The Fourth Paradigm:

When will the world's greatest super computer be created? Well, it already exists. John Markoff reports on the status of parallel computing in today's New York Times. In January 2007, Jim Gray, a Microsoft employee, argued that focus should shift from creating ever faster, single super computers to shared computer power utilizing cheap equipment spread across the planet. Some of that is currently taking place.

A few years ago, I suggested the same possibility to the IT department where I'm employed, when one of our physicists received a large grant so that he could travel to a super computer location for just two hours of computing time in order to conduct research. Why not, I suggested, just set up the machines in our labs here to perform parallel computing functions? Our physicist would actually have more computational power, and he'd be able to use it for eight hours every night to his heart's content. I was told to shut up and never mention that idea to our physicist.

So much for getting out in front of the curve.

The Myth of Multitasking:

Steve Lohr of The New York Times addresses the issue of multitasking in today's issue. Think you can handle the cell phone while you're driving? And then there's your kid in the bedroom, watching TV, listening to music on the iPod, text messaging, answering his teachers e-mail, and studying for tomorrow's math test all at the same time. Think that A he will get is because he's a brilliant young multitasker? Or is it just your regular brand of grade inflation at work?

Turns out that human beings aren't the wonderful multitaskers we try to convince ourselves we are. Efficiency and effectiveness collapse under the distraction of multitasking. Just ask anybody who's ever tried to shoot a freethrow, much less hit a baseball. The human brain is wonderful at multitasking, just as long as it doesn't require the conscious mind.