Why does the author only have a pretty small desk directly at a (what I assume) small recreational area? Is this considered a normal desk at a top SV tech firm? I'd probably go nuts after a few days because people are constantly passing by and are talking while I want to concentrate on work.

I'm from Germany where more and more companies try to implement the same open-office plans. Everybody I know that works in such an environment considers them as hostile to productivity. Somebody is constantly talking about useless stuff and disturbs others by that and using headphones is deemed as rude and anti-social.