This final note on the way out today, in which this time-honored question gets answered: What’s the matter with you people whose desks are always messy?

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have been doing some experiments. Apparently, those who work in tidy surroundings tend to be more conscientious and generous as a result of those surroundings; that is, regardless of how they normally act. Those whose desks and offices are a wreck tend to be more creative.

It’s all there for the reading in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine.