As far as creativity is concerned, isolation is required
My feeling is that as far as creativity is concerned, isolation is required. The creative person is, in any case, continually working at it. His mind is shuffling his information at all times, even when he is not conscious of it. (The famous example of Kekule working out the structure of benzene in his sleep is well-known.)
The presence of others can only inhibit this process, since creation is embarrassing. For every new good idea you have, there are a hundred, ten thousand foolish ones, which you naturally do not care to display.
– Isaac Asimov Asks, “How Do People Get New Ideas?” via Cal Newport
From the always insightful Cal Newport. Maybe as an introvert I’m biased towards the ‘brainstorming alone’ camp but my personal experience has been that a meeting room in an office is the worst place to think about anything, let alone original ideas. A good place for discussion but not for real thinking. I think of most of my ideas while alone at home, in the car, in the shower, or while watching plays/movies, reading, or in class.