In fact, von Neumann claimed to do some of his best work in noisy, chaotic environments such as in the living room of his house with the television blaring.
I often think of this when people claim it is impossible to conceive of any advanced thought in an open office or noisy environment. In fact, it is just a personal preference and one environment isn't necessarily any better than another.
I’m not trying to single you out but I think you are making an incredibly common mistake that I see everyone make all the time, and it almost never gets called out, so I’m going to do it here now:
Just because a study finds that some cause, on average, has some effect, I don’t think it is correct to start believing that that cause and effect will hold for you or any else in particular.
I’m convinced that for you noise is distracting, and that it is probably the case for most people, but I also totally believe that for some people it can work the other way around. I don’t think you can use the aggregate result of a study to argue against somebody else’s personal experience.
Just because a study finds that some cause, on average, has some effect, I don’t think it is correct to start believing that that cause and effect will hold for you or any else in particular.
Where did I say this at all? This is a straw man. The original comment stated, without any evidence at all, that noisy, chaotic environments aren't necessarily worse. I stated, with evidence, that it has been shown to have a negative effect on average. No where does this preclude that it may help some people or have no effect on some people.
I find noise distracting when things are not working, and I believe they should be working, and this process has been going on for a while. Otherwise I find noise sort of calming.
Something that greatly surprised me when I worked in my first open plan office was that I didn't prefer any headphones or earbuds of any kind. I kind of melted into my work and sometimes looking up at people walking by or various smells, sounds, etc. would keep my mind active.
First, the difference between the television blaring and my office talking is that in office chatter I'm constantly picking up bits of sound that make my brain think I should be paying attention to them. The sounds of a Simpsons rerun I've seen 90 times don't distract my brain in the same way.
Second, we're talking about what works for MOST people, Peopleware has actual data to back this up, the majority of people need quiet private space to do deep work.
in office chatter I'm constantly picking up bits of sound that make my brain think I should be paying attention to them
Agree. I found that hearing my boss on one side of a phone call where they referenced me or my work in some way was very distracting. What had happened? What was going to happen? What was I potentially being committed to?
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I often think of this when people claim it is impossible to conceive of any advanced thought in an open office or noisy environment. In fact, it is just a personal preference and one environment isn't necessarily any better than another.
Actually it is not just personal preference. I remember reading studies that show that school children perform worse when there is background noise. Here's one article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/201...
I’m not trying to single you out but I think you are making an incredibly common mistake that I see everyone make all the time, and it almost never gets called out, so I’m going to do it here now:
Just because a study finds that some cause, on average, has some effect, I don’t think it is correct to start believing that that cause and effect will hold for you or any else in particular.
I’m convinced that for you noise is distracting, and that it is probably the case for most people, but I also totally believe that for some people it can work the other way around. I don’t think you can use the aggregate result of a study to argue against somebody else’s personal experience.
Where did I say this at all? This is a straw man. The original comment stated, without any evidence at all, that noisy, chaotic environments aren't necessarily worse. I stated, with evidence, that it has been shown to have a negative effect on average. No where does this preclude that it may help some people or have no effect on some people.
On the other hand, there is evidence that a certain amount of noise helps creativity: [1], [2]
[1] - https://medium.com/s/how-to-design-creative-workspaces/how-n...
[2] - http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/665048
I find noise distracting when things are not working, and I believe they should be working, and this process has been going on for a while. Otherwise I find noise sort of calming.
Something that greatly surprised me when I worked in my first open plan office was that I didn't prefer any headphones or earbuds of any kind. I kind of melted into my work and sometimes looking up at people walking by or various smells, sounds, etc. would keep my mind active.
Not impossible, just impossible for them.
First, the difference between the television blaring and my office talking is that in office chatter I'm constantly picking up bits of sound that make my brain think I should be paying attention to them. The sounds of a Simpsons rerun I've seen 90 times don't distract my brain in the same way.
Second, we're talking about what works for MOST people, Peopleware has actual data to back this up, the majority of people need quiet private space to do deep work.
Agree. I found that hearing my boss on one side of a phone call where they referenced me or my work in some way was very distracting. What had happened? What was going to happen? What was I potentially being committed to?
The environment is still under his control. Not at all like an open office.
I find it the opposite. To work in a noicy environment is obviously so remarkable that its worth writing about.