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I agree. I would say that I am addicted to caffeine. I definitely get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have a coffee. But since it is so accessible and there are

by tim-kt 7mo ago

I agree. I would say that I am addicted to caffeine. I definitely get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have a coffee. But since it is so accessible and there are no health risks, it does not affect me negatively to "feed" the addiction.

cactusplant7374 7mo ago
Tyler Cowen has said that he doesn't drink coffee and he is worried about what it might be doing to us. There is a big unknown.
- Kurtz79 7mo ago
  I admit that I don't know who Tyler Cowen is, but millions (billions?) of people have drunk coffee daily for centuries and if there were ill effects in the same ballpark as opioids or tobacco by now we would certainly know?
  - donkey_brains 7mo ago
    Hey, let’s not discount the opinion of some internet guy just because of the lived experience of the rest of humanity throughout history. /s
    - cactusplant7374 7mo ago
      That's an attack on HN comments in general.
  - BurningFrog 7mo ago
    There is even a decent chance that the Industrial Revolution and the phenomenal wealth and progress it's brought was caused by the introduction of coffee to Europe.
- switchbak 7mo ago
  A professor of economics has opinions on the health effects of an extremely common substance? And I have opinions on nuclear energy - but neither of us are worth listening to outside our areas of expertise. Unless you can supply a reason I would bother listening to him as compared to an actual expert on the subject?
- jmye 7mo ago
  > There is a big unknown. Because some dude with no health or nutrition background said uninformed things, that he isn't qualified to have opinions about, on the internet? Come on, now.
- zoklet-enjoyer 7mo ago
  Why should I care what an economist's opinion is on coffee consumption?
mrbluecoat 7mo ago
Not a great analogy. Caffeine is not as addictive as opioids. Opioids strongly stimulate the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, leading to intense euphoria, compulsive use, and severe health and social harm.

by tim-kt 7mo ago

cactusplant7374 7mo ago

Tyler Cowen has said that he doesn't drink coffee and he is worried about what it might be doing to us. There is a big unknown.

Kurtz79 7mo ago
I admit that I don't know who Tyler Cowen is, but millions (billions?) of people have drunk coffee daily for centuries and if there were ill effects in the same ballpark as opioids or tobacco by now we would certainly know?
- donkey_brains 7mo ago
  Hey, let’s not discount the opinion of some internet guy just because of the lived experience of the rest of humanity throughout history. /s
  - cactusplant7374 7mo ago
    That's an attack on HN comments in general.
- BurningFrog 7mo ago
  There is even a decent chance that the Industrial Revolution and the phenomenal wealth and progress it's brought was caused by the introduction of coffee to Europe.
switchbak 7mo ago
A professor of economics has opinions on the health effects of an extremely common substance? And I have opinions on nuclear energy - but neither of us are worth listening to outside our areas of expertise. Unless you can supply a reason I would bother listening to him as compared to an actual expert on the subject?
jmye 7mo ago
> There is a big unknown. Because some dude with no health or nutrition background said uninformed things, that he isn't qualified to have opinions about, on the internet? Come on, now.
zoklet-enjoyer 7mo ago
Why should I care what an economist's opinion is on coffee consumption?

mrbluecoat 7mo ago

Not a great analogy. Caffeine is not as addictive as opioids. Opioids strongly stimulate the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, leading to intense euphoria, compulsive use, and severe health and social harm.