It is probably safe to say: the environment we work in affects how we perceive and interactive with the world.
But does it affect how we generate and work with ideas? And in what way?
In a congested, noisy and busy environment with minimal personal space (physically and mentally), we create protective bubbles around ourselves. Our bubble filters out and dampens the roar of stimuli coming from the people around us. We become withdrawn and self-obsessed just to survive with our sanity intact. We don’t want to see beyond our small bubbles, beyond our own needs and aims.
I think our ability to innovate, to think outside of our bubbles, is impaired by this. By shielding us from people who are right in front of our noses, our defensive bubbles become mind-limiting traps. No input (stimuli and engagement with the outside world) means no raw material for new thoughts and new ideas, and thence paltry outcomes.
Conversely, being in a quite, expansive environment where the horizon extends unimpeded beyond our peripheral vision, would have the opposite effect. Our bubble expands to fill the visible horizon, in essence ceasing to be.
