31–40 of 77 posts
I have spreadsheets.
Define better code. Code at that point/moment in time in comparision, maybe. Code later on that is more robust and well documented so that others can understand and change if need be better, probably not. People say drugs help you do this and that, but over time you gain tollerance, have downsides when drug wears off. So is this another tortoise and hare comparision nomatter how it is thought thru. Now if drugs help…
Thinking that humans have somehow evolved to behave at maximum performance for engineering or software design is an odd belief.
As far as "it must come down, it can't last", there was a leader (for 10 years) of one of the world's top air forces that was a morphine addict. Using "office coffee or prescription" is just a no true Scotsman argument.
Drugs in programming, as well as other occupations, play an emotional role as much, or more so, than a cognitive role. If Habit A helps a programmer who'd otherwise be sidelined by emotional problems stay in the chair, it may help that programmer be more productive than they would be otherwise. Of course, addictions don't help us face those problems in the long term, and often let them get worse. All sorts of drug-re…
Can I ask what you thought was going to happen? Not to discredit your experiences (obviously everyone's different), but it sounds as if you're trying to place a lot of blame on perceived expectations, which can lead to some really disappointing results in any situation.
I scale the Ballmer Peak on a regular basis. I've semi-scientifically mapped out the exact amount required to get the desired effect. I've started trying to plot the continuous consumption rate required to spend more time at the summit. I have spreadsheets.
For extra points, I would love to see your spreadsheet data plotted as a xkcd-style graph (http://mathematica.stackexchange.com/questions/11350/xkcd-st...)
There are medications that can influence focus, energy levels, productivity.
Problem is - we still don't really understand how the human brain works. The implications of introducing outside chemical stimuli can be horrendous. You may have noticed that big pharma companies are now focusing less on psych meds.
And what possible metric could you use to determine if the code is "better"? That's a really subjective thing.
Psychedelic agents in creative problem-solving: a pilot study. Harman WW, McKim RH, Mogar RE, Fadiman J, Stolaroff MJ. Psychol Rep. 1966 Aug;19(1):211-27.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelics_in_problem-solving...
The results suggested that LSD has a positive effect on creative problem solving. I think it is a shame that no follow-up experiments have been conducted.