
Ceiling Height Can Affect How A Person Thinks, Feels And Acts - rams
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424155539.htm
======
serhei
In Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky the main character complains at one
point that the low ceiling in his apartment is constricting his thoughts. So
Dostoyevsky had this notion right quite a while ago.

(Then again, the main character had also recently murdered an old lady, so the
main problem is not in the apartment.)

------
jodrellblank
> Ceiling Height Can Affect How A Person Thinks, Feels And Acts

It certainly can. I've hit my head on several low ceilings. Causes spontaneous
verbalisation and a tendency to duck a lot.

More seriously, does it have a different effect on tall-vs-short people? Is it
ceiling height-above-floor or height-above-head?

------
electromagnetic
I wonder if this has to do with peripheral vision, because there's less
feeling of a ceiling above you when the roof is higher because you see less of
it. I wonder if there's a difference between sitting on the floor and sitting
on a chair and how it affects a persons cognitive activities.

~~~
indiejade
Perhaps something to do with small people having big ideas?

Kidding (just kidding).

But there was an article on here recently about ants, and how ants have
developed this amazingly efficient system in their smallness. Using their
collective intelligence and such, to navigate barriers.

------
ajross
Where's the science here? The linked article talks about research, but doesn't
actual describe any _results_. Instead we get stuff like:

 _The research demonstrates that variations in ceiling height can evoke
concepts that, in turn, affect how consumers process information._

What on earth does that mean? How in the hell would you quantify the evocation
of a concept? Look, either there is an experiment here or there isn't. This
article uses the vocabulary of science to say, basically, that high ceilings
are really pretty. Well, duh.

------
mdakin
Indirect link to the actual paper:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=195430>

------
ewiethoff
I wonder whether the researchers took into account how the sound in the space
bounces around. A higher ceiling often means more bounce. Me, I lose all
concentration where treble sounds are bouncing.

------
biohacker42
What does working in a small gray cube do for your mind?

Oh wait we know, Peopleware was published what 20+ years ago.

And yet, despite that, and despite Joel's magical office, we won't see
cubicles go away any time soon

~~~
critic
You can put the cubicles in a high-ceiling room. This way you can both have
your employees think creatively, and humiliate them enough that they don't ask
for a raise.

------
dca
When I moved to my current apartment I went from 8' to 10' ceilings and I
noticed an improvement like that. My office building has ~25' ceilings and
I've always felt I think better there than at most other places. It has an
excellent natural light system that helps a lot too.

------
jskopek
It would be interesting to know if churches were designed with ginormous
ceilings primarily for this reason, or rather to be designated as the center
point of a town. I have definitely noticed a much different style of thought
every time I have to spend a few hours in one.

------
wallflower
For some reason, I'm reminded of the scenes from 'Being John Malkovich' in the
company office 'fun-house'. Was it intentional?

<http://thepilver.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/2cx6luf.jpg>

