h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think that the entire problem about the decrease in attention-spans is due to... erh...

But it really is a... problem? (Wait a minite, I'll have to go look at my Windows Time-manager.)
(Exits program, tries to find manager but end up checking e-mail account in stead. Returns to forum hours later, only to discover that the entire idea of a feisty and yet incredibly intelligent answer is gone with the wind...)

See what I mean?

See what I mean what?

My IT teacher told us (while helping us prepare of a 3 hour exam) that the average human attention span was 25mins. And this is why class periods lasted 45mins......

AND THESE PPL ARE QUALIFIED TO TEACH US?

Being a teacher, having studied to become one, I was once told that the mind focuses only on the task at hand for some 30% of the time.
What happens in the other 70% of the time eludes me...

its spent thinking about women,beer,food,sleep,cars,bikes,computer games,etc not neccesarily in that order, hope this helps

Also I was told that the human mind can only keep 7 things in the fore at a time (in computing terms, we have 7 registers).

..also, how did the researcher who worked out that the human attention span is 25 minutes ever complete their research - surely this must have taken more than 25 minutes and therefore yadd yadda yadda blah blah...

Anyone who says that humans attention span is only 25 minutes has never met a 7 year old kid with a Pokemon Gameboy.

This is the second time I've read this post in the last 17 minutes - the researcher was over ambitious with 25 minutes!

But isn't almost every aspect of the brain (when thinking computervise)
fuzzier than a stellar constellation of tribbles?

Is that an insult or a compliment?

The human attention span used to be 40 - 45 minutes, which might explain the length of the average class period. The fact that the attention span is less than the length of the exam session shouldn't matter, because you won't be concentrating on a single question for that long.

Err, what was this forum about....

I don't know I wasn't listening.

I think it was about exams or something???????

Oh. I was not very sure, thats all. I'll just go back to sleep if thats alright with everyone then. P.S. You can probably take some good tips of the site on Laziness too.
Good nighhgfhfdjzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Oh thats OK then. I was just checking. I'll just go back to sleep if that's alright with everyone then.
P.S. Check out the page on Laziness

umm. does anyone know why
a) I'm talking to myself and
b) I posted the previous posting twice with slightly different wordings?

The 'magic number' 7 appears in a lot of things, usually as '5 + or - 2', which gives 3 or 7. I came across it several times when I was studying HCI (Human Computer Interaction) as part of my post-graduate diploma. The opinion of the authors of various papers I read was that this value should be taken with a grain of salt. Some people can cope with more than this, some with less.

I think I know why,

a) becuase that is the only way your'e assured of an intelligent conversation!

b) becuase you have short term memory loss (perhaps related to your short attention span

Come to think about it, what's so bad about a short attention span?
What can be important enough to actually demand an entire hour of uninterrupted attention?!?
Surely not the television? Not even this site, as I can leave it to go get coffee. Surely not...
Erf...
Just a minute, I have to go get coffee!