Yeah high CO2 concentration is probably making people less sharp, but mostly I've heard it's about people being less creative due to consensus-driven thinking

Per https://twitter.com/emollick/status/1194301106584616960:

> People in groups self-censor and anchor on each others ideas, reducing creativity.

Also can be anti-inclusive when "anchor on each other idea" is a euphemism for that guy repeating what a more shy person said, but louder, stealing credit.

With remote, usually comes a more doc-driven culture, where someone's original idea can be easier to identify and make sure they get credit.

Lots of people are too shy or anxious to break perceived consensus or even just to challenge a "stronger" personality in person. Put them in a chat room and they get all fired up.

And in dysfunctional workplaces, breaking consensus can put your job in jeopardy.

I have a hunch that the sort of mental incapacity that comes on with higher CO2 levels lends itself to group-think, so it's a combinatorial problem. I think you'd still get the same problems outside, I just think they're more pronounced in a stuffy meeting room.

Yes. Brainstorming is better done by

1. Brainstorming questions, not ideas (then go answer them)

2. Soliciting responses anonymously and quietly. This avoids both hierarchical biases and "Loudest person wins" bias. And not to excessively disparage verbal processors (I am one myself). But it's important for them to realize that the constant talking can drown out others' thinking, or their sharing, or their will to live.

I’ve experienced recently people thinking they were doing some creative brainstorming and being productive by being in person collaborating in a big room, but the output ends up being basically the same solution or idea that was created using remote collaboration. And of course everyone’s exhausted at the end after a week of “collaborating” for 8-10 hours a day. It seems like it was mostly theatre.