To each his own of course, but to me they offer just enough privacy to breed mistrust, and just enough exposure to feed paranoia. It's hard to tease out a cent

To each his own of course, but to me they offer just enough privacy to breed mistrust, and just enough exposure to feed paranoia. It's hard to tease out a central thesis from this article, but I think I would focus on the claim that offices are part of a bureaucratic system that is slowed by paperwork, and that pushing people together encourages them to wander over and chat about work rather than constantly draft memos. I think that view is out of date, in the age of email and IM. Cubicles divide people enough that they don't feel like they're side-by-side on a team, yet distract technical workers and break their concentration.