Ask HN: Do you ever program under 'the' influence?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7594543

by classicsnoot • 12 years ago

8 15 12 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I know this could be seen as a trite query, but with the advent of a very real possibility of mass legalization in the next 10 years, i wonder how it will affect IT in general as many tech industry hubs are in potential Green States.

I am specifically interested in marijuana, but if you are huge fan of boozing behind the keyboard that is cool too.

csense• 12 years ago

No.

Maybe I'm missing out on something? [1]

[1] https://xkcd.com/323/

classicsnoot6• 12 years ago

Rule 34b: If it is a tech question, there is an appropriate xkcd reference.

damnmachine• 12 years ago

Absofuckinglutely.

SpikedCola2• 12 years ago

All the time. I find it helps me get started on problems I might otherwise have found too overwhelming or complex, and also helps me find solutions when I get stuck.

Especially things like reverse engineering - sometimes I get lost in all the random variable/function names - a little THC and I have it figured out in no time. It's amazing really.

classicsnoot6• 12 years ago

Do you find this applies to other tasks that may or may not be code/electronic related? Do you feel THC is a performance enhancer is i guess my core question. And if so, do you think it applies do you think it is limited to certain activities?

SpikedCola2• 12 years ago

Yes - for me, I find it also applies to physical tasks. I find it helps get into things that require a lot of exertion, like a long bicycle ride or moving hundreds of heavy objects from one place to another. Instead of feeling "dead" exhausted afterward, and needing time to rest, I feel great and ready for more.

I haven't really found an activity it makes worse, but in all honesty I'm probably not looking all that hard.

marssaxman• 12 years ago

I have written code under a variety of influences.

Marijuana's great for design work, less great for debugging. Creative solutions come more easily. I tend to get distracted when trying to understand why something doesn't work the way I think it does; it takes more work to stay focused. Good for broad association, systems thinking, and novel ideas; less good for careful analysis.

Whiskey is good for breaking out of analysis paralysis; it makes me happy and a little stupid, which is good for just bashing something out that works instead of going around and around about the best way to do it. Sometimes I drink when I'm coding late at night because it eventually slows me down enough that I can stop thinking about work and go do something else. A few drinks later and the code may still work but I'll want to rewrite it all the next day.

Methamphetamine is an incredibly powerful tool for grinding through big jobs and maintaining focus for hours. It's like coding with super-powers. Whatever you focus on, you FOCUS ON IT; you can just sink your teeth in and bash away at it for seemingly ever, hours and hours of clear, crisp, effective code. It's hard to pull back and look at the big picture, because you just want to pound away at the keyboard building on what's right in front of you, but on balance it is still a more productive state of mind for coding than sobriety is. Alas, it's also very addictive, and worthy of extreme respect.

LSD is... fun, but not helpful. The last time I tried it, I remember being so distracted by the colorful edges of the pixels on the screen (this was before retina displays) that I had trouble actually reading the text. It was really fun to watch but I got nothing done.

A very light dose of ketamine makes everything feel a little floaty and weird and sort of funny. It's fairly distracting, and staying focused takes extar work, but complex and useful insights just sort of materialize in your head. It's good for getting out of your ego, ditching mental ruts, and letting yourself come up with novel solutions. Not as good at this as marijuana, but it's also less prone to put me to sleep.

classicsnoot6• 12 years ago

The meth observation extends to other fields. I think it would be included in any last ditch effort to save [x] from the terror of a realized [y] in space. The first few times you do meth and apply yourselfto a task or series of tasks you are a golden god, especially if you have native talent or gained wisdom.

I think cocktailing drugs to create a roughly 24 on 8 off awake/sleep cycle is the direction utilitarian narcotics will go, but i am a lil' high. jk but srs

arisAlexis2• 12 years ago

you are not going to write the same quality code but you will enjoy it more. both marijuana and alcohol lower your iq level by some x points temporarily.

classicsnoot6• 12 years ago

Without trying to be recklessly confrontational, do you have any proof? I have plenty of anecdotal evidence in my own life to support your claim, but i was wondering academically...

arisAlexis2• 12 years ago

you can find many research papers on motor and cognitive degradation with alcohol but do you really need to have proof of that? marijuana is tougher to find but I have read it has same effects not sure where. lsd and ecstacy may have opposite effects and amphetamines are cognitive enhancers so depends on the type of drug we are discussing here.

copter• 12 years ago

Marijuana is great if you are going to do some UI stuff and gonna work on light topics on the Front-End. The output will be more aesthetic and more artsy.

But hey! Let's don't fool ourselves here. If you are going to implement some back-end stuff and business functionality - don't code high. Thinking about abstraction levels, algorithms, core functionality, in some point you will absolutely feel like there is some sort of barrier in your brain avoiding you to think 'further'. This causes a distraction and you will have to start thinking from scratch again.

About other natural stuff like shrooms (and partially LSD) - if you get your good mind after having the first intense kick, your brain might become crystal clear and you can be absolutely productive. Coke might also work, but that's too expensive. Stay away from the rest.

Steve Jobs was on LSD when he was inventing Apple in his Garage.

thrwwy_99• 12 years ago

All the time. Literally every day. Helps me get going.

Ask HN: Do you ever program under 'the' influence?

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