Gus Rancatore

I don’t understand why people would work so intensely in a noisy environment. My mother said people work best in a quiet place, free of distractions. One day I told a table of industrious students, ‘I have to ask you not to use your computers so that others can sit. I pointed to a big sign that said the same thing. ‘Don’t worry,’ I said brightly, ‘We have talked to people at MIT and they have created something they call a library.’ All the other customers laughed—but none of the people who were working.