Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think
and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information. These play to a
primitive impulse to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. The stimulation provokes excitement
— a dopamine squirt — that researchers say can be addictive. In its absence, people feel bored. The
resulting distractions can have deadly consequences, as when cell phone-wielding drivers and train
engineers cause wrecks. And for millions of people these urges can inflict nicks and cuts on creativity
and deep thought, interrupting work and family life.
The text states that human beings instinctively …