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countercounterpoint: he was choosing to sit in front of the television.

I think this is it -- he had control. Once others are free to intrude into your space, injecting distraction, all is lost.

Anecdotally, I often (during evening/side projects) work with a TV on in the room.

However a TV is entirely different than people being around me. There's noise from various directions, distances, and volumes—not to mention the awareness of people being near which always heightens my awareness of a situation, distracting from what I am trying to focus on.

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