Is there a link to the study? Seems weird to question the efficacy of drugs for things they're not FDA approved for. They're not nootropics.
Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
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Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#12I would assume some of these drugs work best when you already have a few possible approaches in mind, but you need focused brute force to make a dent?
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#13I'd bet a 1000-piece mono-color puzzle that close to 50% of currently written software is done on those drugs.
50%? from experience its closer to 80%
Whoa, it's just caffeine where I live. I don't think I've seen more than 10% of the team to use anything else.
It would be an interesting study, though.
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#14I'd bet a 1000-piece mono-color puzzle that close to 50% of currently written software is done on those drugs.
We all project/assume based on the bubble we live in.
In my 18 years of in-house software dev experience (several countries, companies of different sizes), not once have I even heard (in the real world, not online) of people using any sort of drugs like the ones mentioned in the article.
I'm not saying that you're wrong. But based on my personal experience, I also could bet the opposite of what you're saying and feel just as confident.
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#15Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#16Whenever someone compares dextroamphetamine or methylphenidate to modafinil, I don't take them seriously.
They don't begin to compare in effect.
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#17I want to preface this by saying that I am not a supporter of study drugs, except for caffeine. I don't find these studies to be convincing. You give people a pill, they don't know what it is. These people don't know what to expect, they've never taken study drugs before. They're solving some random logic puzzle they've never seen before. "Participants had to work out which items to put into a bag." Compare to how th…
Tak Modafinil as an example: > The real problems with these drugs are addiction, Not addictive. > side effects, Same as caffeine while active. Irritating comedown after. > and the phenomenon where you have to take higher doses over time to get the same effect. Abstaining during weekends helps. The real problem is lack of sleep it can somewhat mask. > Maybe one day we will get a drug that enhances mental function, tha…
Never had any comedown off moda, even at high doses (400mg).
What comedown feelings did you experience?
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#18I want to preface this by saying that I am not a supporter of study drugs, except for caffeine. I don't find these studies to be convincing. You give people a pill, they don't know what it is. These people don't know what to expect, they've never taken study drugs before. They're solving some random logic puzzle they've never seen before. "Participants had to work out which items to put into a bag." Compare to how th…
>I don't find these studies to be convincing. You give people a pill, they don't know what it is. These people don't know what to expect, they've never taken study drugs before. They're solving some random logic puzzle they've never seen before. "Participants had to work out which items to put into a bag."
How do you propose then to isolate what may be the effect of the drug then vs the participant subconsciously trying to act out what they think the drug is supposed to make them do?
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#19I would assume some of these drugs work best when you already have a few possible approaches in mind, but you need focused brute force to make a dent?
I'm curious about how that would play out, too. That's the reason this article is interesting, IMO...the questions it made me think about regarding these drugs.
Re: Study drugs make people worse at problem solving, not better
#20I want to preface this by saying that I am not a supporter of study drugs, except for caffeine. I don't find these studies to be convincing. You give people a pill, they don't know what it is. These people don't know what to expect, they've never taken study drugs before. They're solving some random logic puzzle they've never seen before. "Participants had to work out which items to put into a bag." Compare to how th…
> Maybe one day we will get a drug that enhances mental function, that works effectively and has no real downsides
Coffee.
And to your main point, if you took people who’d never drink coffee before and gave them a caffeine pill, guaranteed they’d perform worse.