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LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

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Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#31

Post by mistermann »

neom wrote: post #18
jb1991 wrote: post #11

I would strongly encourage anyone looking for new perceptions that aid in concentration and/or creativity to first really try, and properly try, and without giving up too soon, the art of meditation. It's cheaper, safer, longer-lasting, and most certainly a higher-quality experience once properly learned.

I cannot agree with this enough. I have a very very very rigid morning routine that includes deep breathing and internal listening. I started doing this when DigitalOcean began to scale and my Dr. prescribed Fluoxetine, I learned about meditation for concentration and creativity. Not only was I able to manage my stress better and curb my adderall usage, but I also became more focused and sharper. Edit: I've tried all…

Can you suggest where one can start learning "how" to meditate?

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#32

Post by M_Grey »

SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #24
M_Grey wrote: post #12

Ah yes... you see it anywhere that people are closely matched and seek perceived "edges". Athletes wear their copper bullshit, Valley types take stimulants and psychedelics. It's a symptom of people not understanding the nature of survivorship bias, hindsight fallacy in general, and an inability to delay gratification for a greater reward. There's nothing inherently wrong with the drug, but there's something inherent…

Your last paragraph contradicts your first -- top athletes doping do get performance gains, while your first paragraph seems to indicate you don't think that small doses of LSD are effective (for the people taking them). I get you might be against performance enhancing drugs wholesale, but there's nothing "inherently wrong" with taking a chemical to perform better. If anything, it should be a personal choice, like wo…

>There's nothing inherently wrong with the drug, but there's something inherently wrong with the behavior around it, by people who are so desperate for edge. Down that road ultimately lies Lance Armstrong, and East German women with beards.

In other words, if you're desperate for an edge and willing to spend money, compromise your health and integrity for it, then you'll eventually move on from expensive bullshit like copper bands, to blood doping (in the case of sports). Right now, with the state of the "art", you're mostly just hurting yourself, but I think it's reasonable to assume that given the money and interest, it will be determined which drugs/methods do yield actual results.

If the attitude remains the same, "Anything for an edge," then when that comes you're going to be screwed as a group.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#33

Post by SomeStupidPoint »

Waterluvian wrote: post #10
jostmey wrote: post #6

I interpret this as Silicon valley losing its way. I'm not judging LSD use, but if you need it to get through the day then you need to find a different career. If you need your high paying, high stress job to afford your lifestyle, you need to find a more economically friendly environment.

You may be right. But I see it from a different angle. I don't see this as using drugs to get through the day. I see it as trying to get something for nothing. It feels like a very Silicon Valley attitude to want to discover a free lunch; some sort of bonus optimization. I would probably most expect this to come from Silicon Valley, Wall Street, professional sports, etc. Anywhere that fosters an attitude of seeking s…

It's not trying to get "something for nothing", it's trying to tune your brain/body to the workload you actually perform by altering the way signals propagate.

Tuning low-level settings to optimize the stack for the workload expected is standard engineering practice. Heck, we even do it in hardware: deciding if we want higher single-thread performance or higher throughput for a given heat envelope.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#34

Post by Thrillington »

clccbcfd wrote: post #20
imperio59 wrote: post #7

How about not? Drugs still have incredibly harmful effects. Some people take trips and never come back off these drugs. Imagine going to work in the morning on a supposed "micro"dose just to realize you had an overdose and end up in a psych ward for two weeks. You'll also likely lose your job as most tech companies have no drug in the workplace policies... This is just another BS article from someone who knows nothin…

Imagine not being totally clueless, dosing appropriately, and having a relatively normal (perhaps a bit more open-minded) day at work. Not all drugs are created equal, and almost all of them can be used responsibly. I find the micro dosing trend distasteful, but I hate anti-drug propaganda even more. This is just another BS comment from someone who has never done drugs and looks to force their misinformed values and…

Drug abuse is a real thing and has extremely negative effects for individuals and those in their lives.

