rules of engagement

When MIT professor Patrick Winston lectured, he had a famous, four-word "rule of engagement." It was a non-negotiable policy, and while simple, it's a rule that almost no one today follows, and that makes it extremely valuable. 

No laptops. No cellphones.

"Some people ask why [this] is a rule of engagement," says Winston. "The answer is, we humans only have one language processor. And if your language processor is engaged ... you're distracted. And, worse yet, you distract all of the people around you. Studies have shown that."

He continues, "And worse yet, if I see an open laptop, somewhere back there, or up here, it drives me nuts!"

Winston is right, of course--and his rule is backed up by years of scientific research.