Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

Tom Weber correctly points out the genius of the kindle i.e. its ability to allow us to unitask. Len Edgerly interviewed Tom Weber on the Kindle Chronicles and dug up more goodness. 

This post continues the trend and looks in-depth at the multitasking myth, how Kindle encourages unitasking, and the direct benefits to you.

Update: Data that was withheld from the public seems to indicate that driving while multi-tasking (on the phone) is nearly as bad as drunken driving -

Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.

The Myth Of MultiTasking

There’s a misconception that you can multitask and increase your productivity. That you can magically create extra time by doing multiple things in parallel -

The Illusion that Multi-Tasking creates Time

The truth is that the cost of switching between tasks severely kills productivity (courtesy APA Online, Psychology Matters) -

Although switch costs may be relatively small, sometimes just a few tenths of a second per switch, they can add up to large amounts when people switch repeatedly back and forth between tasks.

Thus, multitasking may seem efficient on the surface but may actually take more time in the end and involve more error.

Meyer has said that even brief mental blocks created by shifting between tasks can cost as much as 40 percent of someone’s productive time.

Another study shows that brain activity actually decreases when you multitask and quality suffers (courtesy CMU) -

When people try to drive in heavy traffic and talk, researchers say, brain activity does not double. It decreases.

People performing two demanding tasks simultaneously do neither one as well as they do each one alone. 

There are numerous studies (including one in Neuron in July 2009) that have shown that there are no productivity increases due to multitasking.

Note: We are talking about complex tasks (driving, writing, reading). Learned tasks (physical memory tasks) such as walking do not cause problems.

What is the actual impact of multitasking?

As opposed to doubling productivity, what multitasking actually does is -

1. Wastes time due to context switching.  
2. Increases the risk of errors and accidents (talking while driving, etc.). 
3. Decreases the quality of work.

This 2006 Time cover story points out some of the costs of multitasking -

When people try to perform two or more related tasks either at the same time or alternating rapidly between them, errors go way up, and it takes far longer–often double the time or more–to get the jobs done than if they were done sequentially.

Says David E. Meyer, director of the Brain, Cognition and Action Laboratory at the University of Michigan: “The toll in terms of slowdown is extremely large–amazingly so.”

It might lead to even more serious problems since multitasking shortens attention spans - A research study suggested that early television exposure in children (between ages 1 and 3) led to attentional problems at age 7.

Here’s a video that explains the cost of multitasking in terms of chocolate –

How Kindle Helps Unitasking

Len Edgerly talks about this in his podcast – the Kindle basically takes pains to stop multitasking and encourage unitasking.

The one task the Kindle encourages is reading -

1. Reading is really easy on the eyes. 
2. Page Turns are easy – a dedicated button. 
3. The device blends into the background. 
4. You can change the font sizes and spacing between the lines to suit your preference.
5. You can use Text To Speech.
6. You can use backgorund music to tune out distractions or put your self into a flow state.

Not only does the Kindle encourage reading it discourages pretty much everything else and takes pains to minimize interruptions -

1. Context Switches are extremely expensive. There is no easy way to jump from a book to the browser. 
2. The Internet browser is limited and slow.  
3. The eInk screen and changeable fonts means your eyes don’t get tired as quickly. Plus you can change to a larger font if they begin to tire.
4. The light weight means your hand doesn’t get tired.
5. The long battery life means interruptions are rare.
6. Just 1 or 2 games.
7. Courtesy Len – You have to make the time appear (so you cannot be distracted by it while reading).
8. Courtesy Len – The number of words per page is lower than a book so there’s less competition for your attention.
9. No email alerts.
10. Can’t spend a bunch of time arranging, re-arranging music and photos.
11. The lack of folders seems to suggest Amazon don’t even want you to organize books on your Kindle. Just to keep 5-10 and read them.

What does this say about Kindle 3 and Kindle 4?

The Kindle so far is a device of good intent i.e.

1. It helps customers read books, and helps them focus solely on that.  
2. It helps authors and Amazon (and publishers) to sell books.

Anything other than the words of the book and the act of reading are superfluous to the Kindle’s purpose.

Kindle 3 will probably be a device of good intent too -

1. It’ll add features that improve the act of reading and interacting with books (touchscreen, better resolution, faster page-turns, better keyboard). 
2. It’ll probably stay away from features that detract from reading (games, full featured browser, instant chat, non-reading features). 

Amazon has little incentive to turn its device from a device of good intent (purchase and consume ebooks) to a device of meaninglessness (used to kill time).

The only non-reading feature Kindle 3 might see is an Amazon Shopping feature. Everything else will revolve around the singular task of reading.

Filed under: evolution, kindle Tagged: | kindle purpose, kindle unitasking