I'm just someone who spends a lot of time in coffee shops with a laptop, observing.

I have a theory. I'll call it the freelancer coefficient.

A common complaint about laptop people: they occupy a table for three hours, order a 200 TL ($5) Latte, and don't leave. A net loss. But I think this misses part of the picture.

The window effect

An empty cafe is a turnoff. Passersby see an empty room and walk past. A simple heuristic kicks in: if no one's sitting there, something must be off. A freelancer with a laptop by the window is a living mannequin. they make the place look alive. A cafe with three people on laptops at 11am looks occupied to a random person off the street.

Hence the coefficient: the ratio of additional foot traffic from the window effect to the lost revenue from an occupied table.

Personal theory, no data. Does this notice the same pattern?