News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Hackers and Caffeine by abalashov on Monday September 07, 2009 @11:56PM (#810237)
I wonder if smoking prevalence among "hackers" is higher than in general population (about 20% aggregate in the US) and over standard deviation over the mean.

Anecdotally and completely unscientifically, my experiences suggest yes, first and foremost as a former smoker who tended to take notice of the distribution of professionals who also took smoke breaks in the half a dozen or so places I worked in three years. Seems like the same sorts of tendencies that make nerds responsive to caffeine probably apply to stimulants in general, especially noting the long-held poetic association between creative, focus-based tasks and tobacco. I also know more than my fair share of ADD types (in a noticeably classical kind of way) who sincerely regard it as a form of viable self-medication.

Re:Hackers and Caffeine by pavelludiq on Tuesday September 08, 2009 @12:22PM (#811306)
I started smoking because of the boredom and frustration of high school. After that nightmare ended i had to re-rationalize smoking and i ended up doing that by telling myself that it has a positive effect on my concentration in a combo with caffeine. Im not sure if it really is so, or is it me just trying to rationalize my stupid addictions.