Köpfe und Ideen 2020

They say the coffee machine in the Wissenschaftskolleg’s restaurant was deliberately placed in such an unfavorable not to mention impractical location – at the far end of the buffet counter and adjacent a pillar – so that any-one seeking to fill their cup is forced to traverse a narrow passage. And the machine is exceedingly slow. Not just precious seconds but minutes can elapse as the beans are ground and dripped into the cup and then, assuming you have superhuman patience, waiting for the milk to be added as the machine goes through its gyrations accom-panied by that strangulated cacophony known to all espresso contraptions. But our sluggish coffee dispenser and its narrow confines are ideal for a place like the Wis-

senschaftskolleg where almost any means are legitimate in bringing people together in conversation, and the human traffic jams which form here would in fact seem to be part of some master plan.