014 4:08:15 PM UTC-4, Craig R. wrote:
> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
If we take this electronic gadget stuff to the logical conclusion...we will let the computer fly the glider and the "pilot" will just sit there....

They tell us that "driverless automobiles" are just a few years off.

Driverless cars will save 30,000 lives per year in the USA...accidents will be nearly non existent...they will reduce fuel usage tremendously....they will allow more cars on a highway at a given time, yet reduce traffic jams. You will always be on time.

They will require nearly zero skill and intelligence to operate!

Cooie

>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>
> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
>
> Fly safe and have fun.

[Evan Ludeman[_4_]]

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 12:19:21 PM UTC-4, Cookie wrote:
> If we take this electronic gadget stuff to the logical conclusion...we will let the computer fly the glider and the "pilot" will just sit there....
>
>
>
> They tell us that "driverless automobiles" are just a few years off.
>
>
>
> Driverless cars will save 30,000 lives per year in the USA...accidents will be nearly non existent...they will reduce fuel usage tremendously....they will allow more cars on a highway at a given time, yet reduce traffic jams. You will always be on time, nobody will get any traffic tickets nor will they have to pay any fines.
>
>
>
> Computer cars will require nearly zero skill and intelligence to operate!
>
>
>
>
>
> So if you are looking for safety and efficiency in glider flying...eliminate the weak link...the pilot!
>
>
>
> Cookie


What could go wrong?

T8

[Brad[_2_]]

In my brand new Tetra-15 I am running an ancient Ilec SB-8 that I absolutely love, a Tru-trak and an outdated HP-310 running the latest version of LK8000. the rest are just the usual round instruments.

That works well for me, but I'm not a cutting edge competition pilot.

Brad

[JS]

After complaints from those who normally fly without much of a panel, in July 2013 I came up with a contest that ran for 9 days (2 weekends plus M-F) and only allowed one electronic instrument: a digital turnpoint camera.
The turnpoint photographs would be evaluated and I'd use SeeYou to decide the winner, handicapping the gliders.
NO radio, electric vario, moving map, transponder, FLARM, SPOT (etc) or even cell phone use until the pilot and crew were reunited. Batteries were allowed to be carried as ballast only. Communication for a landout had to be by land line phones, both pilot and crew.
There was a prize, worth about $500.00.
Nobody entered.
I invite others to try the same.
Jim

[[email protected]]

With the complexity of airspace nowadays a moving map is a must-have. At least in certain parts of Europe. It's not a matter of being dumb. Cross country flight with just a compass and a paper map is not possible anymore.

[Cookie]

$500..!!!

I'm "in"...When's the next contest? Why not run it at Wurtsboro or Blairstown?



Cookie




On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 3:04:06 PM UTC-4, JS wrote:
> After complaints from those who normally fly without much of a panel, in July 2013 I came up with a contest that ran for 9 days (2 weekends plus M-F) and only allowed one electronic instrument: a digital turnpoint camera.
>
> The turnpoint photographs would be evaluated and I'd use SeeYou to decide the winner, handicapping the gliders.
>
> NO radio, electric vario, moving map, transponder, FLARM, SPOT (etc) or even cell phone use until the pilot and crew were reunited. Batteries were allowed to be carried as ballast only. Communication for a landout had to be by land line phones, both pilot and crew.
>
> There was a prize, worth about $500.00.
>
> Nobody entered.
>
> I invite others to try the same.
>
> Jim

[OregonGliderPilot]

I'm happy with my old SDI C4 an (I think) even older Borgelt B.40. Both
make nice noises of the appropriate type and the B.40 has a really fast
response.

Conversely, a friend recently installed an S.3 and is less than delighted
with its sounds and especially with its lack of a silent band between
zero and -1 kts.

I was going to ask what on earth is a SDI C4 but then I thought that I really don't care. Fly with what works for you and floats your boat I say, expressing sympathy with the original posters point of view....

