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Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

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Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#61

Post by stzup7 »

Blahah wrote: post #42

I am open to discussing this in raw detail - contact in my profile. Most programmers, scientists, people in finance and startups I know take a lot of stimulants. I take a lot of stimulants. [Edit - as others have pointed out, there's a strong selection bias going on here. I actively seek out people who I know take stimulants, and we naturally congregate socially based on a bunch of subtle and explicit cues that signa…

I lived in London for a few years to work in finance (top tier banks as well as hedge funds). I haven't met a single person who takes any sort of stimulants besides coffee. I'm a software engineer myself and your world seems very different from mine despite having worked in the same city. Your normality looks completely foreign to me.

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#62

Post by TACIXAT »

Probably not what you're looking for, but I've cut out anything remotely addicting in my life, including sugar and caffeine. I feel a lot of people in the software industry have the luxury of developing and improving themselves. Most people I work with exercise regularly. Alcohol can be regular in some offices, and people smoke weed, but I don't know anyone who I would consider an addict.

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#63

Post by vimcat »

monocasa wrote: post #17
TomMarius wrote: post #8

A lot of people experiment with various psychedelic drugs for the psychedelic purposes. Marijuana is pretty much normal. LSD is sometimes used in the form of microdosing that produces no psychedelic effects and should improve focus and creative thinking. And of course coffee and alcohol are abused hugely.

And MDMA. I've heard a fellow engineer say, "it lets me enjoy being an extrovert."

I found CandyFlipping - First LSD,4hours later Molly, is one of the best combination for coding. It gives you a very strong sense of color.

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#64

Post by Eilene »

neverminder wrote: post #43

The way I see it there's mainly 2 types of drugs in this case: recreational and performance enhancing. For instance both cocaine and modafinil are drugs, but vastly different in terms of safety, addiction and last but not least - social stigma. If you want more information regarding performance enhancing substances, more specifically mind performance (very relevant in tech sector), I suggest you visit /r/nootropics.

Yes, realized that in the last 20 minutes, when I went to look up modafinil. Do you think that the use of performance related drugs and stimulants are far more prevalent in the under 40 set? Or under 30? than among those working in tech that are over 4o or 50?

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#66

Post by Blahah »

stzup7 wrote: post #61
Blahah wrote: post #42

I am open to discussing this in raw detail - contact in my profile. Most programmers, scientists, people in finance and startups I know take a lot of stimulants. I take a lot of stimulants. [Edit - as others have pointed out, there's a strong selection bias going on here. I actively seek out people who I know take stimulants, and we naturally congregate socially based on a bunch of subtle and explicit cues that signa…

I lived in London for a few years to work in finance (top tier banks as well as hedge funds). I haven't met a single person who takes any sort of stimulants besides coffee. I'm a software engineer myself and your world seems very different from mine despite having worked in the same city. Your normality looks completely foreign to me.

Interesting! That is... really quite surprising to me. I don't know many people anywhere in the world who don't at least recreationally take drugs. I think perhaps we just inhabit different worlds. One thing I can promise you though, is that you do know people who are taking stimulants. They just aren't telling anyone :)

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#67

Post by sjtgraham »

S_A_P wrote: post #45
anonyx69 wrote: post #13

Modafinil is a hot topic these days

I generally agree except that it seems to be a huge migraine trigger for me, so Ive stopped using it.

In my experience that’s dehydration. Modafinil is a diuretic, and appetite suppressant. Not only are you taking on less water because you’re probably eating less but your body is expelling water at frightening rates.

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#68

Post by Eilene »

hprotagonist wrote: post #50

In no particular order: the use of caffeine, alcohol, cannabis, adderall, and modafinil are absolutely rife in the academic research world. Postdocs and young faculty, in particular.

For all the same reasons it's used in tech--to enhance productivity? are junior faculty and post docs overworked or are the hours required of them kind of insane too?

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#69

Post by Eilene »

ShabbosGoy wrote: post #47
oil7abibi wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It said to have characteristics of a holy grail stimulant: increased performance without the crash or heavy tolerance build.

That’s an odd assertion to make when the full pharmacodynamics and mechanism of action are unknown. Modafinil doesn’t increase your cognitive performance in the way that a substituted phenethylamine would. Focus and attention are certainly related to wakefulness, but wakefulness in and of itself doesn’t increase cognitive performance.

Can you tell me what substituted phenethylamine is?

Re: Ask HN: I'm writing a book about white-collar drug use, including tech sector

#70

Post by thinkmore »

The #1 and #2 drugs consumed by far in Silicon Valley are simply processed/refined sugars and caffeine. The former via foods of all kinds and sodas, snacks, and the later via coffee and sodas.

These are far more dangerous drugs in this sense... even a small child can tell you cocaine is bad for you or that LSD is a “drug”, but no one considers soda and coffee to be drug laced.

These are the real gateway drugs, by far.

If Silicon Valley had decent espresso, no joke, there would be no demand for any of these stupid drugs people are messing with. But the espresso tastes like absolute poop. In the bay area you can market and sell poop drinks as artisinal or small batch or whatever. Its essentially poop. E.g. if you think blue bottle tastes good, I could sell you a cup of poop for $10 easy because you have been fooled.

Back to seriousness, the real problem in all of this is failure to understand the real impacts of seamingly harmless things (processed sugars and caffeine) NOT obviously harmful substances. There must be a progression from the former to the latter. Who the fuck wakes up one morning and says: “shit, works been hard lately, id like to try a line of cocaine, i heard its really great for relaxation”. Wake up, it doesnt happen like that.

Yes, i have conveniently left alcohol out of this ranking, but its #3. If you dont know how bad alcohol is for your brain and body... heh...

The real story is the engineer drinking 8+ cups of black coffee or 10 sodas per day... not the coo ceo or vp doing marijuana or cocaine before work. The latter knows what theyre doing, they may be depressed but they know whats up. The former, probably not. And those seemingly safe substances kick off the dangerous ones.

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