One thing that Mr. Gurdjieff said, is that "Knowledge is material". It is important to concentrate this knowledge among small groups of students, to get real results. Mr. Gurdjieff called his followers "pupils".
When writing Beelzebub's tales, Mr. Gurdjieff would often write in the Cafe de la Paix in Paris. Rather than choose a quiet side street, he chose a cafe at one of the busiest traffic intersections in Paris. Maximum distractions.
Mr. Gurdjieff said: "I need rats for my experiments". Objective view of humans? Perhaps, perhaps an insight he was showing someone to help them lose their sentimental attitude about people.
Mr. Gurdjieff would often work with, and meet his students over coffee. Whether it be in Paris, or New York. His local coffee shop was called his "office".