During an interview for one of my books, my interviewer said something I still think about often. Annoyed by the level of distraction(干扰)in his open office, he said, “That's why I have a membership at the coworking space across the street —so I can focus. "His comment struck me as strange. After all, coworking spaces also typically use an open office layout (布局). But I recently came across a study that shows why his approach works

The researchers examined various levels of noise on participants as they completed tests of creative thinking. They were randomly divided into four groups and exposed to various noise levels in the background, from total silence to 50 decibels(分贝),70 decibels, and 85 decibels. The differences between most of the groups were statistically insignificant; however,the participants in the 70 decibels group—those exposed to a level of noise similar to background chatter in a coffee shop-significantly outperformed the other groups. Since the effects were small, this may suggest that our creative thinking does not differ that much in response to total silence and 85 decibels of background noise.

But since the results at 70 decibels were significant, the study also suggests that the right level of background noise—not too loud and not total silence—may actually improve one's creative thinking ability. The right level of background noise may interrupt our normal patterns of thinking just enough to allow our imaginations to wander, without making it impossible to focus. This kind of "distracted focus" appears to be the best state for working on creative tasks.

So why do so many of us hate our open offices? The problem may be that, in our offices, we can't stop ourselves from getting drawn into others' conversations while we're trying to focus. Indeed, the researchers found that face-to-face interactions and conversations affect the creative process, and yet a coworking space or a coffee shop provides a certain level of noise while also providing freedom from interruptions.

Ever since he was nine years old, Daniel Arundel has been helping his mother Elizabeth in the kitchen. He learnt to bake cakes and savouries (咸味小吃) at home. On Saturdays, he helped fill the rolls at the sandwich shop his mum ran. Now Daniel, who is only 19, has turned his enjoyment of making food into a successful business.

"I've always loved making things for people to eat and I realized I wasn't too bad at it." says Daniel, who started selling his cakes while at secondary school. "For two years every Sunday, I would sell cakes I had baked at home with Mum on a market stand."

His plan to open a bakery in his hometown impressed his teachers and they encouraged him to submit his idea to a national competition for ambitious business people. Although he didn't win, Daniel was awarded an award of €1,000 to help his project.

Arundel Bakery opened on an industrial site in Oldham surrounded by offices full of staff looking for somewhere for their lunch. So he opened a sandwich shop at the front of the Bakery. He now employs three staff, including his mum, who make food for various customers. And they also help the community later by making fresh hot meals for the elderly.

Last year Daniel was runner-up in another competition to recognize entrepreneurial (创业的) talent. The competition was organized by the Edge Foundation, an education charity, which encourages career routes to young people who can't be admitted by a university.

Daniel said, "I have been crazy in the past few years. I'm so busy and I don't have much of a social life at the moment. I want to expand our range of dairy-free cakes for those who have an allergy (过敏反应) to food like me. I've put my heart and soul into my baking and getting where I am today. I know I'm still very young and I'm learning all the time. But I love what I'm doing and want to take every opportunity that comes to make my bakery a success."

 The national statistics showing a decline in bike ridership are a bit misleading. It is indeed down in rural and suburban areas — but cities tell a different story. Biking in cities has exploded recently with millions of Americans mounting bicycles for the first time in years. Is it the start of a long-term trend? 

 There are good reasons to hope so. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse emissions (排放) in the U.S., and cars and light trucks account for 58 percent of transportation emissions. Switching from cars to bikes cuts emissions much faster than switching to electric cars. 

 And motor vehicle accidents still kill more than 39,000 Americans a year — including more than 700 cyclists. Some 70 percent of people surveyed in the U.S. say they're interested in biking. Why don't they bike more? It comes down to safety. Half of the people surveyed said they were， understandably，too afraid to bike on the street. 

 Putting a painted biking path on a 40-mph road is not going to appeal to potential cyclists afraid of a close encounter with a car. Bike safety isn't about painting bike paths on every street. It's about creating bike networks that can take you safely from point A to point B. Good bike networks are made of things like greenways，protected bike paths with physical barriers separating riders from cars，and quiet streets. 

 The good news is that bike networks were expanding in the U.S. years ago. Between 1991 and 2021，there was a six-fold increase in painted，off-road paths，from 5,904 miles to 39,329 miles. And the increase in protected bike paths is even more dramatic：Their total length，nationwide，went from only 34 miles in 2006 to 425 miles in 2018. In fact，cities in the West and East are leading the pack，but the trend is nationwide.