This is why I drink Irish coffee when I want to solve problems creatively.
Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
141–150 of 208 posts
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
My weed code is usually really creative but riddled with bugs
Does it help with solving hard problems ?
I find it's great for diving into refactoring projects that I've been putting off. I like to do that stoned because it's usually not that hard, just tedious moving files around and organizing things. Same way my wife reorganizes the furniture when she gets stoned.
I also sometimes find solutions to hard problems in my head when stoned, though I usually just write down the solution rather than coding it, as large-scale implementations are better done sober.
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, I almost never drink coffee more than 3 days in a row because it loses its affect. Luckily, intolerance comes back after only a day or two off.
I'll risk being downvoted for nitpicking in an attempt to be helpful about "affect" vs "effect": Did it affect you? Yes, it had an effect. The psych study showed the meds were effective in improving patents' affect (mood). I want to effect (bring about) change by doing X. HTH!
It really is a pain in the butt since both effect and affect have noun and verb forms. What a language.
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#144That’s what the weed is for
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was under the impression that on average the brain/body needs around 9 days of no caffeine consumption to get back to its natural baseline. I can't seem to find the source of that study right now...
You could do the math if you look up the half-life of caffeine. Via a quick Google search it looks like it is 4-6 hours. So if I understand it correctly, it's 4-6 hours for 100mg to become 50mg, then another 4-6 for 50mg to become 25mg, etc. So like if all you did was have a single cup of 100mg coffee, then its like 12-18 hours for it to go away. If you're me though, you drink like 3-4 a day. This seems to be about 2…
You'd have to look at things like the rate of downregulation of the appropriate brain components that caffeine affects.
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably middle east or north/eastern africa. Then again I'm sure there are plenty of SV hipster types who might be big on it. "forget microdosing, khat is the new path to rockstar programming flow states"
Is anyone afraid that microdosing might become the next must, if you want to be competitive in the programming fields of industry?
Microdosing is mostly hype. I know many people who've tried microdosing. Does it give you a 5% edge? Maybe... but sometimes it distracts and subtracts 5%.
It is not NZT from the movie Limitless, despite media hype.
As a productivity drug, amphetamines far outclass psychedelics.
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#147Erdos[0] certainly felt his creativity was helped by caffeine (and amphetamines). From personal experience, math professors seem to be the most reliable academic users of nicotine and caffeine. I'm skeptical they are all deluding themselves.
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
pretty much true for any stimulant in my experience.
Not... Ah, in your experience. I missed that, initially. I meant to write "Not khat," which gives me the best inspiration ever (and a crash that lasts days when I get off of it).
But you wouldn’t know if you were boring to other people would you?
Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#149Erdos[0] certainly felt his creativity was helped by caffeine (and amphetamines). From personal experience, math professors seem to be the most reliable academic users of nicotine and caffeine. I'm skeptical they are all deluding themselves. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s
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Re: Caffeine boosts problem-solving ability but not creativity, study indicates
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
> not enough to get trashed But enough to reach the Ballmer Peak? https://xkcd.com/323/
Wouldn't the Ballmer Peak be pretty trashed? I don't really know how well BAC% correlates to drunkenness but that's almost double the legal limit for driving in the US.
It's about 5 'US standard drink's according to Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_alcohol_content
Which at 18ml ethanol each equates to 9 UK 'units', which is about 3 and half pints or ~90% of a bottle of wine.
Of course 'trashed' or 'drunkenness' both depend on the person, and are subjective anyway, and the time taken to consume them has a big impact too - necking 4 pints is very different to a bottle over the course of a full evening, for example.
But personally no, I don't think I'd program very well in either case.