The Psychology Behind Headphones 395
pvt_medic writes "The BBC has an interesting article today about portable music players and personal space. The article is on the research that Dr Michael Bull has done on portable music players. He analyzes them as a "tool whereby users manage space, time and the boundaries around the self." This article goes on to analyze the social and psychological aspects related to listening to music in public with headphones. A good quick read for those who do this."
anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Insightful)
People in general do this. I work at a technical college and see numerous students with headphones on (I don't believe I have seen earbuds recently). I see absolutely no reason for people to be listening to music while in any sort of educational institution. I would guess that would be the equivalent of someone's body languge -- showing crossed arms during a conversation.
I think that people are shy enough as it is. We do very little REAL social interaction as it is. Do we really want to become even more anti-social creatures by promoting music as some sort of "shield" from the outside world? Remember, the average person spends about 50% of their daily free time at home watching TV.
Music is something I like to enjoy with others at concerts and at home. Music is something that should be passed on to others. Nothing like finding a new genre of music you have never heard before because a friend had it playing in the car or in his house.
Just my worthless ramblings,
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Funny)
A study I would like to see (Score:5, Funny)
Re:A study I would like to see (Score:3, Interesting)
For example, there was an earlier article in Wired where Dr. Bull did a small Q&A [wired.com] and something in particular stood out:
Re:A study I would like to see (Score:4, Insightful)
As far as the grandparent goes, this study may not be of great use for your average Joe, but there is something to be said for pure research on a topic that interests you. Academia should not be about strictly practical things. While I make no promises, I bet some of the most important leaps forward in tech were discovered because a researcher was trying to do something unrelated but happened across something brilliant.
Re:A study I would like to see (Score:5, Interesting)
"In my headphones," Axis II by the Paranoid Social Club [pscmusic.com] (also available in a live set on etree.org).
"Walkman music," Always Will be by J-Live [j-livemusic.com].
Incidentally, I fit this profile to a T. I won't even go to the local mall without my ipod to assuade my agoraphobia. Listening to a walkman stops solicitors and panhandlers from bothering you as well. Shit, I have a pair of Sennheiser DJ phones that cancel about 32 dB of noise, and I sometimes wear them at work with no sound playing on them at all, just to help keep me concentrated.
In short, by supressing one of my senses I also supress some of my natural uneasiness in uncertain social situations and that's helped make me more confident overall.
Re:A study I would like to see (Score:3, Interesting)
[i]In short, by supressing one of my senses I also supress some of my natural uneasiness in uncertain social situations and that's helped make me more confident overall.[/i]
I can't do that. I, too, have a bit of discomfort in social situations, specifically when out in the general public.
I find that having headphones on decreases my situational awareness. I grew up in a shitty neighborhood where people sometimes wanted to kick the crap out of me. On one occassion, I got my ass beat b
Re:A study I would like to see (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Insightful)
For myself I realized that wearing headphones was not a good idea since the tendency was to drown out external stimuli.
Anyway... was it just me or did this "article" read more like an ad for iPod than anything else?
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Funny)
53 6f 20 64 6f 20 49 2c 20 62 75 74 20 79 6f 75 20 64 6f 6e 27 74 20 73 65 65 20 6d 65 20 63 6f 6d 70 6c 61 69 6e 67 20 61 62 6f 75 74 20 69 74 2c 20 64 6f 20 79 6f 75 3f 20 3a 2d 29
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
I work better if I'm at home dialed in, but I also lose the interactivity that's sometimes necessary.
I've asked to see if I can telecommute full time. We'll see how that goes.
Nothing is better than a good playlist (Score:3, Interesting)
Nothing is better than a good playlist to get lots of desk work done. Be that coding, writing, data entry, or grinding out AA points in EverQuest.
Music just gets me "in the zone" so I can focus on the task at hand while at the same time giving coworkers and spouses a visual cue to not interrupt you.
More than half of the documentation I've done for my company is a result of a few good playlists.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
They let listeners become witnesses without the risk of getting too involved. The earphones absolve them of some responsibility.
Is the author implying that we dampen reality through the use of mp3 players?
Life is dynamic, exciting, uncertain. That's what makes it worth living.
To me, this article is saying that we should use these mp3 players to exert a sort of control over our everyday experiences, altering them to conform
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Insightful)
'"They construct their moods, they re-make the time of their day," says Dr Bull., "It's a much more active process even though it's dependent on the machinery."
Choice is the key factor, he says. By choosing the music, you reclaim some of the world - it's no longer dominated by messages pointed at you.'
I don't think he means that we should use mp3 players to leave the outside world out, but rather take more control of the outside world.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Funny)
I DON'T WATCH TV!
I, um, spend my time here... and listening to songs thats have gratuitous amounts of cowbell.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
unless of course the students you're talking about are wearing headphones while in class, which is an entirely different matter. music in your own free time is perfectly healthy diversion.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Funny)
Well, we have Sue Scott with The Calico Monologues and Big Mike Thompson will do a series of tabby imitations. Later on, our special guests, The Nyquil Trio, will sing some songs about cats, then I'll talk about a loser detective and the case of the Swede who didn't like meatballs.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Insightful)
Why can't normally social people find auditory solitude in their headphones without people accusing them of being "shy, sheilding, or anti-social"? Realize that people work differently from yourself, and having the headphones on can make them work better?
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
No, its certainly not a bad thing to take time off from the bustle of the world and engage in private work.
However, how could Thoreau have been a humanist if he never took the time to interact and engage with humanity?
Life experience is something that happens to you - you can't go looking for it.
Social behavior is a defining characteristic of our species. It's true that different people have diff
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course one could argue that either a) your definition of what is human and what is not is sheer arrogance and simply wrong or b) that it is correct and being human in accordance with your definition is just not something everybody would aspire to.
For instance, I might say that you can never be truly human unless you understand vector calculus, but my s.o. would either disagree - or shrug and admit to not even wanting to be human if that is what it takes. For another example, I can very well imagine some religious persons claiming that religion is a defining characteristic of our species (history and society tend to agree) and say that you can never be truly human if you decide to block out God. To both of that my reply above stands.
Not that I necessarily disagree with what you say, but I think it's a fairly subjective point, and a fairly weak one in a discussion. Cheers, anyway.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Interesting)
But it is also a mistake to pigeonhole someone as an "introvert" or "extrovert" based upon their behavior in one specific setting. For example, if I go to a party (rare, but I occasionally succumb) people think of me as being somewhat extroverted. I'm not the life of the party, but I'll get around and mix. On the other hand, at work I've deliberately encouraged people to think of me as in introvert. Why? Because at work I'm paid to write code, not socialize and make friends. As a software engineer my work entails sustained concentration that is easily disturbed by well-meaning cubemates: consequently I've had to train them to disturb me only when necessary, and at their peril. This helps me maintain productivity, and if they perceive me as strictly introverted that's just fine.
See, the true introvert a. wants to be left alone and b. will cheerfully leave others alone. Many people just don't understand or accept that, and keep trying to break down walls that really aren't there. Furthermore, introvertedness/extrovertedness is really a spectrum, with many of us just not so dependent upon social interaction as others. And again, much of the behavior of people at either end of the spectrum is situational.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
People are social animals. Period. Even when Thoreau was by himself at Walden Pond, he wrote about social things that he experienced before going to walden (Civil Disobedience, Self Reliance, etc), and he did eventually leave walden.
A human that is not raised in a social environment would not be "human". Think Tarzan and whatnot.
However, as with Self Reliance, it is nice, if not health and beneficial to be alone and in touch
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Informative)
Kasper Hauser Syndrome has a lot to do w/a lack of social interaction as a child. It causes problems with stature, mental development (which is sometimes reversable), and social interactions.
