Is there any evidence that drugs can actually help programmers produce “better” code? [closed]

Question

I just read this quote from Steve Jobs:

"Doing LSD was one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life."

Also a quote from that article:

He was hardly alone among computer scientists in his appreciation of hallucinogenics and their capacity to liberate human thought from the prison of the mind.

Although I am aware of the fact that Jobs was not a programmer, this quote got me thinking if there's any evidence to support the theory that drugs can help make a "better" programmer.

• Has there ever been a study where programmers have been given drugs to see if they could produce "better" code?
• Is there a well-known programming concept or piece of code which originated from people who were on drugs?

EDIT

So I did a little more research and it turns out Dennis R. Wier actually documented how he took LSD to wrap his head around a coding project:

At one point in the project I could not get an overall viewpoint for the operation of the entire system. It really was too much for my brain to keep all the subtle aspects and processing nuances clear so I could get a processing and design overview. After struggling with this problem for a few weeks, I decided to use a little acid to see if it would enable a breakthrough, because otherwise, I would not be able to complete the project and be certain of a consistent overall design[1]

There is also an interesting article on wired about Kevin Herbet, who used LSD to solve tough technical problems and chemist Kary Mullis even said

"...that LSD had helped him develop the polymerase chain reaction that helps amplify specific DNA sequences." [2]

EDIT 2

Sadly the question was closed again but there was a great discussion on HackerNews.

From HN user pchivers:

From what I understand there is only one study on the relationship between creativity and LSD: Psychedelic agents in creative problem-solving: a pilot study. Harman WW, McKim RH, Mogar RE, Fadiman J, Stolaroff MJ. Psychol Rep. 1966 Aug;19(1):211-27. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelics_in_problem-solving... The results suggested that LSD has a positive effect on creative problem solving. I think it is a shame that no follow-up experiments have been conducted.

Answer 1

I wouldn't show up to work while under the influence of cannabis, and certainly the last thing I would like to do while high would be write code or do anything work-related, but from personal experience I can't deny that some drugs have the ability to make you think different than you would when sober, and some people definitely might take advantage (or inspiration) from that and apply it to something like programming.

I guess it depends not only on the drug, but also the way the person reacts to it.

Answer 2

I've programmed more productively under the influence of alcohol before. Point and case. (And yes, alchohol is indeed a drug.)

Alternatively, when I have a headache, I take drugs to alleviate them. An example drug is acetaminophen (which you can buy over the counter at your local drug store; just don't give it to your cat). Programming headache free definitely improves the quality of my code.

Answer 3

Taking recreational drugs at some point of your life, might change the view you have on the word. But this will not make you a better programmer.

And for sure, you will not produce quality software, if you will be writing it in altered mind state (drunken, stoned, high, tired, sleepy, angry, depressed, dazzled, etc). Moreover, imagine, if the code being developed is life critical - health, defense, airspace, automotive - what kind of irresponsible person would be coding such stuff without having a clear mind ?

p.s.: though, anyone, who honestly says i code better after a beer or two, requires a reality check.

p.p.s: steve jobs was not a programmer at all. neither was Kary Mullis, or Dennis R. Wier.

p.p.p.s: english language has ambiguity with the word drugs. I don't see references to its other meaning (medicine) in the original question, so my answer ignores this meaning.