Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I think stimulants and amphetamines definitely have an effect on programming. Maybe it affects quantity more than quality, but Paul Erdos, one of the most prolific mathematician ever, comes to mind:

  His colleague Alfréd Rényi said, "a mathematician is a machine for turning
  coffee into theorems", and Erdos drank copious quantities. After 1971 he 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. Erdos 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 filled
  with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper." After he won the bet, he
  promptly resumed his amphetamine use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erdos#Personality



Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: