If there is one general rule about the limitations of the human mind, it is that brains are terrible at multitasking. When devoted 1. (prepositio) a single task, the brain excels; when several goals splinter 2. (pronomini) focus, errors become unavoidable.
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Still, clear 3. (poikkeukset) challenge that general rule. 4. (Vuosikymmeniä) chess has held the exalted position of the Drosophila of cognitive science – the model organism that scientists could poke and prod to learn what makes experts better than 5. (me muut). StarCraft 2, one 6. (maailman) hottest computer games, might be overtaking chess; its added complexity may confound researchers initially, but the answers could ultimately be more telling. In this real-time strategy game, players exert a godlike role over a cluster of creatures, 7. (lead) them to develop their economy and prepare for skirmishes with a neighboring society. The winner is often the person who can make the most moves, as many as six actions 8. (sekunnissa).
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“I can’t think of a cognitive process that’s 9. (ei sisälly) StarCraft,” says Mark Blair, a cognitive scientist at Simon Fraser University. “It’s working memory. And it’s both decision making and precise motor skills. Everything is important, and everything has to work together.”
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10. (Tuhannet) gamers are now contributing to a project under Blair’s watch, 11. (call) SkillCraft, to learn what separates experts from novices when it comes to attention, multitasking and learning. 12. (Vertaamalla) the techniques and attributes of low-level players with 13. (pronomini) of other gamers up the chain of ability, the researchers can start to discern how skills develop – and perhaps, 14 (pitkällä aikavälillä), identify the most efficient training regimen. In a highstress crisis situation, the mental task of keeping cool and distributing attention among 15. (yhtä) urgent activities might closely resemble the core challenge of StarCraft 2.

Scientific American, February 2012