[jfitch]

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 12:04:06 PM UTC-7, JS wrote:
> After complaints from those who normally fly without much of a panel, in July 2013 I came up with a contest that ran for 9 days (2 weekends plus M-F) and only allowed one electronic instrument: a digital turnpoint camera.
> The turnpoint photographs would be evaluated and I'd use SeeYou to decide the winner, handicapping the gliders.
> NO radio, electric vario, moving map, transponder, FLARM, SPOT (etc) or even cell phone use until the pilot and crew were reunited. Batteries were allowed to be carried as ballast only. Communication for a landout had to be by land line phones, both pilot and crew.
> There was a prize, worth about $500.00.
> Nobody entered.
> I invite others to try the same.
> Jim

Personally I always liked the red and green pellet vario. It made no noise so it let you enjoy the silence of the 2-33.

[Steve Leonard[_2_]]

> Personally I always liked the red and green pellet vario. It made no noise so it let you enjoy the silence of the 2-33.

"...silence of the 2-33"? Only time I have know a 2-33 to be silent is when it is sitting in the hangar!

Come to Kansas, Jim. I will let you fly my Ka-8.

[kirk.stant]

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 2:04:06 PM UTC-5, JS wrote:
> After complaints from those who normally fly without much of a panel, in July 2013 I came up with a contest that ran for 9 days (2 weekends plus M-F) and only allowed one electronic instrument: a digital turnpoint camera.
> The turnpoint photographs would be evaluated and I'd use SeeYou to decide the winner, handicapping the gliders.
> NO radio, electric vario, moving map, transponder, FLARM, SPOT (etc) or even cell phone use until the pilot and crew were reunited. Batteries were allowed to be carried as ballast only. Communication for a landout had to be by land line phones, both pilot and crew.
> There was a prize, worth about $500.00.
> Nobody entered.
> I invite others to try the same.
> Jim

So your suggestion is to throw away all the modern safety improvements? I wouldn't enter either - it's a stupid - and dangerous - idea!

There is really only a limited set of information that a glider pilot needs - the trick is to display it in the most effective way, and have it available when needed. Having a bunch of fancy displays doesn't mean you have to look at them or use them all the time, but when you do need the info, it should be readily available.

Kirk
66

[kirk.stant]

On Tuesday, October 21, 2014 3:08:15 PM UTC-5, Craig R. wrote:
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
> Fly safe and have fun.

The article refers to multitasking. When I fly my glider, my task is flying my glider - using all the information I need (when needed) from my SN10, Oudie, and Flarm, along with the ASI, altimeter, etc.

That isn't multitasking.

Now, if I was gaggling during a contest, while texting on my phone, and simultaneously watching a youtube video on my PNA on how to do brain surgery - - THAT WOULD BE MULTITASKING!

Kirk
66

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, October 21, 2014 4:08:15 PM UTC-4, Craig R. wrote:
> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
> RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!
> Fly safe and have fun.

I'd have to agree with Kirk 66. Flying my glider completely focuses my attention as only a few other activities (such as piano or juggling) can. After flying I frequently marvel that not once during the rigging, flying or derigging has my day job even briefly crossed my mind. AW

[Roy Clark, \B6\]

You can pick any two tasks or fly an monitor one instrument at a time; but only two tasks!

Science. 2010 Apr 16;328(5976):360-3. doi: 10.1126/science.1183614.
Divided representation of concurrent goals in the human frontal lobes.
Charron S, Koechlin E.
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris F-75654 Cedex 13, France.
Abstract
The anterior prefrontal cortex (APC) confers on humans the ability to simultaneously pursue several goals. How does the brain's motivational system, including the medial frontal cortex (MFC), drive the pursuit of concurrent goals? Using brain imaging, we observed that the left and right MFC, which jointly drive single-task performance according to expected rewards, divide under dual-task conditions: While the left MFC encodes the rewards driving one task, the right MFC concurrently encodes those driving the other task. The same dichotomy was observed in the lateral frontal cortex, whereas the APC combined the rewards driving both tasks. The two frontal lobes thus divide for representing simultaneously two concurrent goals coordinated by the APC. The human frontal function seems limited to driving the pursuit of two concurrent goals simultaneously.
PMID:
20395509
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20395509