Book here [amazon.com] at Amazon.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Insightful)
For my own part, the only conversations strangers have initiated with me while I was walking down the street all begin with "spare some change?" Even that is rare enough that I have no problem listening to headphones to break up the monotony and don't feel it's being "anti-social". (Although I'll side with you in the case of being in a school--but not walking down the street or on the bus, those are just monotonous daily routines that never contain any socialising whether you're open to it or not.)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:4, Interesting)
an interesting thing that happened as a direct result of this was that i bumped into one of the aforementioned girls while eating lunch outside of school, and she asked me if we had met before. i told her we had not. she proceeded to tell me that she didn't usually find complete strangers saying 'hi' to her in school - so i took a leap of faith and asked her out for coffee so we wouldn't be strangers anymore. and she accepted!
so for simply being a little more courteous to the people around me, and taking some time out to think about whether the person beside me has been having a good day or not, i got an enjoyable date and a new (attractive) friend in return.
if that isn't a good reason to start conversations with strangers then i don't know what is.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
Well thanks for you opinion regarding the behaviour of the people around you. But please note that it is none of your business to be telling people that they don't act like you envision. Are you going to force them into uncomfortable situations in order to get them to conform to some social aesthetic? Are you going to go on saying that people should act more like you because they couldn't possibly be happy otherwise?
Worthless ramblings indeed.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Insightful)
Background noise pulls at attention, at least it does for me. Now, I have been known to listen to 'pink' noise instead of music just to drown out the conversations. This actually works better than Music often times, but is just hell on my mild tinitus.
I think the anti-social aspects are a bit over played as well. Ask the p
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
As I work in large research lab/room in a education institution, I can explain this. Perhaps it's the way that some people are wired, but may of us seem to use the audio buffers in our brains to store temporary information about the tasks we're doing. If there are any sudden loud noises, then we lose track of whatever we're doing, and have to start over again. Such noises include slamming door, someone racking their printouts from the laser printer to get the sides lined up (that seems to get to everyone), slamming shut the papers trays of the laser printer, rummaging through filing cabinets (opening and slamming doors). The only way to shield yourself from this continuous barrage of random "audio spam" is to wear a set of headphones and play something calming. (My favourite is Peter Gabriel's "Steam" or USURA's "Open Your Mind" for 3D animation work).
Maybe I'm slightly autistic or something, but I've always found myself distracted by such information. Playing football on a playing field, and I'd find the wind turbulence patterns and the shadows of the clouds moving across the grass more interesting than the battle going on between two lumbering jocks at the centre of the field.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:5, Interesting)
How fascist of you.
All of those who have worn headphones at the office without actually listening to anything raise your hand! [/me raises hand].
It's a great way to get people to leave you alone when you're busy trying to concentrate; something that's very important in the modern office which often lacks even cubicles.
Subconsciously or not, I sometimes put my headphones on, fully meaning to hit play on the playlist of the day but something takes my attention away and three hours later I'm still coding with winamp in stopped mode. But nevertheless, those were 3 uninterrupted hours.
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm a maths student; like many students here, I do a lot of work on problem sheets (i.e. homework) between or after lectures, in the university maths department canteen/common room. I find wearing earphones and listening to music helps me to concentrate on what I'm doing by masking out random noises, the conversation on the next table, or whatever; also, even if I'm not making progress, I find music
Not "anti" social (Score:3, Insightful)
People avoiding contact is perfectly normal urban behaviour. Stand on a crowded train and even if the person is an inch away from your face you will still avoid eye-contact. If you bump into him you'll probably both apologise. If she's an attractive young chick reading a book that y
Re:anti-social behaviors... (Score:3, Insightful)
And don't think it stops with your school. It is like this at work too, get used to it and you'll never pay attention to it again. When you continously are using headphones to listen to music and suddenly take them off, the world around you will sound loud and very noisy. It's like living next door to a railroad line or an airport, after a while you'll never pay attention to a passing train or an airplane taking off. Using headphones all the time will give you a shock when you ta
Written up in Wired magazine, too. (Score:5, Informative)
Half a dupe. (Score:4, Interesting)
Other reasons... (Score:5, Funny)
I created my own personal space... (Score:5, Funny)
I dropped the headphones when I got an office. What a blessing.
