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Posts by gadzooks
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2018-11-20 at 9:53 AM UTC in The Yerkes–Dodson law
Originally posted by Lanny Yeah dude, I'm all about taking normal to large doses of psychedelic drugs as just a really cool experience or possibly for inspiration for something. When I heard about microsoding I thought "this has got to be awesome", like it sounds like something that could be really useful. But every time I try it, it's just garbage. Either I just feel come up effects without any real psychedelia, or I feel nothing at all. At best it's baseline and at worst it's distracting muscle tension and nausea. I really wanted it to work, but it's just like blehhhhh for four hours with zero noticeable benefit, at least for me.
Yeah that was pretty much my exact reaction to the whole ordeal.
So with being said, throughout this thread I plan to be skeptical, even of my own inferences and ideas, because I really do want to find what works. -
2018-11-20 at 9:51 AM UTC in The Yerkes–Dodson law
Originally posted by Lanny From personal experience wrt programming: noots are a meme, don't waste your time. Low, but not micro, dose stimulants are great. *afinils aren't bad but only because they're basically stimulants, I don't really consider them "nootropics" as distinct from stims. If you can manage side effects and addiction risks of stimulants that's the ticket. Alcohol helps work through tedium but I'm a heavy drinker and my response has changed over time. Long term there doesn't seem to be any real benefit besides feeling slightly better while performing at exactly the same level. Benzos are like a straight debuff. Psychedelic microdosing is not helpful at all, but based on reports I've heard from people I think I may have an atypical response to microdosed psychedelics.
I agree with drawing a distinction between classic "cognition-enhancing" nootropics and wakefulness inducing ones.
One paper I wrote (undergrad, not published) was about how Long-Term Potentiation can be accelerated through stimulation of AMPA receptors, and I'll never forget the whole metaphor of an interconnected graph of knowledge (like the standard graph data structure), and that by pharmacologically increasing those pathways it seems entirely reasonable that there can be broad applications in educational settings.
Especially, when those educational settings are hands-on experience. -
2018-11-20 at 9:40 AM UTC in The Yerkes–Dodson law
Originally posted by Lanny In development/CS there's this folk concept known as the blamer peak which is basically Yerkes–Dodson as applied to alcohol and programming. Not really useful, but it's a phrase you see come up and kind of a fun piece of culture.
Also "take a bunch of meth" isn't really what you should get out of Yerkes–Dodson, since for "complex" tasks they found over stimulation harms performance.
From personal experience wrt programming: noots are a meme, don't waste your time. Low, but not micro, dose stimulants are great. *afinils aren't bad but only because they're basically stimulants, I don't really consider them "nootropics" as distinct from stims. If you can manage side effects and addiction risks of stimulants that's the ticket. Alcohol helps work through tedium but I'm a heavy drinker and my response has changed over time. Long term there doesn't seem to be any real benefit besides feeling slightly better while performing at exactly the same level. Benzos are like a straight debuff. Psychedelic microdosing is not helpful at all, but based on reports I've heard from people I think I may have an atypical response to microdosed psychedelics.
I've been noticing more and more over the past few days that nootropics, especially when I so boldly and liberally expand the category to include drugs like alcohol, meth, and hallucinogens, there is a definite set of distraction elements that have unintended consequences.
That being said, though, this is all about experimentation. There will be things that don't out all so well, and some might only work effectively under the right preconditions.
For example, if you have writer's block, it might actually be reasonable to get some shrooms or LSD and go for a walk in the woods.
But if you're just trying marginally increase day-to-day creativity, microdosing does not seem to be all it's played out to be. -
2018-11-20 at 9:35 AM UTC in The Yerkes–Dodson law
Originally posted by Lanny Which is not to say it's wrong to try out that kind of thing, I guess if you try out kanban or whatever else and find it's actually useful then more power to you. My experience has just been that high performers tend to just do their thing, and no amount of methodology or "time management" or anything other than simple experience/practice will turn low performers into high performers. In general any 30 minutes spent reading some kind of life-hack time management thing is worth less than 30 minutes of sitting down practicing and/or working at the thing you're trying to do, even amortized over a lifetime.
This is a really good point due to the fact that it rarely results in actual application.
There are some tried-and-trued methodologies, programming paradigms, and just ways of working in general, that show tremendous results when applied.
I've read so many books, seen so any YouTube videos, and read all too many blog posts on productivity.
And if it ain't kickin' in, then it's like buying a gym membership and never using it.
At the end of the day, though, it's all about finding that point of diminishing returns on researching productivity hacks. -
2018-11-20 at 9:32 AM UTC in The Yerkes–Dodson law
Originally posted by vindicktive vinny beem there, done that.
did not and will not give your life additional meanings to live for, in fact it leaves less meanings.
I also beem'd there (Scotty?).
I actually do find more meaning in my life now that I enjoy my job.
I like the people I work with and for.
I like that I produce things that millions of users around the world will eventually actually use to improve their day-to-day-lives.
And the very act of research, learning, problem-solving, and trial-and-error, that basically constitute what software development is, is intrinsically enjoyable to me.
You just have to find the types of tasks that drive you intrinsically, and then find careers that incorporate those tasks/skills. -
2018-11-20 at 2:34 AM UTC in I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving.
Originally posted by HTS I have no idea if that's what I'm advocating for, I just thought it was a fun stance to take on OP's decree/question.
I don't think anything I've said is wrong. So yeah: I'm actually advocating this, for real, but I don't necessarily believe it. *shrug*
Well, the logical path to ammoralism is a well worn path, sadly.
But if humans, and the emotions they experience, are intrinsically valuable, (and, quite frankly, anyone arguing against that sounds like an absolute psychopath), then there is a logical source of ethical guidance.
It's just all a matter of interpretation, and prioritizing fundamental values. -
2018-11-20 at 2:28 AM UTC in Anyone remember Writinganovel?
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2018-11-20 at 2:23 AM UTC in I'm not dead yet, unfortunately...
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2018-11-20 at 2:22 AM UTC in I'm not dead yet, unfortunately...
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2018-11-20 at 2:17 AM UTC in hey guys,, Spark it up its 420
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2018-11-20 at 2:16 AM UTC in Anyone remember Writinganovel?All I really remember about her was that she lived somewhere near me.
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2018-11-20 at 2:09 AM UTC in So, my mom passed tonight.
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2018-11-20 at 1:57 AM UTC in Meth pipe radarsI actually add a tiny bit of flavoring from an extract (for vaping) to make the meth smoke taste more palatable.
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2018-11-20 at 1:54 AM UTC in Meth pipe radars
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2018-11-20 at 1:53 AM UTC in Meth pipe radars
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2018-11-20 at 1:26 AM UTC in hey guys,, Spark it up its 420
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2018-11-20 at 1:20 AM UTC in I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving.
Originally posted by HTS >immoral behavior
Sounds like you want people to give you the gift of behaving in a way that benefits you. Sounds like this concern is actually just a thinly veiled attempt at taking from others - taking their agency, their willingness to do things for themselves if it means hurting someone like you. 🤔🤔🤔
Morality is a spook. The only people who tell you there's some kind of obligation to others (read: them, since they are not you) are people who want to TAKE from you. Take from them, and let there be no recoprocity.
Are you being for real?
Are you actually advocating for ethical amoralism?
TFW you just took a shot of D X M and a hit off the meth pipe and you be seeing nihilists and shit. -
2018-11-20 at 1:18 AM UTC in I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving.
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2018-11-20 at 1:15 AM UTC in ATTN: CandyrainUmm, did someone just propose to someone else on NIS?
This... this right here... is my wake up call that I may be on way too many drugs right now. -
2018-11-20 at 12:20 AM UTC in So, my mom passed tonight.Some ancient cultures would eat the flesh of their loved ones to preserve their spirit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocannibalism
