In one simple experiment, a group of adults was shown a series of colored shapes and asked to make predictions based on what they saw. They had to perform the task while wearing headphones that played a series of beeps. In one trial, they were told to ignore the beeps and just concentrate on the shapes. In a second trial, using a different set of visual cues, they were told to keep track of the number of beeps. After each go-through, they completed a test that required them to interpret what they had just done. In both trials, the subjects made predictions with equal success. But after the multitasking trial, they had a much harder time drawing conclusions about their experience. Switching between the two tasks short-circuited their understanding; they got the job done, but they lost its meaning. “Our results suggest that learning facts and concepts will be worse if you learn them while you’re distracted,” said the lead researcher, UCLA psychologist Russell Poldrack.