3 ms·

Err, nope, coffee is pretty popular. The differences between coffee and modafinil are: coffee tastes better, modafinil does the same job for longer with less s

Err, nope, coffee is pretty popular. The differences between coffee and modafinil are: coffee tastes better, modafinil does the same job for longer with less side effects.

w1ntermute 15y ago
Popularity is a poor way to judge whether or not something is good for you. If you went back in time 60 years and asked someone whether inhaling large quantities of carcinogenic gases was a bad idea, they'd say "Err, nope, cigarettes are pretty popular" too.
- corin_ 15y ago
  I think that his point was that you wouldn't walk around the office pointing at everyone with a cup of coffee and saying "that crosses the line". In reply to your original comment - for work you don't care about, I'd agree with you, but plenty of people who do stuff like this, particularly I assume when it comes to HN readers, really do care about their work. For example there's plenty of times I'll work more hours than I technically have to because I want to, and so if I were to take drugs to help that, it wouldn't neccesarily be a case of "get a new job". Incidentally I do smoke, because I enjoy it more than I care about the health risks right now.
Tossrock 15y ago
Actually, modafinil is practically tasteless, which I would say is objectively better than the bitter taste of coffee. Of course, it's possible to train yourself to enjoy that bitter taste through operant conditioning, but it's not really a "better" taste.
- gwern 15y ago
  Or you could drink tea, which is tasty, and then you also get both caffeine and theanine.
  - randallsquared 15y ago
    Except that tea tastes terrible, and adding creamer and saccharine doesn't improve it as much as it does coffee. ;)
    - gwern 15y ago
      Creamer? You must be some sort of godforsaken English tea drinker - if you have good green or oolong tea, you don't need to adulterate it with anything.

3 ms·

Err, nope, coffee is pretty popular. The differences between coffee and modafinil are: coffee tastes better, modafinil does the same job for longer with less s

by JulianMorrison 15y ago

Err, nope, coffee is pretty popular. The differences between coffee and modafinil are: coffee tastes better, modafinil does the same job for longer with less side effects.

w1ntermute 15y ago
Popularity is a poor way to judge whether or not something is good for you. If you went back in time 60 years and asked someone whether inhaling large quantities of carcinogenic gases was a bad idea, they'd say "Err, nope, cigarettes are pretty popular" too.
- corin_ 15y ago
  I think that his point was that you wouldn't walk around the office pointing at everyone with a cup of coffee and saying "that crosses the line". In reply to your original comment - for work you don't care about, I'd agree with you, but plenty of people who do stuff like this, particularly I assume when it comes to HN readers, really do care about their work. For example there's plenty of times I'll work more hours than I technically have to because I want to, and so if I were to take drugs to help that, it wouldn't neccesarily be a case of "get a new job". Incidentally I do smoke, because I enjoy it more than I care about the health risks right now.
Tossrock 15y ago
Actually, modafinil is practically tasteless, which I would say is objectively better than the bitter taste of coffee. Of course, it's possible to train yourself to enjoy that bitter taste through operant conditioning, but it's not really a "better" taste.
- gwern 15y ago
  Or you could drink tea, which is tasty, and then you also get both caffeine and theanine.
  - randallsquared 15y ago
    Except that tea tastes terrible, and adding creamer and saccharine doesn't improve it as much as it does coffee. ;)
    - gwern 15y ago
      Creamer? You must be some sort of godforsaken English tea drinker - if you have good green or oolong tea, you don't need to adulterate it with anything.