Re:I created my own personal space... (Score:4, Interesting)
What I hate the most is people with those hands free mobile ear/microphone sets. One of my colleagues whom I unfortunately have to work with alot has this annoying tendency to transition into a phonecall in the middle of a conversation. It annoys the hell out of everybody who has to deal with him since he has his phone switched to silent mode so there is no hint when somebody calls him, (which happens alot) causing him to drift off into a converstion whoever is on the phone and completely loose any interest in whoever he was talking to before. I don't think I have ever finsihed a conversation with that dude.
Re:I created my own personal space... (Score:4, Insightful)
So true. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:So true. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:So true. (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, I agree that you are entitled to your own privacy and to not be disturbed at times, but you see people carrying these mp3 players everywhere. Whenever I go on the subway, every fourth person on the train is listening to music on their headphones.
It comes to the point where people put on headphones wherever they go (as you said).
Quoth the article, "listening to music acts as a shield, aura or cocoon."
Let me make an analogy of an analogy. Perhaps, as technologically oriented individuals, we can consider this as being a firewall, or perhaps a blanket spam filter. The problem is, it filters everything out. It's like making a habit of putting a DND sign at your office or dorm entrance - it prevents you from interacting, having wonderful experiences.
As I said in another post, life is worth living because it is dynamic and unpredictable. You will never know what you are missing if you choose to block out the world on a consistent basis. Maybe I am sitting on that subway train next to you, maybe we have some common interests. Maybe I have some interest tidbit of news, or a perspective on life or some other issue. But know what? That's too bad, because you'll never get to hear it, since I won't think to disturb you from listening to your music.
Here's some advice: you're entitled to listen to your music, but once in a while get a little adventurous and take them off.
Re:So true. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:So true. (Score:4, Insightful)
Neither is an inherantly better or correct way to be. American culture tends to put more value in being an extravert, Japanese culture tends to put more value in being an introvert. Really, we just need to have respect for differen't people's different comfort levels and likes and dislikes.
For example I am generally an introvert. My idea of a good weekend is spending time at home sleeping, watching movies, playing computer games, and maybe going out with a small group of friends. If I go to something like a party, I like it to be small, no more than 15 people, and almost all people I know. My sister is a huge extravert. She works as a bartender is ALWAYS going out, loves gigantic parties, wants everyone to know who she is, etc.
We are both happy, well adjusted people. I enjoy my life, she enjoys hers. Neither of us would enjoy the other's life. She would go insane sitting around at home for a weekend and I get really drained by having to go out all the time.
So if the introverts want to use music as a way to shield them, that's fine and not an inherantly unhealthy thing. You can, of course, go to far. People do need SOME human contact, but that doesn't mean dealing with stangers. Some people have a very small comfort zone that doesn't easily grow to include new people. That is fine and that is normal.
Re:So true. (Score:3, Interesting)
headphones on, with no music (Score:3, Interesting)
J
Re:So true. (Score:3, Interesting)
You're very right - wearing headphones does create a sort of "social bubble" around oneself, which people are often reluctant to break casually.
Two weeks ago at the University of Florida, the school was gearing up for its annual Student Government elections. The most memorable part of this yearly tradition is being continuously harassed for votes by members of both major parties as one walks through campus. It is no exaggeration to say that the week before elections, it can be hard to walk fifty feet with
sunglasses are safer insulation (Score:3, Interesting)
Post-modernist crap (Score:5, Insightful)
Or could it be that they just want to listen to music?
Nah....
Re:Post-modernist crap (Score:4, Funny)
Shush! He's an "expert"! He's got qualifications and everything.
Re:Post-modernist crap (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Post-modernist crap (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Post-modernist crap (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Post-modernist crap (Score:3, Funny)
How gauche. I take it you've never managed your boundaries? Transformed space and time? Hell, I bet you've never operated a single-aspect transformative device, let alone a multi-faceted one...
in the workspace (Score:5, Funny)
Alas, I'm on a helpdesk. That doesn't work out too well.