That being said, it's a public health issue, not a criminal one. Abuse can also be significantly curbed by open and honest discussion about the benefits and negatives of various drugs. The DARE and scare model is an abject failure.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#35

Post by M_Grey »

jb1991 wrote: post #11

I would strongly encourage anyone looking for new perceptions that aid in concentration and/or creativity to first really try, and properly try, and without giving up too soon, the art of meditation. It's cheaper, safer, longer-lasting, and most certainly a higher-quality experience once properly learned.

It took me years... years... but the result of meditation (and some CBT in there to guide the process) is that I went from daily, crippling anxiety to virtually none at all now. It was harder than taking a pill at first, but I see where the people who went down the benzodiazepine road are today, and for me at least, I know I made the right choice.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#36

Post by bsenftner »

jb1991 wrote: post #11

I would strongly encourage anyone looking for new perceptions that aid in concentration and/or creativity to first really try, and properly try, and without giving up too soon, the art of meditation. It's cheaper, safer, longer-lasting, and most certainly a higher-quality experience once properly learned.

For the a-type personalities that can't see themselves meditating, try the triple combination of a 20+ minute cardio workout while meditating, and additionally give up alcohol. The triplicate combo is amazing for your body and your mind in so many dimensions. I use guided visualization meditations, sorta like trippy radio drama, and the workouts virtually disappear. Plus, you start looking great, which is a nice bonus on top of feeling self actualized.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#37

Post by M_Grey »

mistermann wrote: post #31
neom wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot agree with this enough. I have a very very very rigid morning routine that includes deep breathing and internal listening. I started doing this when DigitalOcean began to scale and my Dr. prescribed Fluoxetine, I learned about meditation for concentration and creativity. Not only was I able to manage my stress better and curb my adderall usage, but I also became more focused and sharper. Edit: I've tried all…

Can you suggest where one can start learning "how" to meditate?

Your local library, or nearest equivalent is a good place to start. Read some books on the subject. Meditation is one of those things that you can get to from a lot of different, equally valid directions. Just be careful that you're getting into meditation for its own sake, and not something culty/religious.

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#38

Post by dTal »

lcw wrote: post #8

I feel like I have the obligation to say that if you are a generally a happy person and good at what you do I highly doubt taking LSD in any dose is worth the risk of a bad trip. Not sure why HN has an affinity for LSD? It's pretty psychologically dangerous imho.

Apart from the fact we're talking about microdoses, this seems exactly backwards. Surely if you are a happy person your risk of a bad trip is much reduced?

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#39

Post by AndrewKemendo »

M_Grey wrote: post #32
SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your last paragraph contradicts your first -- top athletes doping do get performance gains, while your first paragraph seems to indicate you don't think that small doses of LSD are effective (for the people taking them). I get you might be against performance enhancing drugs wholesale, but there's nothing "inherently wrong" with taking a chemical to perform better. If anything, it should be a personal choice, like wo…

>There's nothing inherently wrong with the drug, but there's something inherently wrong with the behavior around it, by people who are so desperate for edge. Down that road ultimately lies Lance Armstrong, and East German women with beards. In other words, if you're desperate for an edge and willing to spend money, compromise your health and integrity for it, then you'll eventually move on from expensive bullshit lik…

compromise your health and integrity for it

Why is microdosing LSD compromising integrity?

Re: LSD 'microdosing' is trending in Silicon Valley

#40

Post by donaldguy »

ch4s3 wrote: post #15
imperio59 wrote: post #7

How about not? Drugs still have incredibly harmful effects. Some people take trips and never come back off these drugs. Imagine going to work in the morning on a supposed "micro"dose just to realize you had an overdose and end up in a psych ward for two weeks. You'll also likely lose your job as most tech companies have no drug in the workplace policies... This is just another BS article from someone who knows nothin…

> Some people take trips and never come back off these drugs What? Hallucinogens don't cause physical dependency and tolerance builds quickly so psychological habits are hard to form as well.

HPPD is definitely a real thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_percep...

And there is some evidence that taking psychedelics can precipitate long lasting or even chronic psychosis in those with genetic predispositions

I interpreted what they said as a reflection of those facts, though you are correct that risk of dependence is relatively low

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