Why coffee breaks are important

Art curator Hans Ulrich Obrist once held a conference by stripping it down to only the coffee break, but in virtual conferences these casual interactions were the first to go.

I’m attending two virtual conferences this month. Even though these meetings are COVID-safe, eco-friendly, affordable and accessible to people who can’t travel, I’m kind of over them. I’m by no means opposed to virtual meetings. In fact, at both conferences I’m talking about “virtual coworking” for science writers. But there’s always something missing f…