Comment by ambertch | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ambertch | Hacker News Reader

It's quite clear not a lot of the posters in this thread have actually used these illegal substances. Which is understandable, as those who have would be reticent to come out.

I'll come out and say that although I haven't used amphetamines (though I know the story of Erdos as well as the military using it), I have been prescribed valium for anxiety issues. It's helped with random things in life like striking up conversations with completely random women at bars by reducing the anxiety felt in a situation.

Anecdotally I know in the SF startup scene, amphetamines are used quite a bit. Amphetamines (of which adderall is one) are basically a better version of caffeine. It allows you to stay up three or four days perfectly lucid (unlike the stress response from caffeine from increasing cortisol levels in your bloodstream), and you also get a mental speedup (quite literally, the clock speed of your brain is increased)

Anyways, I really hope they legalize this stuff someday hah! I'd be a lot more productive, especially with reading the laundry list of books on my reading list...

It's quite clear not a lot of the posters in this thread have actually used these illegal substances.

I've used numerous illegal substances, including various stimulants. I also used to experiment with nootropics back in the '80s; occasionally I run into one of my own USENET posts from then. :)

Anyone curious about these things really needs to a) know themselves, and b) know some neuropharmacolgy. It helps if you know a doctor who will answer questions about potential drugs and nutrients.

People should be comfortable hacking their wetware. The current laws and social taboos make this hard, but not impossible. Know the risks and make informed decisions.

Which is understandable, as those who have would be reticent to come out.

I talk about it because I'm tired of a world where it's apparently OK to get shit-faced on alcohol but not toke a blunt or get some focus from amphetamines so you can do something useful.

I can pump my body full of sugar, starch, and fatty foods, but not smoke high-grade smack? Because the latter is, what, dangerous?

People need to speak up and speak from experience to help counter the scare stories from the likes of the DEA.

> [Amphetamine] allows you to stay up three or four days perfectly lucid

Nope. No known stimulants negate the need for sleep, nor do amphetamines significantly “increase your clock speed” (certainly not by the amount necessary to counteract sleep deprivation even before the end of your second day).

By the end of day three, you'll suffer from increasingly severe effects of sleep deprivation including but not limited to: cognitive dysfunction, paranoia, and hallucinations (probably auditory at first), plus of course the compulsive behaviour induced by most stimulants.

so, this is speaking from personal experience, I presume?

Not entirely true. Numerous studies on modafinil have kept subjects awake for up to 4 days with no cognitive impairment. http://www.erowid.org/smarts/modafinil/modafinil_media1.shtm...

In addition, long term use of amphetamines is extremely bad for you, and can lead to psychosis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant_psychosis

That being said, my mom was prescribed them for about a decade in the 60's (for weight loss) and she turned out OK.

>> [Amphetamine] allows you to stay up three or four days perfectly lucid

> Nope. No known stimulants negate the need for sleep

Technically true, but there is a whole class of non-stimulant drugs that do approach this level, without the weird, "amped" feeling of stimulant. Provigil (modafinil) is the best known of these.

Eg: Another study of fighter pilots showed that modafinil given in three divided 100 mg doses sustained the flight control accuracy of sleep-deprived F-117 pilots to within about 27 percent of baseline levels for 37 hours, without any considerable side effects. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil

That's correct, I used “stimulants” in the narrow sense and should have been clearer.

I don't have much information on modafinil or other substances in its class so I can't speak to it except to say that the early studies seem promising (I say this as someone who really, really hates the waste of time that is a good night's sleep) despite some reported side-effects.

I would certainly like to see more studies, as well as further information about sustainability. That is, it's great if it really does let you work reasonably well for 3-4 days (within 30% for < 2 days isn't really conclusive), but even then there's the question of what happens after. I doubt you'd just be able to sleep 8 hours and get right back on track.

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