Re:in the workspace (Score:4, Interesting)
Is This Science??? (Score:4, Insightful)
Sounds like junk-science to me. The guy has a hypothesis. That's about it.
Here's my hypothesis: "Music sounds good. Noise sounds bad." Can someone write up an article on my thoughts? TIA.
Which university again (Score:5, Funny)
The University of Stating the Bleedin' Obvious ?
Why do I use my mp3 player? (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, though...this shows how much we've advanced. 100 years ago, you had to go out of your way to learn an insturment (such as a fiddle) to have music at all. Now, people have an mp3 player filled with any music they want on a whim. People can be listening to their own sort of "theme song" when they're in a certain mood. If you're bored and can't just go away (like my study hall plight), you can just flip on a song that reminds you of something that's happened or you want to happen, and slip away. It's a nice thing to be able to do.
original walkman (Score:3, Insightful)
I know I need to use my headphones at work to shield myself from the disturbing noises from the nearby cubicles. Pointy hair people blabbing about pointless things, people clipping finger nails, eating, etc.
Re:original walkman (Score:5, Informative)
Headphones are banned (Score:5, Interesting)
Dude, people are not urban creatures (Score:5, Insightful)
The whole reason humanity left africa and then spread out across the entire planet, is because most people would prefer to be left alone. We all want, for the most part, our own 100 acre plots of land.
Re:Dude, people are not urban creatures (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Dude, people are not urban creatures (Score:5, Insightful)
while i agree that i would like to own a 100 acre plot of land, it would be terribly lonely without someone to help me cultivate it, don't you think?
or is it better to say, rather, that we would prefer to be left alone with people we like and people who are like us?
Connection with control (Score:4, Insightful)
Even in the old days, people did not see each other all the time - once a week for church, or seeing people at the store.
People do want connection - but connection that is controlled. Even IM you can shut down or choose to ignore. I would say intimately is an incrorect term - asynchronously is perhaps a more accurate way to define the kind of connection people want. connections that are instant to them, with inbound connections that can be controlled.
Using music players in a setting with other people around is just a way of exerting some control over physical interactivity with others.
Dude, yes they are (Score:3, Interesting)
..users manage space, time.. (Score:5, Funny)
I thought that was what my Tardis was for.
Music while cycling (Score:3, Interesting)
Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
Please believe me, kids, you will be thirty years old one day, and how well you are able to hear at that time depends very much on how well you treat your delicate, sensitive ears today.
Re:Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Headphones rocks, but... (Score:5, Informative)
The only time people ask me things (Score:5, Interesting)
on the street is when I have my headphones on. They don't care. I can be in a crowd of people and they still come to me - they guy with the headphones on to ask directions, for a cigarette, for money.
Don't these people know headphones mean Leave me alone!?
Do not disturb (Score:5, Funny)
Completed Dr. Bull's survey this weekend (Score:5, Interesting)
the fabric (Score:5, Funny)
Headphones and a cup of coffee (Score:3, Interesting)
'Phones at work : replacement for mutual respect (Score:5, Interesting)
When I asked him if he could have that conversation over IM he told me to stick my fingers in my ears or to listen to music.
The problem is that I refuse to listen to music *because* that inconsiderate prick has the manners of a five year old.
I listen to music when I know I'll be able to appreciate it fully, not as a means of protection. In the best of cases, I'm unable to concentrate on work when I have music playing : I love my tunes so much that I generally need to be able to dive into them fully. Impossible to concentrate on work when I have some lush tunes in my ears.
I guess it's really just my problem seeing how all the other people here at work are OK with wearing earphones all day in order to keep the twit's shrill nasal voice our of their heads.
Bummer.
Re:'Phones at work : replacement for mutual respec (Score:3, Interesting)
First, buy a little voice recorder and record what he says.
Then, buy the most expensive noise-blocking earphones yuo can find and bill him! If he refuses, threaten him with small claims court.
A headphone day (Score:4, Funny)
It's going to be a headphone day.
