4 ms·

This reeks of immaturity. Not since high school has the sentiment of "I'm wearing headphones to be left alone" been a popular or reasonable one. At least during

by t4nkd 14y ago

This reeks of immaturity. Not since high school has the sentiment of "I'm wearing headphones to be left alone" been a popular or reasonable one. At least during those years, peers could look at you and make the mistake that you're so deep that music has more influence/meaning than the world around you. If this is, as I feel, an attempt to legitimize this kind of "signal" to other professionals who want to collaborate with you, I feel pretty sorry for the kid who's hosting this. I can appreciate individuals who don't have the capacity to swap context throughout the day, but only when they can be mature enough to explain themselves to me like an adult; and I certainly don't need a visual accessory to que my interaction with them.

jmj42 14y ago
>I can appreciate individuals who don't have the capacity to swap context throughout the day, but only when they can be mature enough to explain themselves to me like an adult... But even that is a context switch, and context switching is expensive. Your 30 second interruption results in 15 minutes of lost productivity (these are just made up numbers). A passive signal that you are not to be disturbed at this time sends the same message without the context switch or, more important, the need to switch back into the work. For me, there's no workplace behavior more obnoxious than someone walking up to my desk and blabbing on about something while I'm in the middle of a critical section of code or on the verge of a breakthrough (these are the cases when I'm usually wearing headphones). Headphones, at the very least, signal that you should get my attention before speaking, and that I'll be with you in a moment because I can't afford an immediate context switch for your "problem." Edit: Spelling
- nickmain 14y ago
  Even a 3 second interruption can have consequences: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/study-a-3-second-interruption-doubles-your-odds-of-messing-up/267008/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/study-a-3-...

by t4nkd 14y ago

jmj42 14y ago

>I can appreciate individuals who don't have the capacity to swap context throughout the day, but only when they can be mature enough to explain themselves to me like an adult... But even that is a context switch, and context switching is expensive. Your 30 second interruption results in 15 minutes of lost productivity (these are just made up numbers). A passive signal that you are not to be disturbed at this time sends the same message without the context switch or, more important, the need to switch back into the work. For me, there's no workplace behavior more obnoxious than someone walking up to my desk and blabbing on about something while I'm in the middle of a critical section of code or on the verge of a breakthrough (these are the cases when I'm usually wearing headphones). Headphones, at the very least, signal that you should get my attention before speaking, and that I'll be with you in a moment because I can't afford an immediate context switch for your "problem." Edit: Spelling

nickmain 14y ago
Even a 3 second interruption can have consequences: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/study-a-3-second-interruption-doubles-your-odds-of-messing-up/267008/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/study-a-3-...