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Comment by fdsfsaa | Hacker News Reader

Why is it surprising that nootropics exist? Half the good people in tech are on them. And there's nothing fucking wrong with that. "My body, my choice", as the slogan goes.

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Other than amphetamines and caffiene, what would these 'half of tech'be on?

L-theanine is popular, I take it in a pill but Soylent added it to their coffee product. (Edit: NOS energy drinks also include L-theanine.) Others I've seen around include Bacopa monnieri, choline, Rhodiola rosea. More examples here https://nootrobox.com/full-stack

Some of us consume our l-theanine in tea, which also contains caffeine (and some other friendly phytochemicals).

Do you favor a particular kind of tea?

Been a few years but I ran into a coder that bragged to me about working 14 hours straight - regularly - on Adderall. This was during an interview, yeah I passed on that job for some reason.

As it turns out, Adderall is amphetamine.

Modafinil and nicotine. Cocaine too, I imagine, although that's more a sales guy thing.

nicotine through pill, not smoking a cigarette?

Nicotine is best administrated through gum or a transdermal patch. I haven't heard of many people using it in pill form. Nicotine alone is similar to smoking a cigarette, but not identical: cigarettes also contain MAOI inhibitors which have synergistic effects with nicotine.

Just a minor correction, MAOI = MAO inhibitors. MAOI inhibitors is redundant.

Lozenges are also available.

It's interesting to note that apparently nicotine is not addictive without the MOAIs from tobacco smoke.

Are people not concerned about nicotine dependence?

There's also Noopept, which is another stimulant

ah, such a typical answer from an "up in there" person. Been there, done that, including the 15 h days constantly, the fixing everybody's shit at 5 am, you name it. Was the period I was the most insufferable person around. Try getting off them and then we see how good you are. Your attention span will be reduced way below what you used to have before (unless you actually had ADHD before this) and your motivation will ..not exist. Because, while you are on Adderall, everything is so fucking awesome! And you start working on what nobody else wants. You are the king of the world, the saviour, and the only competent person around! As a result, you will probably fuck up your heart.. good luck trying to get your blood pressure down after that. Did I mention addiction? But, it's a free world and you are responding to market demands by betting your future as a normal functioning person, in order to gain now, that you are fresh and young , and all that. I can understand that. Hope it pays off.

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