Friday, April 25, 2008

Dull jobs really do numb the mind

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk

Boring jobs turn our mind to autopilot, say scientists - and it means we can seriously mess up some simple tasks.


Monotonous duties switch our brain to "rest mode", whether we like it or not, the researchers report in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.


They found mistakes can be predicted up to 30 seconds before we make them, by patterns in our brain activity.


The team hopes to design an early-warning brain monitor for pilots and others in "critical situations".


The scientists say the device would be particularly suitable for monotonous jobs where focus is hard to maintain - such as passport and immigration control.


"To our surprise, up to 30 seconds before the mistake we could detect a distinct shift in activity,"
"We can assume that the tendency to economise task performance leads to an inappropriate reduction of effort, thus causing errors."
brain scan
Mistakes can be predicted by patterns of brain activity
headset for EEG
Headsets could be designed to offer "early warning" of mistakes
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