How did space unexpectedly affect my learning? Well, this is definitely a tough question to answer but perhaps my attempts in finding a space that actually suits my learning on the entire Stanford campus just might fit this prompt.
I've finally come to the conclusion that the Stanford bookstore is a prime space for learning (specifically the strip of tables from the cafe to the computer section) for the following reasons:
people traffic - the books stocked along the walls of "the strip" are not very popular which reduces the amount of traffic in the area - the narrow walkway only comfortably allows 1.5 people to walk down the aisle which also prevents high amount of traffic - being located on the second floor away from the stairway also reduces the amount of people who visit that area
noise - due to the vast open rectangle of space on the second floor, conversations you might normally overhear do not carry to that area - the bookstore plays classical music which also is not obnoxiously loud to distract from "studying"
The balance of people traffic and noise is good enough to keep me "awake" to actually get some studying done but not so distracting that I can't hear myself think. Thus, the bookstore's use of "the strip" space has unexpectedly affected my learning this year.