Earlier quoted context omitted.
I code in bars for exactly this reason.
I'll never hear the word 'barcode' the same again.
Great name for a geeky nightclub.
I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
61–70 of 252 posts
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#62This used to be a problem when I started working at a company in 2009. Lots of office noises and conversations going on, I couldn't focus. Pretty sure I have an oversensitivity to noise too, as mentioned in this article.
The solution for me was buying a (not cheap) pair of Bose QC15 noise-canceling headphones. One of the best decisions I've ever made.
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#63So I can't find an online reference to this anywhere, but years ago I read a relevant anecdote about (I'm pretty sure) Isaac Asimov. He used to go into the most noisy environments he could find to write; places like a noisy restaurant or cafe. He found that this forced him to focus in a way that a quiet environment did not. For example, in a quiet environment, you occasionally still hear sounds, but it's rare enough…
There has been some research done into why this is (I'm citing a personality course I took), and it could be because some people's brains have a lack of stimulation, and others are overstimulated. The people lacking stimulation find it easier to think in noisy environments because they're full of stimuli. This might also explain some of the traits of introverted/extroverted people.
interesting! that seems to be consistent with my experience. I can never work at my quiet office where just sitting down bores me to tears and puts me to sleep in less than an hour. working at a cafe on the other hand I can go on for hours.
Do you have more info on the introvert/extrovert link?
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#64I tell every developer buddy I have that they should get a pair of Fuck Off Headphones [0]. They need to be big enough that people can't try to say, "Oh, I didn't see you had headphones on". I work from home now, and they work just as well for keeping my family at bay as they did for chatty coworkers when I had to be in an office. [0] http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Gaming-Headset-Surro...
The problem this approach has for me is I get startled if someone suddenly appears in front of me. I find ambient noise works best for me, though these days I find distractions from multiple monitors, tablets and phones are increasingly getting lethal.
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#65This is massively important to me, and it's why I live and am extremely productive in the middle of nowhere.
Also, since moving from an environment with constant noise pollution, my high blood pressure has gone down to the point that the only reason I'm taking the medication anymore is it would make my MD sibling very unhappy if I went off them. I suspect that chopping wood and carrying water also helped with that, but when I learned of the noise to BP link, it was an aha moment.
Anyway, I'm curious about how different countries seem to have different set levels for acceptable noise. In Honduras, noone seemed to think anything of trucks driving around with loudspeakers blaring various messages. That seems slightly less acceptable in America, but there is still enormous tolerance for more subtle noise pollution here. Are there other countries that are less tolerant?
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#66It's an opinion piece, so it's sort of anecdotal and hazy by nature, I guess (ymmv). I'm not going to complain too viscerally about it. The problem I have, though, is that the entire piece basically says "noise kills productivity" but the only linked research is saying that "exposure to aircraft noise increases morning saliva cortisol levels in women, which could be of relevance for noise-related cardiovascular effec…
"Noise is bad for concentration" isn't exactly an extraordinary claim. What makes you skeptical?
Because it is not scientific to accept something because it sounds plausible.
For example, I can work without problems at quite a high level of noise if it is regular, like traffic noise.
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#67It's an opinion piece, so it's sort of anecdotal and hazy by nature, I guess (ymmv). I'm not going to complain too viscerally about it. The problem I have, though, is that the entire piece basically says "noise kills productivity" but the only linked research is saying that "exposure to aircraft noise increases morning saliva cortisol levels in women, which could be of relevance for noise-related cardiovascular effec…
"Noise is bad for concentration" isn't exactly an extraordinary claim. What makes you skeptical?
My saying "meaningless" might have been a bit hyperbolic, but stands for the type of meaning I prefer.
I doubt I would have thought twice about it if there wasn't a research article dropped into the middle of the piece that didn't really seem to justify anything that was being put forward. I would have just gone through the article, nodded, and read something else.
Once I skimmed the research article I was in a "research journal" frame of mind.
I don't necessarily think that "noise is bad for concentration" is an extraordinary claim, but it's an imprecise claim, and at the point where it's serious enough to start citing research sources, I want more meat. I'd like to know what we're defining as noise. How loud is it? What's the duration? What kind of content does the noise have? How are we defining concentration? If it's about productivity, how are we defining productivity? Since we're talking about stress hormones, what are the short and long term impacts of stress on our definition of productivity? How large is the impact? Does the type of work being done change the impact? Does is change across cultural boundaries? Does is change across age groups? Can one be conditioned to be more resistant to noise?
That might all be a bit pedantic and overwrought for the type of article this is, but that's the path I went down
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#68It's so true. I can do routine work with noise, but not the kind that requires insight.
The sad thing is that noise is yet another example of the phenomenon of "the tragedy of the commons." Which means things tend to get noisier and noisier. In fact, what has surprised me most about living in Palo Alto is how noisy it is. You'd think living in the suburbs would at least be quiet. It is on weekends. But the problem with this suburb is that people are too rich: they all have their gardens maintained by gardening services, who use among other things gas-powered leaf blowers and hedge trimmers.
The leaf blowers in particular are unbelievably loud. You can hear a gas-powered leaf blower 3 blocks away. Which means during the day you can almost always hear one. (The city of Palo Alto has outlawed gas powered leaf blowers, but the gardening services all pretend not to know.)
Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Noise is bad for concentration" isn't exactly an extraordinary claim. What makes you skeptical?
Because it is not scientific to accept something because it sounds plausible. For example, I can work without problems at quite a high level of noise if it is regular, like traffic noise.
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Re: I’m Thinking. Please. Be Quiet.
#70I'll bite. From my biased viewpoint, based on who complains most, people prefer the quiet more as they get older. Kids don't seem to care, middle aged prefer some separation, and my elders can be derailed by a greeting. I've always assumed it was the skill to tune out, but perhaps theirs are weightier thoughts. Personally, I need some mindless noise in the background, but nothing with any meaningful signal. The noise…
I've become more sensitive to noise and auditory interruptions as I've gotten older. I don't think it's because I'm thinking weightier thoughts, or because my general multi-tasking ability has decreased. In support of that last point I'll add that visual interruptions don't seem nearly as annoying. I don't think there's anything wrong with my hearing at a purely physical level, either. However, I do think the effort of converting the sounds of spoken language into meaning has become more stressful. For the same reason, I positively loathe it when two people keep interrupting and talking over one another. One person talking plus random noise is OK (though not ideal); two people talking will make me angry very quickly. So it's not the ear, it's not the conscious part of the brain, it's the piece in between.
I don't know if my experience is the same as anyone else's, but it's certainly consistent with observations I've made over the years. Some people just aren't as good at turning sound into words, and some get worse at it as they age. Maybe those who are lucky in that regard should show some consideration for others around them.