Translation for non-neuroscientists:

Often we compare current computer processors with human brain, we consider human brain to be superior at certain things: It's ability to learn, adapt and react. But how does our brain react to multitasking?
We might have adopted quad cores on the desktops, but a new study reveals that human brain is capable of processing only two tasks at a time, something close to a HyperThreading on a single core processor.
When faced with two tasks, a part of the brain known as the Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MFC) divides so that half of the region focuses on one task and the other half on the other task. This logical partitioning allows a person to get hold of two tasks at a time without affecting much performance. (of course it varies by individual skill). And when we attempt to throw a third task to the brain, its easy to have poor performance in two or all of them.
For instance we can talk on phone while walking in a street or even while working on something on computer. As per the study researcher Etienne Koechlin of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France:
"What really the results show is that we can readily divide tasking. We can cook, and at the same time talk on the phone, and switch back and forth between these two activities. However, we cannot multitask with more than two tasks."
For the very same reason its discouraged to drive and talk on phone where both tasks use Brain heavily and context switching can cause delays, sometimes. However, listening to music and driving is much safer since listening to music hardly uses the brain.
Multitasking in the brain
Scientists knew that a region at the very front of the brain, called the anterior prefrontal cortex (APC), was involved in multitasking. But they weren't sure how the MFC was involved.
The research experiment
Koechlin and his colleagues conducted an experiment to study human brain activity in reaction to various situations. The test involved 32 subjects who were give a letter-matching task while they had scanners attached to their head. These scanners were essentially functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The subjects were given a set of uppercase letters and task was to determine whether those letters were presented in the correct order in order to spell out a certain word. For every successful attempt, they were awarded with cash.
It was observed, that higher the monetary reward, the more activity there was in the MFC. (That proves the greed lies in Brain and not heart ;) )
The next test made the task more difficult by introducing lowercase letters in addition to uppercase. As a result, brain had to switch back and forth between matching the uppercase letters to spell out, say, aSmEOwE (Awesome)
During this dual task, the MFC did its job and divided it. One hemisphere of the brain encoded uppercase letter task, and so showed activity during that task, while the other region encoded the reward associated with the lowercase task, Koechlin said.
To test the human brain's response to three tasks, the researchers introduced a third letter-matching task. The accuracy dropped drastically. Logically, once each hemisphere was occupied with managing one task, there was nowhere for the third task to go. Clearly, The human brain perform as if they systematically forget one of the three tasks.
Brain's Decision-making
The results also explain why its harder for human brain to make choices between three objects as compare to two.
The human brain is good at remembering two things at a time hence efficiently compare them and make decisions. When options are multiple, human brain discards the choices by considering two (at max, at a time) until they are left with two and then one.
Read more: http://geeknizer.com/human-brain-multitasking/#ixzz3GvHU0KYf

[Craig R.]

> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray matter!

Folks, let's not get too carried away on a tongue-in-cheek post.
However, there are certain aspects of those studies that we should take heed of. The information supplied to the glider pilot continues to increase year after year and that is undeniable. I am a firm believer that our eyes are more and more in the cockpit and that trend is increasing. Let's find a happy medium and fly safe.
And, of course, flying (& driving, etc) is multitasking.

