HN Explorer

Ask HN: Can You Code Under the Influence of Alcohol?

10 points by donniefitz2 ↗ HN
I can't code while buzzed/drunk, so I avoid drinking at all if I'm going to do any work at night.

But recently I was talking to a co-worker who told me he can crank out even more code with a buzz. So, can you code after a few drinks?

21 comments

[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 59.6 ms ] thread
Animus7
I actually find it makes my hacking about twice as productive. When I tune out all of the other things going on in my head, the only thing left is a brainstem that's quite optimized for the C++ pointer twiddling tedium that fills my nights.
donniefitz2
I once worked at the Microsoft Technology Center in Mountain View for a week and they had beer. They told me I could have one whenever, so I had a few Killian's and I was useless after about 2 or 3.

Interesting how others seem to benefit from it.

mmaunder
Yes. I find it harder to code with good music (i.e. distracting music) than after 2 glasses of wine. But I'll never deploy until I review the next morning and it gets tested and OK'd. I also throw away a lot of code, no matter what condition I was when I wrote it.

2 glasses of wine is my max though. After that it's hard to balance on the exercise ball and I have to transition to the lazyboy.

haploid
Absolutely. The effect rapidly turns to disaster after a certain BAC, though. My personal Ballmer's Peak is more like an inverse sigmoid curve.
FirstHopSystems
Everyone can code when buzzed/drunk. I guess the point is "can you code well?" Drunk folks can drive, except they tend to run into/kill people pretty often.
SamReidHughes
I'm glad you helped out all the socially deficient people who were confused by this submission.
roversoccer18
I find that I am able to code a more rapid speed, when under the influence, but if I go pass a certain point the quality of my code drop significantly.
bo_Olean
I once wrote Pacman in one go with few shots, but i myself don't understand the code well now, it still runs though.

Yes. Often, I start from scratch and not with existing code/project.

mahmud
3-4 beers in, that's when I actually get creative and make interesting stuff.

Programming ability UP, debugging ability waaay down though :-|

I spit out 3 pages of amazing jquery that turns a <div /> into an organism, but I was totally axed by a rogue semicolon somewhere in the middle.

bartonfink
Was it one you wrote or was it one that the interpreter inserted to "help?"
niktrix
working boozed increases productivity
anarchitect
I wish I could, but that side of my brain shuts down after more than one drink.
Sloven
My brain works better next day.
lenary
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. it depends on the alcohol, how much and other external factors like my levels of motivation or tiredness.

It would be clichéd to say that some of my best work was done drunk, but i'd also like to point out that some of my worst has been done when drunk too.

metachris
I get less effective with every beer, and after two or three my ability to concentrate significantly decreases. I switched to non-alcoholic beer recently : )
albox
Everything seems easier with alcohol. :)
peacemaker
For me it all depends on what I'm doing. If it's something that needs a bit of a creative spark, one or two beers tends to help that process. If it's more of a complex/mathematical type problem I need to be completely sober and in total silence!