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LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

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Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#161

Post by danenania »

nandemo wrote: post #6
simonsarris wrote: post #2

Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose. After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was f…

The difference is that amphetamines, though potentially addictive and dangerous, can actually help you do math or programming. I'm skeptical that people can code better (if at all) while on LSD.

It's not so much coding that can benefit, but conceptualizing the architecture of the system as a whole, which is where the greatest gains in efficiency and elegance are to be found.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#162

Post by khafra »

commanda wrote: post #156
parenthesis wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> What it feels like is that you are tapping into something truer and deeper It might feel like you are tapping into something truer and deeper, but that doesn't mean that you are.

From a great number of people's reports about their experiences while using psychedelics, they all seem to follow a common theme (things about opening their mind to God, communing with the great underlying themes of life, opening previously locked doors in their minds). If a plurality of people report having the same experience, then to me, that validates it. Then there's the solipsist point of view, which is to say,…

The experience which is validated by many independent tests is the feeling of tapping into something truer and deeper. I don't think the GP is questioning the feeling, just the actual truer, deeperness of it.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#163

Post by rick888 »

derwiki wrote: post #131
utefan001 wrote: post #91

One of my best friends committed suicide at age 18 in 1995. If LSD was not part of his life, I am sure the suicide would have never happened.

I don't want to sound callous -- I'm sorry for your loss, that sounds awful -- but your comment doesn't give enough context to gain any insight. It just sounds like "drugs are bad, mkay."

The problem is that some people can't handle LSD or other hallucinogens and won't know until they are dead, hurt, or mentally screwed. It's this risk that makes them bad.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#164

Post by rick888 »

awakeasleep wrote: post #44
jpk wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You set out to write a bash script to move some files, you suddenly realize an amazingly better way to do bash scripting, which makes you realize some basic change in the OS that would make UI 1000% friendlier, then you realize we shouldn't be using computers at all, then you realize you are here on earth for a purpose and you are wasting your life then your buddy is like--YO you're spacing off and the chain of thi…

But is your goal to write the script? Or is it to enjoy your time here on Earth? If writing that script at that time made sense and you were enjoying it, nothing could stop you from doing it. If you were wasting time and an unfocused individual, you'd see that.

"But is your goal to write the script?"

Yes. Because if you are writing a script, it obviously serves a purpose.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#165

Post by danenania »

utefan001 wrote: post #91

One of my best friends committed suicide at age 18 in 1995. If LSD was not part of his life, I am sure the suicide would have never happened.

I'm very sorry about your friend. While LSD can provide great rewards, it is emphatically NOT for some people, or situations, or moods, or stages of life. It is extremely powerful and requires care and respect.

Of course, the same could be said for driving a car, having children, and a lot of other things that can make life better. Research and education are the proper responses to such risks and dangers, not banning the activity for everyone.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#166

Post by rick888 »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #19
diadem wrote: post #13

If you need to take psychedelics to 'unlock the wonders of your mind' or whatever just to do some simple programming, software may not be the field for you.

Do you drink coffee or tea?

neither. I have realized that caffeine dulls my senses (and it makes me care less about things in general). I drink tea once-in-awhile, but generally try to avoid anything with caffeine. I also sleep much better at night.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#167

Post by TheSOB88 »

utefan001 wrote: post #91

One of my best friends committed suicide at age 18 in 1995. If LSD was not part of his life, I am sure the suicide would have never happened.

That really sucks that your friend killed himself. Having lived through it, maybe you know for sure LSD was the reason he did it. But perhaps he was covering up something else.

If I killed myself today, not a whole lot of people would know why. They might attribute it to something they knew about, but very, very few people know about the thing that makes me want to kill myself.

So what I'm saying is maybe you're right - I certainly have no idea why your friend killed himself, but maybe it could have been something that was devouring his mind that he kept covered up.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#168

Post by danenania »

rick888 wrote: post #163
derwiki wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to sound callous -- I'm sorry for your loss, that sounds awful -- but your comment doesn't give enough context to gain any insight. It just sounds like "drugs are bad, mkay."

The problem is that some people can't handle LSD or other hallucinogens and won't know until they are dead, hurt, or mentally screwed. It's this risk that makes them bad.

Some people aren't capable of healthy romantic relationships and will cause and experience a lot of pain through trying to have them. Should we stop everyone from trying because some percentage will end up in abusive situations, or with broken hearts, or even dead? Risk alone doesn't make something bad, just risky. The question is if the potential rewards make the risks worthwhile, and the answer for LSD for many is clearly yes. Learning how to deal with risk is just part of life.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#169

Post by pluies »

oggz wrote: post #83
antidaily wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life". source: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-17/tech/steve.jobs.life_1_ap...

Would anyone like to speculate what the other thing or two is?

The two most obvious things would be founding Apple and his daughter. Pure speculation, of course.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#170

Post by TheSOB88 »

rgbrgb wrote: post #114
utefan001 wrote: post #91

One of my best friends committed suicide at age 18 in 1995. If LSD was not part of his life, I am sure the suicide would have never happened.

I'm very sorry to hear about your friend and his drugs abuse however this statement is pure speculation. I don't find drug abuse to be a convincing argument for prohibition - in the US, it has only escalated violence and addiction rates. There are obviously negative ways to use drugs. The article is about a positive way.

You can't know that it's speculation. You didn't experience it.
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