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

wrote, On 10/22/2014 5:02 PM:
> On Tuesday, October 21, 2014 4:08:15 PM UTC-4, Craig R. wrote:
>> ;-) Perhaps we can infer a correlation between the proliferation
>> of electronic gadgets in our cockpits with the dumbing down of
>> glider pilots? There are Standford University studies that indicate
>> that multitasking can lower your IQ or that "people who are
>> regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information
>> cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to
>> another as well as those who complete one task at a time".
>> http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/
>>
>>
RAS posts seem to verify these studies!
>> So, the obvious solution is to dump all the spendy computers, fly
>> with basic instruments, enjoy the scenery, and preserve the gray
>> matter! Fly safe and have fun.
>
> I'd have to agree with Kirk 66. Flying my glider completely focuses
> my attention as only a few other activities (such as piano or
> juggling) can. After flying I frequently marvel that not once during
> the rigging, flying or derigging has my day job even briefly crossed
> my mind. AW

The Forbes article was not a very good one, because it did not tell us
what a "task" is. They gave examples like writing an email during a
meeting, but how do we relate that to glider flying?

Fact is, "glider flying" is an activity, a complex task that is
comprised of other tasks, such as Aviating, Navigating, and
Communicating. The accomplished pilot chooses the devices that allow him
to best accomplish each of those tasks.

Navigating, for example, might be done simply by looking out the canopy
if the pilot is familiar with area, or in unfamiliar areas with a map,
whether paper or electronic, depending on the skills possessed.
Communicating might be done with a communications radio (requires
talking/listening), or an inReach/SPOT device (little or no pilot action).

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl

[Roy Clark, \B6\]

Another discussion on this topic:

http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/October/21/Acting-NTSB-chief-says-automation-affects-professionalism?WT.mc_id=141024epilot&WT.mc_sect=sap

[[email protected]]

T8 SAID: What could go wrong?

The government getting involved :)

And I agree with Kirk its how, and I would add where, its displayed a well organized cockpit is way easier to multitask and keep focus once you learn what and when to ignore and what and when to pay attention!

CH

[JS]

Cookie et al:
As promised, now I'm home and found the archived file, the rules for a no-electrics contest! If unfamiliar, the landmarks, etc are in the southwest.
Forgot about some things like no self-launch, EDS or gear warning. More fun..
Jim

Back To Basics Contest
A Handicapped Distance-Only Contest.
Contest dates: July 2nd to July 10th, 2011. This includes two weekends.

Enter as many flights as you wish.
Launch from your favorite spot. Auto or winch launches preferred for nostalgia.
Take photos out the left side of the cockpit of your start point, up to three recognizable turnpoints (judged by other entrants), and the finish point..
Turnpoint photos do not need to be taken in the FAI sector, but cannot be from short of the turn. (The sector is expanded to 180 degrees)
The finish photo can be from the ground.
The left wing tip must be in each photo.
Each turnpoint must be a named feature, examples: White Mountain, Lone Pine Airport, Bird Spring Pass microwave tower, or The junction of route 395 and route 6. Not all of these names are on aeronautical charts, but it is the pilot's responsibility to describe the feature.
Maximum launch height cannot be confirmed by your GPS trace as there isn't one, but keep it to 3500'.
No self-launches, including retrieves.
Batteries may only be carried as ballast.
Aircraft or Amateur radios, cell phones, SPOT can be carried (turned off) for emergency use. Anything other than emergency use is not permitted until the glider is back in the trailer (hangar, tiedown). ELTs are OK.
No flight computers, no moving maps, no electric or audio varios, including portable battery powered ones.
No Electronic Pulse Delivery Oxygen systems or fingertip Oximeters. Only old school! I may have a spare Nelson or Aerox regulator if someone really needs it, but you can connect a cannula and flow meter directly to the MH regulator.
FLARM and Transponder will be turned OFF. Label the TXP "INOP" in case you're ramp checked.
Other than a watch, the only electric instrument allowed is a digital camera. Analog cameras are difficult to find, and involve paying someone to develop film. (and we know glider pilots can be "thrifty").
The proposed rule, that would have required in-flight insurance be dropped for the week even though you never use it, was left out.

