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The Quiet Ones

nytimes.com

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Re: The Quiet Ones

#11

Post by aes256 »

ghshephard wrote: post #2

I suspect the author will be unhappy to hear that the key message I took away from his nice little story (with David Foster Wallace quotes, no less) - was that he was identifying himself as the jerk who loudly whacks away at his keyboard, annoying the crap out of people around him. When I'm near those people in a public space, I always wonder if they are having some kind of mental-breakdown, or whether they are passi…

> When I'm near those people in a public space, I always wonder if they are having some kind of mental-breakdown, or whether they are passive-aggressively trying to get people to move away from them.

Whenever I come across someone typing loudly in public, I am reminded of this scene from Up in the Air:

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ7EUCBxc9s

Re: The Quiet Ones

#12

Post by eshvk »

kmfrk wrote: post #7
eshvk wrote: post #3

Idea for any startup founders out there: Have quiet breakout rooms where one can't talk in anything but a whisper. Hell, make it so that one can't even use a Das Keyboard in there. I would be curious to run an A/B test on productivity (say number of features produced). :-)

Someone already did the experiment, basically: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/06/study-of-t... . :)

Let me try to answer the question seriously: I have worked in coffee shops with ambient noise which I have been able to tune out. I believe that the experiment is subtly different that what I had proposed because it is looking at a different dimension of noise. The problem with noise at work is that it gets harder to tune it out especially when some of that noise might be relevant. This means that you get more distracted than when listening to some person with a nasally voice is asking for non fat soy latte. Well, that is my hypothesis anyway. :-)

Re: The Quiet Ones

#13

Post by cletus »

I sympathize with whoever criticized the guy for loud typing. Seriously, it's distracting/disruptive. I learnt to type on (manual) typewriter too but laptops and keys don't need to be stabbed with the force of a thousand suns to register the press.

It can be just as loud as people talking and (IMHO) can be harder to tune out. After all, we're used to hearing people talk all the time.

Oh and while I'm in the mood for ranting, people who eat with their mouths open--particularly when it's something crunchy--or who slurp in any way are going to be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.

I don't catch long distance trains in the US at all. I sometimes take the subway but more often than not you're just standing for 10-15 minutes. In Germany, I don't recall having a lot of problems with noise (although, on one train back from Oberhausen, the smoke was so thick you couldn't see one window from the other in a very Cheech and Chong moment). England varied but was generally fine.

What I'm not looking forward to is when cellphones become usable on planes because you know someone is going to sit there and talk loudly for the entire flight.

One tip though: my Bose noise cancelling headphones are worth their weight in gold.

Re: The Quiet Ones

#14

Post by pud »

Off topic, but I think that's the most beautiful illustration I've ever seen accompanying an article. And the animation - just wonderful.

(I've visiting from my laptop. Assuming mobile version probably doesn't look the same.)

Re: The Quiet Ones

#16

Post by natrius »

pud wrote: post #14

Off topic, but I think that's the most beautiful illustration I've ever seen accompanying an article. And the animation - just wonderful. (I've visiting from my laptop. Assuming mobile version probably doesn't look the same.)

The animation is present on mobile devices as well, though perhaps not on their mobile-formatted site. Do they even serve that site to WebKit browsers anymore? If so, they shouldn't.

Re: The Quiet Ones

#17

Post by cglace »

cletus wrote: post #13

I sympathize with whoever criticized the guy for loud typing. Seriously, it's distracting/disruptive. I learnt to type on (manual) typewriter too but laptops and keys don't need to be stabbed with the force of a thousand suns to register the press. It can be just as loud as people talking and (IMHO) can be harder to tune out. After all, we're used to hearing people talk all the time. Oh and while I'm in the mood for…

I sit by 3-4 loud typers at work and it regularly makes me lose focus for 10-20 minutes at a time and that is with my headphones on.

Re: The Quiet Ones

#18

Post by pavel_lishin »

eshvk wrote: post #12
kmfrk wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone already did the experiment, basically: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/06/study-of-t... . :)

Let me try to answer the question seriously: I have worked in coffee shops with ambient noise which I have been able to tune out. I believe that the experiment is subtly different that what I had proposed because it is looking at a different dimension of noise. The problem with noise at work is that it gets harder to tune it out especially when some of that noise might be relevant. This means that you get more distra…

I can filter out 99% of the noise at a coffee shop, because I can be certain it doesn't apply to me.

I can filter out 50% of the noise at work, because it probably doesn't apply to me.

I can filter out 10% of the noise at home, because if my wife is talking or our cats are meowing, it's almost certainly directed at me.

Re: The Quiet Ones

#19

Post by pavel_lishin »

cglace wrote: post #17
cletus wrote: post #13

I sympathize with whoever criticized the guy for loud typing. Seriously, it's distracting/disruptive. I learnt to type on (manual) typewriter too but laptops and keys don't need to be stabbed with the force of a thousand suns to register the press. It can be just as loud as people talking and (IMHO) can be harder to tune out. After all, we're used to hearing people talk all the time. Oh and while I'm in the mood for…

I sit by 3-4 loud typers at work and it regularly makes me lose focus for 10-20 minutes at a time and that is with my headphones on.

As a loud typer myself, please let them know. I'm usually wearing my headphones and have no idea how loud my keyboard sounds are - and if I'm in a bad mood, it tends to get louder, without me being consciously aware of it. I wouldn't be offended if someone pointed out how much noise I'm generating, and I doubt they would be, either.

This would work especially well if your boss is willing to spring for quiet keyboards for them, and if they're willing to use 'em.

Re: The Quiet Ones

#20

Post by bigtones »

pud wrote: post #14

Off topic, but I think that's the most beautiful illustration I've ever seen accompanying an article. And the animation - just wonderful. (I've visiting from my laptop. Assuming mobile version probably doesn't look the same.)

I agree, I've been reading NYT online for years and never seen an animated gif illustration before. I quite like it.
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