Forty years of research on brainstorming shows that individuals produce more and better ideas than groups do. Studies also suggest that the path to excellence in many fields is not only to practice, but to practice alone. And creativity researchers have found that many highly creative people were shy and solitary in high school, and recall their adolescence with horror. (I explain all this in detail in my forthcoming book, QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.)

This is one of many reasons that introverts -- who are more likely than others to carve out solitary time -- are often very creative, and make unexpectedly fine leaders.

And then there's this study, described recently in a wonderful Boston Globe article by Leon Neyfakh on "The Power of Lonely," which seems to have been run just to prove Emerson's point:

"Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert, a leader in the world of positive psychology, has recently overseen an intriguing study that suggests memories are formed more effectively when people think they're experiencing something individually. That study, led by graduate student Bethany Burum, started with a simple experiment: Burum placed two individuals in a room and had them spend a few minutes getting to know each other. Thy then sat back to back, each facing a computer screen the other could not see [while they completed a task testing their memories]. In some cases they were told they'd both be doing the same task, in other cases they were told they'd be doing different things....

Burum found that the participants who had been told the person behind them was doing a different task...did a better job of remembering...In other words, they formed more solid memories when they believed they were the only ones doing the task.

The results, which Burum cautions are preliminary...[can be explained by several different theories. But Burum leans toward the Emersonian explanation]: Sharing an experience with someone is inherently distracting, because it compels us to expend energy on imagining what the other person is going through and how they're reacting to it."

Maybe the answer is to simply be aware of this dynamic -- to ask, for any given experience, whether imagining another person's reactions would be a distraction, or an enhancement. When you're trying to figure out your company's five-year strategy, focusing on the expectations of Wall Street analysts will do you no good at all.

But when you listen to Leonard Cohen singing Hallelujah, it really helps to have the crowd singing right along with you.

What do you think? Which situations call for company, and which for solitude?

If you like this blog, you might like to pre-order my forthcoming book, QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

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An assistant manager at McDonald's was fired after allowing Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson to use the bathroom while the restaurant was closed. 

While working the late-night drive-thru shift at 3 a.m., a female employee encountered a man standing outside the window who asked to come inside and use the restroom. After a little while, she realized it was the popular Minnesota Vikings star and opened the door for him to come inside and use the facilities. (The seating area at the restaurant is normally closed during the late-night hours.)

[Related: 'SportsCenter' anchors high-five over coach's firing]

One week later, the mother of three was fired for the offense. 

"He's a public figure... I know him better than some of the maintenance people that come in and out," she told The Consumerist. "I never thought in a million years that that decision was going to cost me my career."

Jeez, McDonald's. It's not like she was letting in Brett Favre(notes) or Bryant McKinnie(notes). He's Adrian Peterson, the most famous Vikings player of all! If you can't do a solid for AD, who can you?

There's a silver lining at the end of these golden arches, though: After the local media reported on the woman's termination, McDonald's gave her back her old job.

[Rewind: Army colonel in Afghanistan fired for criticizing PowerPoint]

Let this be a lesson to all you fast-food employees keen on handing out favors to famous athletes. It doesn't matter if Tom Brady(notes) walks through those doors; he has to pay $0.39 for supersizing just like everyone else.

Think you know sports? Play Yahoo! Sports Pop Quiz and you could win a year's worth of sports tickets!

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Related: , Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings