--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for…" description: "\"“Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” commented Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor who led the research.”\" — Nicholas Carr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg" --- # Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,”… ![“Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” commented Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor who led the research.” quote by Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg) > ““Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” commented Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor who led the research.”” [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heavy multitasking reduces relevance and depth of attention. **In simple terms:** Multitasking leads to shallow focus. Key Takeaway Limit multitasking to improve depth. Themes attention technology productivity Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - work environments - learning settings - digital media consumption Key Concepts cognitive load information overload focus Questions to Reflect On - How does multitasking affect your work quality? - Can you design tasks to minimize interruptions? A Different Perspective May not apply to all individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intensive Multitaskers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intensive-multitaskers-5338114/) [Multitaskers Suckers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multitaskers-suckers-5338115/) [Nass Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nass-stanford-5338117/) [Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanford/) [Stanford Professor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanford-professor-5338116/) [Task](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/task/) ## Related quotes > [“Jordan Grafman, head of the cognitive neuroscience unit at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, explains that the constant shifting of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/jordan-grafman-head-of-the-cognitive-neuroscience-unit-at-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [I wrote the first draft of my first novel at Michigan, and then I wrote the first draft of 'Salvage the Bones' at Stanford.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wrote-the-first-draft-of-my-first-novel-at-michigan-and-then-i/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/and-i-went-off-to-stanford-i-was-pretty-young-and-pretty-naive-and-i/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [ The \[Stanford Prison Experiment\] was readily approved by the Human Subjects Research committee because it seemed like college kids playing cops and robbers, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-zimbardo/the-stanford-prison-experiment-was-readily-approved-by-the-human/) [Philip Zimbardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-zimbardo/) > [At 17, I went to Stanford University to study engineering. My time was occupied with the required reading and the extracurricular duties of managing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/at-17-i-went-to-stanford-university-to-study-engineering-my-time-was/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Only in high school when I began programming computers, did I become interested in tech and start-ups, which led me to attend Stanford and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/only-in-high-school-when-i-began-programming-computers-did-i-become/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [Let's face it, I like Stanford grads. I'd always hear about this campus, and everybody is riding bikes, and people hopping into fountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/let-s-face-it-i-like-stanford-grads-i-d-always-hear-about-this-campus/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The war project at Stanford was essentially completed, and I accepted an offer of an Assistant Professorship at the University of Minnesota, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/the-war-project-at-stanford-was-essentially-completed-and-i-accepted/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [I went to Stanford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-ertz/i-went-to-stanford/) [Zach Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-ertz/) > [When I was nine, we moved to Stanford University in San Francisco so that my father could do a Ph.D. I went to Terman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lawrence/when-i-was-nine-we-moved-to-stanford-university-in-san-francisco-so/) [Caroline Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lawrence/) > [In marked contrast to the University of Wisconsin, Biochemistry was hardly visible at Stanford in 1945, consisting of only two professors in the chemistry department.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/in-marked-contrast-to-the-university-of-wisconsin-biochemistry-was/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [“THE ORIGINS of this book go back to a casual lunch on the Stanford campus–Thai food eaten outdoors, a sunny and pleasant afternoon–in February…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-origins-of-this-book-go-back-to-a-casual-lunch-on-the-stanford/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-re-already-naked-there-is-no-reason-not-to-follow-your-heart/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/my-high-school-the-illinois-mathematics-and-science-academy-showed-me/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you - like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-stanford/madaming-is-the-sort-of-thing-that-happens-to-you-like-getting-a/) [Sally Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-stanford/) ## More by Nicholas Carr > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In programming the World Wide Computer, we will be programming our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-programming-the-world-wide-computer-we-will-be-programming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-we-re-experiencing-is-in-a-metaphorical-sense-a-reversal-of-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“As long as algorithms determine the distribution of profits, they will also determine what gets published. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/as-long-as-algorithms-determine-the-distribution-of-profits-they-will/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“those with the helpful software were found “to aimlessly click around” as they tried to crack the puzzle.27”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/those-with-the-helpful-software-were-found-to-aimlessly-click-around/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding information into consciousness and then back out again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/our-brains-turn-into-simple-signal-processing-units-quickly/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What is different, and troubling, is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of reading. Once a means to an end, a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-is-different-and-troubling-is-that-skimming-is-becoming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“They failed to appreciate how the network would funnel the energies of the people into a centrally administered, tightly monitored information system organized to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/they-failed-to-appreciate-how-the-network-would-funnel-the-energies/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In the long run, the IT department is unlikely to survive, at least not in its familiar form.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-the-long-run-the-it-department-is-unlikely-to-survive-at-least-not/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Personal memory shapes and sustains the “collective memory” that underpins culture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/personal-memory-shapes-and-sustains-the-collective-memory-that/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The near-continuous stream of new information pumped out by the Web also plays to our natural tendency to “vastly overvalue what happens to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-near-continuous-stream-of-new-information-pumped-out-by-the-web/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The strip-mining of “relevant content” replaces the slow excavation of meaning.   IT”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-strip-mining-of-relevant-content-replaces-the-slow-excavation-of/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“The Net grants us instant access to a library of information unprecedented in its size and scope, and it makes it easy for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/the-net-grants-us-instant-access-to-a-library-of-information/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“A 1989 study showed that readers of hypertext often ended up clicking distractedly “through pages instead of reading them carefully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/a-1989-study-showed-that-readers-of-hypertext-often-ended-up-clicking/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“Activities of self-realization are subject to increasing marginal utility:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/activities-of-self-realization-are-subject-to-increasing-marginal/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) [Explore all 108 Nicholas Carr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## More Stanford quotes > [Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you - like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-stanford/madaming-is-the-sort-of-thing-that-happens-to-you-like-getting-a/) [Sally Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-stanford/) > [My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/my-high-school-the-illinois-mathematics-and-science-academy-showed-me/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [You're already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/you-re-already-naked-there-is-no-reason-not-to-follow-your-heart/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [“THE ORIGINS of this book go back to a casual lunch on the Stanford campus–Thai food eaten outdoors, a sunny and pleasant afternoon–in February…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-origins-of-this-book-go-back-to-a-casual-lunch-on-the-stanford/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In marked contrast to the University of Wisconsin, Biochemistry was hardly visible at Stanford in 1945, consisting of only two professors in the chemistry department.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/in-marked-contrast-to-the-university-of-wisconsin-biochemistry-was/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [When I was nine, we moved to Stanford University in San Francisco so that my father could do a Ph.D. I went to Terman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lawrence/when-i-was-nine-we-moved-to-stanford-university-in-san-francisco-so/) [Caroline Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lawrence/) > [I went to Stanford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-ertz/i-went-to-stanford/) [Zach Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-ertz/) > [The war project at Stanford was essentially completed, and I accepted an offer of an Assistant Professorship at the University of Minnesota, which had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/the-war-project-at-stanford-was-essentially-completed-and-i-accepted/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [Let's face it, I like Stanford grads. I'd always hear about this campus, and everybody is riding bikes, and people hopping into fountains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/let-s-face-it-i-like-stanford-grads-i-d-always-hear-about-this-campus/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Only in high school when I began programming computers, did I become interested in tech and start-ups, which led me to attend Stanford and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/only-in-high-school-when-i-began-programming-computers-did-i-become/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [At 17, I went to Stanford University to study engineering. My time was occupied with the required reading and the extracurricular duties of managing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/at-17-i-went-to-stanford-university-to-study-engineering-my-time-was/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [ The \[Stanford Prison Experiment\] was readily approved by the Human Subjects Research committee because it seemed like college kids playing cops and robbers, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-zimbardo/the-stanford-prison-experiment-was-readily-approved-by-the-human/) [Philip Zimbardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-zimbardo/) > [And I went off to Stanford, I was pretty young and pretty naive. And I had a professor I really loved, who was himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/and-i-went-off-to-stanford-i-was-pretty-young-and-pretty-naive-and-i/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [I wrote the first draft of my first novel at Michigan, and then I wrote the first draft of 'Salvage the Bones' at Stanford.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wrote-the-first-draft-of-my-first-novel-at-michigan-and-then-i/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [Arnold Rampersad is a really good person. A really good person. As a matter of fact, he came to Stanford when I was Provost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/arnold-rampersad-is-a-really-good-person-a-really-good-person-as-a/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) [Browse all 166 Stanford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanford/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” commented Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor who led the research.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Carr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-irrelevancy-commented-clifford/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stanford" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-irrelevancy-commented-clifford/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/nicholas-carr-4579_stanford_intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-i_3094887.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,” commented Clifford Nass, the Stanford professor who…” — Nicholas Carr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nicholas Carr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Intensive multitaskers are “suckers for irrelevancy,”...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-irrelevancy-commented-clifford/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/intensive-multitaskers-are-suckers-for-irrelevancy-commented-clifford/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```