What he meant by that is that he needed to block out all the annoying noise coming out of other people's mouths and so on as they came back and asked questions. I do that sometimes too.
I don't use headphones very often (Score:3, Interesting)
Types of music for mood: survey (Score:3, Interesting)
What genres of music do you listen to that correspond to your activities?
This is how I have my playlists setup:
gaming: Dance-hip hop-techno
coding: classical
browsing: top40 (70's, 80's & 90's)
General computer activities: all of the above
How do your activities influence what you want to listen to?
white noise is less distracting (Score:3, Interesting)
I'v now assembled a playlist of no-vocals no-beats ambient music. Classical is ok but all the well known tracks remind of of adverts.
8th Ave New York City (Score:5, Interesting)
Add sunglass and headphones and the world is my music video. Not to mention I'm preserving my desire to have children some day by wearing headphones on the train.
Then I spend all day listening to internet radio so I can focus on my work and not hear the loud office gossip over from the next area. We have an open office design where teams share a large square space, all facing outward to a shared desk. Good for teamwork, bad for concentration.
I would get nothing done without headphones...and that only on the days I could bear to come to work.
Soundscape studies did this decades ago (Score:3, Informative)
How'd they get these interviews? (Score:3, Funny)
These must have been difficult interviews to get:
"Sir... uh... sir? Would you like to participate... sir? Can you hear me? Sir?!"
Music players aren't the only form of this (Score:5, Interesting)
I've seen similar "control of personal space" with cell phones (and not suprisingly here in Los Angeles) automobiles.
All three offer a way to insulate yourself from your immediate surroundings, albeit in slightly different ways.
A simple example of this is driving a car thru a neighborhood, rather than driving in a neighborhood. The car is an environment unto itself that allows one to pass through another physical space with a minimum of interaction.
As an experiment, I've stopped driving my car in favor of public transportation. Granted, I listen to an iPod, as do many of my fellow riders, but even in this case, I am much less insulated. This is also the case when I walk to and from bus stops and rail stations.
I am actually preferring this mode of transport, and have a renewed love of my city. This probably has much to do with the fact that I am experiencing it differently, interacting with my fellow Angelenos more (despite my iPod), and actually being in my environment, rather than being in my car. Previously, much of my Los Angeles experience was that of being stuck on the freeway, "interacting" with other cars (and sometimes their drivers), most of which were either going too slow or too fast. There are no roses on the freeway.
I haven't owned a cell phone in several years, but I notice a similar phenomena. While one is talking on the phone, a large part of one's attention is placed on the person on the other end of the conversation. There is an overlap between one's presence in the real world and a sort of virtual telephone world. This is most noticeable with people using ear sets, and positively dangerous with people driving cars (especially SUVs, but that's another topic!).
I once watched what I thought was a crazy person walking down the street, ranting and raving about hockey of all things. It was a bit puzzling, since he seemed to be dressed to nicely to be a crazy street person. When he came close enough, I saw that he was talking on a hands-free phone, and was totally oblivious of his surroundings. Other than the fact that he was on the phone, his behavior was completely that of a mentally deranged person hearing voices.
Something of further interest that I haven't spent much time reflecting on is the passive aggressive nature of behavior I've observed in those that use these insulating technologies; especially obnoxious/oblivious drivers, loud cell phone talkers, and the now thankfully less common boom box wielders.
Cubicle Farm... (Score:4, Insightful)
I am a developer - which means I need to concentrate, very deeply at times. The background noise level is high enough that I can actually hear various conversations for cubes that are close to mine. This can be distracting particularly when you are trying to formulate an idea or write code, as you will find yourself start to listen to the conversations, instead of following your internal dialogue.
To combat this, I sometimes don headphones and get some music going to drown out the conversations (preferably music without any words).
Ideally, developers should have doors that close to block out these distractions - they would be much more productive. Unfortunately, management doesn't think that way...so productivity suffers.
I just want some silence so my mind can think. Until they make the 'cone of silence' generally available in cubicle farms, earphones and music will have to do.
Re:Just sounds to me (Score:5, Funny)