[symlinkk]

Everyone on here says they have ADHD so they can get access to Adderall which is sort of a cheat code for programming. Some people do this genuinely believing they’re suffering from some disorder, others do it knowing they would be fine without it but better with it.

[thebigspacefuck]

Imo stims aren’t really a cheat code to programming, ADHD itself is a cheat code to programming and stims help you with all the other stuff ADHD messes up for you.

[greengoo]

I think many people do genuinely have ADHD and benefit from medication, but denying that Adderall abuse is rampant in Silicon Valley (which IMO is what whoever downvoted you is implicitly doing) is silly. This was even portrayed on the show Silicon Valley, and Scott Alexander (the slatestarcodex guy), who has written about Adderall at length, and confirmed its widespread use as a performance enhancer by those who don't have any legitimate medical need for it.

[greengoo]

I don't see why this was downvoted as well; is it seriously controversial to suggest that a substantial number of people without ADHD are taking Adderall as a cognitive performance enhancer?

https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/12/28/adderall-risks-much-mo...

>I didn’t realize how much of a psychiatrist’s time was spent gatekeeping Adderall.

>The human brain wasn’t built for accounting or software engineering. A few lucky people can do these things ten hours a day, every day, with a smile. The rest of us start fidgeting and checking our cell phone somewhere around the thirty minute mark. I work near the financial district of a big city, so every day a new Senior Regional Manipulator Of Tiny Numbers comes in and tells me that his brain must be broken because he can’t sit still and manipulate tiny numbers as much as he wants. How come this is so hard for him, when all of his colleagues can work so diligently?

The entire piece is worth reading.