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A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

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Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#151

Post by e0a74c »

extr wrote: post #63
Karsteski wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you consider getting a high off of caffeine to be unethical? Assuming some people find weed to be a performance enhancer, why is that different?

Well for myself, most of the time when I start working somewhere I sign agreements stating I won't be using drugs/alcohol on the clock. So even though I may feel it's personally okay and the agreement is silly, I would still be violating it. Perhaps I could approach my employer and explain actually getting high makes me more productive, but I have never had the courage to start such a conversation :)

I don't know you but if you're like most people, you've probably violated other (non-drug related) clauses in your contract already. Ever watched a YouTube video during work hours? (assuming you don't work for Google/YouTube) Ever took a personal phone call during work? Ever been late? I get the feeling that it's not just a matter of avoiding a breach of contract in your case although you phrased it that way.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#152

Post by pvarangot »

pipthepixie wrote: post #92

What about common nootropics people take to get into 'programmer flow', like nicotine, lions mane, choline, caffeine, theanine, etc Surely they're more effective than cannabis, which typically makes everything feel great, but in a sober frame of mind, and on hindsight, seem trivial and over-hyped when sober. I've tried various nootropic 'blends' (stacks) over the years and they've all been great. Cannabis has its use…

I read there's some research on Lion's mane, and there's a lot about caffeine and theanine but none of this are magic productivity pills. Like it's not that the concentration and productivity effects are obvious and reproducible among all humans. Caffeine has the "keep you awake thing" that cocaine also has and it's pretty reproducible but in most studies I've read about caffeine and L-theanine the flowy non-jittery productive state or any cognitive enhancement are spotty.

I think the other problem with cannabis as a workday desk-job productivity enhancement substance that you are not mentioning is its interaction with other drugs and the unpredictable and really deep tolerance buildup. Like giving an average someone a curve of how much they need to smoke to get the same "effect" among weeks or months is probably really hard.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#153

Post by GordonS »

neveradmitmyid wrote: post #135

I've been a heavy, 1 oz. of Indica a week smoker for decades, while being an extremely productive lead and principal software engineer on dozens of highly visible tech products. I am part of a heavy smoking, high tech collective of startup and career research individuals from companies people use everyday. I start my day with a combination of THC and caffeine, which folds into a deep work and research focus lasting t…

Have you considered d switching to vaping? It's so much more efficient that you'd likely only use 1/2 oz, or maybe even 1/3 oz.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#154

Post by z3c0 »

stareblinkstare wrote: post #93
honkycat wrote: post #90

I love smoking weed. I smoke pretty much every day. Just a little bit, a puff on the vape pen to get my groove going after work. I find it USELESS for problem solving or productivity, but hey: I don't need to be productive 24 hours a day. I just want something to take the edge off while I play a strategy game or fart around on a game prototype. I NEVER do it during work or when I have to drive. I started smoking weed…

> not funding drug lords. I avoid illegal drugs for this reason. I hate to break it to you... [Edit: it's best if I expand this comment. The people who currently sell "legal" weed whitewashed illegal operations and coordinated it with lawmakers to put them at the top. Chinese, oddly enough, play a big part at this, since we're on an anti-China bend right now it might be useful to know. This whole legal drug thing...…

Very apt username, as that's what I've found myself doing towards your comment.

Do you have more information on this nefarious China-sponsored drug supply-chain?

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#155

Post by jMyles »

Since we're all sharing our anecdotes...

I'm in a someowhat rare position of wanting to consume (and particularly smoke) more cannabis, especially during the work day, but I refrain because of the "anxiety" or "paranoia" it causes.

I use quotes because these phenomena aren't precisely anxiety or paranoia, and after-the-fact, I'm almost always thankful for the reflection that they provide.

Has anybody found a way to increase intake and keep it regular over the long-term amidst these pain points?

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#156

Post by datavirtue »

MissionInfl wrote: post #30
educaysean wrote: post #11

For me weed is not really something that actively aids in problem-solving or brainstorming, but rather acts as more of a motivation booster. When it's 11pm and I have a handful of less-demanding tasks to slog through, that's where I've found weed to be a lot of help. It helps make otherwise routine tasks more engaging. It even gives me sufficient motivation to actively refactor and improve parts of codebase that I mi…

Sorry if you have heard this before but you may have ADHD or something similar. I found myself in a similar pattern of using cannabis to motivate myself to do the more boring tasks that inevitably come up being a full time software engineer and after several months of therapy was diagnosed with ADHD. FWIW, I find that if I have a boring task and attempt to use cannabis to power through it, half of the time I complete…

I tried getting help for ADHD years ago but found it very difficult to get help for an adult that is high functioning. I'm pretty sure I have it but all the diagnostics focus on young children. The office where I had evaluations was loaded with whacked out kids. They just don't see it as a problem compared to those kids and the diagnosis is heavily focused on childhood behavior and excludes adults. The doctor, who I struggled to find, was really disorganized and lost my case file and forgot about me after several visits. Total joke.

I have to keep self medicating I guess.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#157

Post by ranprieur »

I use cannabis for creativity and motivation, in both writing fiction and playing piano. I can't prove that it gives me better ideas, but looking back from a state of sobriety, I believe that it does, and certainly I've been more productive high than I ever was sober.

The catch is that I take frequent breaks. My current rule is, for every session, I have to go one calendar day without using it at all. This also keeps my tolerance low, so I only use about a gram a month.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#159

Post by crate_barre »

jstahrowaway wrote: post #9
crate_barre wrote: post #2

I can’t see how you can do anything other than micro-dose cannabis (small hits or low dosage edibles). You just get too high to be productive. But I’m very interested to see if low dosages help.

That depends. A lot of people who say you "just get too high" often have a super low tolerance, and they are smoking enough to get shit faced. If you smoke frequently and only do a puff, trust me, not everybody gets as high as you do with your one edible a month. I work at a top tech company smoking before work, it really only relaxes me at this point, however I smoked weed since 14.

I will certainly confess my tolerance sucks, but we are effectively talking about the same end result. To get a useful high, we need just the right functional amount of buzz. The quantity is obviously different for everyone, but the goal is the same.

Re: A Survey of Programmers' Cannabis Usage, Perception, and Motivation

#160

Post by z3c0 »

gwbas1c wrote: post #145
flatiron wrote: post #15

I got my three kids desks for christmas. Put them down to bed for the night and smoke a little weed. I was shocked how I couldn’t follow ikea desk instructions. Got frustrated and decided to try again sober. I was super shocked the next day how easy it was to follow when sober.

You could also be... Tired . I can't do much of anything that requires concentration once I put my three kids to bed. The nights that my wife is out give me a lot of sympathy for single parents. (But I will admit that there are times that I've had to just wait until the effects wear off.)

That was the obvious explanation to me as well. A task was hard in the evening, before sleep, and easy in the morning, after sleep...

Must be the drugs.

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