This is generally an excellent article, but I have to take exception with one of its assertions:

I’ve been using a second monitor for nearly ten years, thinking that vast amounts of space were key to productivity. The second monitor myth has been around for quite some time. Yet the only actual scientific study I could find linking multiple monitors to productivity was done in 2003 by a monitor manufacturer, a video card manufacturer, and the University of Utah. It’s actually kind of a marketing document, not a study. I’ve opted for one, large monitor. Two monitors just allows me to put distractions on one monitor, and actual work on another.

An interesting fact about the origin of the concept, but that’s beside the point: multiple monitors are indispensable for keeping an eye on one thing while actively working on something else.

I’m using three monitors at present, each one generally dedicated to a different virtual machine (Win7, Linux, and the underlying OS X machine). While I’m coding on the Win7 system, I keep a browser open (to documentation or other useful programming info) on the Linux machine, and my notes and to-do list (and possibly a second browser or an IM conversation with the lead developer at BigCo) open on the third. I could do all that with only one big monitor, and I have before, but it wouldn’t be as efficient… I’d be switching between programs repeatedly, often just to see what’s on their screens. As it is, my notes or documentation are always visible, which is very useful.

So I have to disagree with the phrase “second monitor myth.” In my case, at least, it’s not distractions I’m putting on the extra monitor(s), it’s useful information.