But it also seems to at least somewhat contradict one phenomenon I noted. Certain programming tasks require so much concentration that I must have utter peace. I really don't think that these programming tasks exercise every single one of my brain's "intelligences" so I don't see how total lack of distraction is advantageous there when using this theory of "distracting your other intelligences".
Oh, I certainly wouldn't claim it's a perfect model. I think anything that can be expressed in less than a large tome is unlikely to be anything more than a napkin-sketch analogy to what really goes on in the ol' noggin.
For me, though, it seems like the "bribing parts of my brain to shaddup and lemme alone" model fits better how it feels like I deal with situations than the "aim for a specific level of overall stimulation" model. Of course, you could write my model of my mind in a very small part of my mind (rather by necessity :), so it's very incomplete even there. And that says even less about its applicability to other people, since I've noticed a time or two that they kinda aren't quite like me.
Perhaps one way in that model of looking at the total-concentration situation is that the parts of my mind that are involved are working so hard and so loudly that they drown out attempts by other parts to demand their own satisfaction.