Your best flight will be scored by examining the photos, then measured in SeeYou (I lost my bit of string). The latest published Sports Class handicaps from SSA will be used. The handicaps account for items like open or enclosed cockpit and fixed or retractable landing gear.
The SeeYou .cup file with all entries will be published on the Tehachapisoaring newsgroup.
You may make other flights and upload to the OLC during this week, but those flights are not allowed in this contest.
To appease those who whined about use of water ballast, this is a dry contest.

A flashlight and a strobe light may be carried in the cockpit for "no penalty" use after landing out. Again, cell phones can be carried (switched off) for emergency use, or use after the glider is back in the trailer, tied down at home or in the hangar.
SPOT can be carried (switched off) for emergency "911" use only.
Gear warning systems are not permitted. If it runs on it's own battery, disconnect that battery.
No electric canopy mechanisms or electric landing gear systems can be used.

All batteries must be disconnected from the instrument panel, not just switched off (I know it's a pain in the neck for DG800, AS-H26E, Carat, etc. so we can allow the master key to be left behind or stored out of reach if it kills all of the batteries). Solar panels may not be used to power any instruments.
Outside of emergency use after a landout but before the crew arrives, using the aircraft radio or a handheld device (radio, SPOT, APRS, cell phone, etc) voids that flight. I've been asked too many times about cell phones, so it's repeated.
You may not call your crew on their cell phone until the glider is in the trailer, home tiedown or hangar.
It's up to observers at the launch point to ensure everyone behaves. This is also covered by Rule #11 stolen from the Berle Trophy rules versions 1 and 2, which is modified to:
11) Anyone caught exaggerating their distance or using electricity in flight shall be laughed at in public. Exaggeration includes using nonexistent turnpoints.

So dig out your old telephone calling card, those dusty paper charts, the old O2 rig, your official SSA Dial-A-Prayer Wheel, and your hiking boots!

There is a prize!
The winner gets one free round trip anywhere within the lower 48 states on your choice of either American or United. I'll donate the miles from my account (which Mark refers to as "the perpetual motion machine").

For each entry, e-mail your photographs, description of the flight (launch place, launch height, start point, up to 3 turnpoints, landing point) and name of your observer to:
(your name here)
before midnight on Tuesday July 12th. I'll be in Europe at that point, but will get the winner announced as soon as I can. If there are turnpoint photos which I can't connect with the description, those photos may be e-mailed to others for a look.





On Wednesday, October 22, 2014 12:45:40 PM UTC-7, Cookie wrote:
> $500..!!!
>
> I'm "in"...When's the next contest? Why not run it at Wurtsboro or Blairstown?
>
>
>
> Cookie

[Sean Fidler]

In my experience when people start referring to something as a "gadget" their minds have already been "made up."

I use an Oudie (or mobile phone running XC Soar or iGlide), an SN10, a FLARM brick and a Nano. With the exception of the Flarm (which is completely autonomous), all of these products do exactly the same thing as their predecessors (map & data for nav, audio vario, flight logger). The only difference (debatable) is that they are slightly better, smaller or more efficient than their predecessors. By no means are any of them outrageously expensive based on the sport of flying/soaring norms. These products simply make basic navigation and thermaling easier (and perhaps more reliable and convenient) than using a paper map or constantly looking at a non-audio vario. In reality, these "gadgets" are hardly looked at during the flights, even in National contests.

Now, this thread is well down the path of suggesting that those that use newer tech are perhaps less intelligent, etc. That is interesting. No glider systems that I see on the market are really very mind blowing or change what you do during a flight significantly. Most of us simply have some form of map, an audio vario (all based on the exact same basic technology) and perhaps some form of flight data logger. You hardly use these gadgets while in the air. 99% of the time the glider pilots eyes are out the window looking at clouds, terrain and of course looking out for other airplanes and gliders (enter Flarm as an added audio assistant for that function). How are these gadgets changing how we all fly again? What is different between the guy with "gadgets" and the proper "old school" pilot exactly?

All I can say is, Wow. I think this thread is becoming "a bit" overblown.