Vanilla 1.1.9 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.
1 to 26 of 26
+1 Will Jagy.
+1 Will
Ditto. Definitely not acceptable (and libelous if it comes from anyone but the user).
(Since it seems this will not become an actual question I put this here...) We can read in Littlewood's Miscellany the paragraph he wrote about how smoking is detrimental for doing mathematics.
@geraldedgar: Could you elaborate where exactly you read this in that book. I just searched for 'smoking' in it, and the only thing I found by doing so is in my opinion not really, to put it mildly, in line with what you claim Littlewood is saying. [He is describing a 'fatuous experiment' that included to give-up smoking, and it was quickly abandoned.] So, at least this paragraph to me rather suggest the opposite (for him, individually).
p.s. I do not wish to promote smoking. The sole goal is to have correct attributions of opinions.
p.p.s. I agree that this subject is unsuitable for MO.
In Pi there was no substance abuse. He suffered from migraines, while it is true he used copious amounts of medicine somewhats, it is not even closed to hinted that there was anything illegal about it.
@Asaf, "substance abuse" doesn't imply the substance is illegal. You can go overboard drinking coffee or taking aspirin -- the most likely result of the abuse would be a stomache ulcer.
IMO the question just isn't a good question for MO. All kinds of people abuse drugs, and mathematicians are not special in this regard. You could similarly ask which mathematicians have speeding tickets, or who've gone through multiple divorces, or which mathematicans suffered abnormally from acne as teenagers... These just aren't relevant questions.
@Ryan: Seeing how you put it, we all abuse oxygen... :-)
So, it seems you've answered your own question, Zeeshan. :-)
Although I still think it should not be an MO question, I actually find the question interesting. I have strong reason to believe that one of my undergraduate professors took cocaine specifically to enhance his mathematical thinking, although I would not dare name him. Numerous mathematicians have indulged in marijuana and LSD, but again, I wouldn't dare name anyone who had not gone public about that fact.
I suspect the influence is far less than individual anecdotes might suggest. ("For want of a nail, the battle was lost" -- actually, to be fair, the Stanley brothers switching sides probably had a greater effect.) It may even be comparable to the effect of fruit on mathematics, i.e. limited to a few fun stories.
The problem here seems to be an absence of a "control" for this thought experiment...
@Steven: sure, but eating a balanced diet, being in good physical health, getting regular exercise, these are all far less controversial things that help one do mathematics. Killing other mathematicians and eating their brains might be another way to get mathematical inspiration. It's not clear that latter topic or the drugs topic really deserves an MO thread.
@Zeeshan: regarding the movie "Limitless," I suspect the reason they didn't investigate any interesting ideas is because that movie was marketed to 14-year-old moronic thugs. That was one of the worst movies I've ever seen -- and I've seen a lot of really bad movies!
Regarding openness, I think a lot of researchers are pretty open about these types of things. That does not mean this topic is appropriate for MO -- I think perhaps you have the wrong idea of what this forum is about. There's a big difference between relaying a personal anecdote to a friend (or having it in your personal biography) compared with putting it up on an internet forum which Google encourages everyone on the planet to read. Also, this topic strays way too far over the gossip vs. mathematics content line.
In view of Ryan's response to Steven I just would like to mention that neither would I be in favor of having an MO question on mathematicians eating a balanced diet, mathematicians being in good physical health, mathematicians getting regular exercise.
And, somthing else: there are statements to the extent, I could not produce a reference but I am certain to have read or seen this, that Erdős was not so happy regarding the popularization of this matter, mainly on the grounds that he was worried to set a bad example.
+1 gilkalai. Vote to close this thread.
Still not appropriate - this is now just prurient. Why not start a blog and ask there, if the question holds that much interest for you?
I wonder if professional mathematician uses recreational drugs in their work for muse
Yes: in many cases, caffeine. Voting to close (+1 gilkalai and Noah Snyder)
Closing now.
1 to 26 of 26