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Code sober, get things done drunk

alexmuir.com

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Re: Code sober, get things done drunk

#91

Post by justinbaker »

calloc wrote: post #3

I have personally programmed a lot while tipsy (never drunk, I am not sure I would want to read that code in the morning) and it allows me to get over the humps of writing that utility function that needed to be written but I was putting off, it allows me to just start putting code down in vim without really worrying whether or not it is good enough... Let me quantify good enough a little better. I am a perfectionist…

I myself have coded belligerently drunk once. Quite honestly, some of my best code, clean and performing correctly. I rewrote and pushed an entire rubygem I had created (sober) 3 months prior.

Re: Code sober, get things done drunk

#92

Post by bryanlarsen »

tptacek wrote: post #30
bryanlarsen wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm having trouble understanding your comments. The article doesn't talk about "entirely different people", we're talking about drunk people. No matter how drunk you are, you don't become an "entirely different person", but you lose the social inhibitions that prevent you from writing the types of emails that offend customers. And I'm not sure where 2-3 drinks comes from, either. 2-3 drinks get some people drunk, but…

I think the subtext of my comment was pretty straightforward: after 2-3 drinks, you're not going to send radically different emails to customers; you're certainly not likely to torch relationships. If anything, over the last several years, what I've found is that stress is far more likely to hurt relationships than intoxication. After a frustrating day, I'm way more likely to be clipped, snippy, abrupt, or unhelpful.…

OK then, I'll just disagree with you.

People are surprisingly easy to offend over email. I know that I've offended some when sober. Sometimes it's because I'm too terse. Sometimes it's because they're reading something between the lines that I didn't mean to say. Sometimes I phrased things poorly. Sometimes I wrote it the email in anger.

Add 2-3 drinks in the mix and I'd probably double the number of offended customers.

Taking customers out for drinks is a completely different situation. It's a lot harder to be misunderstood in face-to-face conversations, not to mention that the customer is drinking along with you.

Re: Code sober, get things done drunk

#93

Post by timsally »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #92
tptacek wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the subtext of my comment was pretty straightforward: after 2-3 drinks, you're not going to send radically different emails to customers; you're certainly not likely to torch relationships. If anything, over the last several years, what I've found is that stress is far more likely to hurt relationships than intoxication. After a frustrating day, I'm way more likely to be clipped, snippy, abrupt, or unhelpful.…

OK then, I'll just disagree with you. People are surprisingly easy to offend over email. I know that I've offended some when sober. Sometimes it's because I'm too terse. Sometimes it's because they're reading something between the lines that I didn't mean to say. Sometimes I phrased things poorly. Sometimes I wrote it the email in anger. Add 2-3 drinks in the mix and I'd probably double the number of offended custome…

People are surprisingly easy to offend over email. I know that I've offended some when sober. Sometimes it's because I'm too terse. Sometimes it's because they're reading something between the lines that I didn't mean to say. Sometimes I phrased things poorly. Sometimes I wrote it the email in anger.

It sounds like beer is accentuating (not causing) a problem with email etiquette. Your point and Thomas's point are orthogonal: (1) two beers can make you terrible at things you are already bad at and (2) two beers wont make you terrible at things you aren't bad at. Because the bottom line is that people aren't easy to offend over email. I've written 1 email that has offended someone in the last 5 years and that was mostly intentional.

Re: Code sober, get things done drunk

#94

Post by nhooey »

tommi wrote: post #63
mmaunder wrote: post #57

My first thought is that you're opening yourself up to litigation. I drink wine and occasionally code with a glass of wine - the easy stuff, and I only commit the next morning. However, making strategic decisions, dealing with human issues and sending external communications is a bad idea. Someone I'm close is a former CEO and majority shareholder of business that generated 8 figure yearly revenue. His advice to me w…

I agree with what you say about the effects of alcohol. However, with small amounts, a glass of wine for example, the positive effect of getting things done is way bigger than the negatives for most people. Procrastinating and putting things off for weeks like the author is far worse than little bit of insensitivity in a mail. Of course it's better if you don't need any toxics to live your life happily.

I wouldn't call a glass of wine a toxic.

Re: Code sober, get things done drunk

#95

Post by cschmidt »

pjscott wrote: post #60
cschmidt wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, many people (including me) are low in vitamin D, because we spend so much time indoors. My dermatologist said (only partially joking) that if you're aren't deficient in vitamin D, you're not using enough sunscreen.

If you're deficient in vitamin D, and you know it, then why not take vitamin D pills? They're cheap, they're small, and having micronutrient deficiencies is not cool.

I didn't see your comment until much later. I was just assuming that was a given. Of course if you know you're low in vitamin D, you should be taking vitamin D pills, as I do.
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