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It really bothers me how, over the last 10-15 years, caffeine has gone from something people use to jump-start their day to some kind of... fad drug. People bra
by atgm 15y ago
It really bothers me how, over the last 10-15 years, caffeine has gone from something people use to jump-start their day to some kind of... fad drug. People brag about how many cups of coffee they inhale every day, how many liters of soda they can drink in one sitting, how many bottles of bawls they have on a shelf, or how many cans of red bull they need to chug to stay awake after their all-nighters, but even worse than that is how many people just acknowledge this as a normal thing. Especially among geeks and gamers.
Edit: For example, quotes like this: "It's an efficiency product. I'm talking about improving endurance, concentration, reaction time, speed, vigilance, and emotional status. Taste is of no importance whatsoever."
He makes it very clear that he doesn't think of it as a soft drink, but as a performance-enhancing drug. Yet people are out there pounding it because it's "cool."
- JonWood 15y agoThe trend to use caffeine like a drug is particularly concerning amongst young people. I volunteer with a local youth group, and recently some of them have started downing a couple of Red Bulls (or more likely a cheap clone) before arriving. The effect it has on them is ridiculous - kids who usually aren't too much trouble become completely uncontrollable. A bit of running about at that age is healthy, but the excess energy means they spend literally 3 hours charging around the place, with arguments far more likely to happen because they're wired. I'm not generally one for regulation of substances which don't harm other people, but I think there at least needs to be some publicity given to the fact that saturating yourself with caffeine and other additives is really bad for your heart.
- VMG 15y agoAlso the evidence that caffeine is a cognitive enhancer isn't very good. It seems that the boost people feel from a cup of coffee is just the relief from the symptoms of coffee withdrawl. Quote > "That alertness you feel is you getting back to normal, rather than to an above normal level. BBC Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6422279.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6422279.stm Podcast: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2010/3073994.htm http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2010/3073994.h... I stopped drinking coffee after learning about this but I still drink black tea.
- sp332 15y agoA lot of people assume there's s lot of caffeine in Red Bull. There is some, but the "active ingredient" is taurine.
- danneu 15y agoI'd wager that it's actually sugar. Take a high dose of supplemental taurine and let me know if you feel much.
- chopsueyar 15y agoWhat ever happened to good, old amphetamines? Nothing beats a straight 36-hour coding session, and the one week of solid sleep that follows.
- lsb 15y agoYou're in good company with Paul Erdős, one of the most prolific mathematicians of the 1900s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s 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.[12] Erdős 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.
- chopsueyar 15y agoDidn't he 'invent' airbnb? [UPDATE] I find it interesting coffee was his 'gateway' drug and self-dosed amphetamine usage allowed him to perform at a higher level. In that sense, amphetamine usage is much better than caffeine. He was not addicted to amphetamines. Most coffee drinkers are addicted to caffeine. How many caffeine addicts would go a month without caffeine for $500?
- ZoFreX 15y agoI'm hooked on caffeine and cigarettes, I'd give up both for a month for $500 easy!
- chopsueyar 15y agoHow much to you spend on cigarettes and caffeine per month?
- lsc 15y ago$500? that's what, a half-day bill rate for most mid range USian computer professionals? If you believe you are deriving much productivity benefit from caffeine at all, that doesn't seem like a very good deal. I'm just saying, the fact that someone won't give up a drug they perceive to enhance productivity for a small amount of money is not evidence that it is addictive; it could also be a rational decision (e.g. I believe I am giving up more than $500 worth of additional productivity if I don't use caffeine) I would be really interested in the results of (and even willing to participate in) a properly controlled study that measured the effects of caffeine on productivity. But measuring actual productivity is /very hard/ which is why I've gotta keep using words like 'perceived productivity'
- feint 15y agowhy does it bother you? Even if it only has a placebo effect on people - why is that such a big deal? It doesn't do a lot of harm. Chill
- pimeys 15y agoAnd then there is only a small step to start taking speed. Legal or illegal...
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- dchest 15y agoReally? I noticed a different trend -- The Green Tea Fad. More and more people talking about how they no longer drink coffee, because it contains the most dangerous drug in the history of mankind -- caffeine!
- hristov 15y agoGreen tea has a lot of caffeine too.
- dchest 15y ago"But it's green!"
- bvi 15y agoYes, but "green" and "tea" make it sound a lot healthier. It's every marketer's dream come true.
- networkjester 15y agoFor reference: http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine+and+tea.aspx http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine+and+tea.aspx Not that much really.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]