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Wait, what? I've never felt any of those effects from smoking, and I made sure to inhale deeply. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Are there people who are genetically

Wait, what? I've never felt any of those effects from smoking, and I made sure to inhale deeply. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Are there people who are genetically unable to get the high?

quantdev 9y ago
That's very strange that you've never felt stimulation or increased focus from nicotine! It's possible that you have some genetic variation that causes that or it's possible you're just not self aware, but I couldn't say which. For an incredible overview of the benefits and harms of nicotine, see Gwen: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine
- k__ 9y ago
  Same here. Never got into smoking tobacco or weed, both just made me feel bad.
- smokethrowaway 9y ago
  This ... is truly a bizarre revelation. I had no idea people actually got such physical pleasure and stimulation from smoking. [1] I guess it's one of those things that's so obvious no one actually says it. If you think about it, that benefit is never mentioned in debates about smoking and the appropriate government response. I know because I aggressively scour for such upsides, being the "hipster contrarian". Had I known about the pleasure and stimulation of smoking[3], you can bet I would bring it up every time! Reminds me of "What Universal Human Experiences Are You Missing Without Realizing It?" [2] Now you might ask, "Did it never seem strange to you that people would suck this disgusting tar into their lungs if it didn't at least feel good or something?" Well, no. IME, people indulge in a lot of BS without obvious explanation. For example, people claim to like the taste of alcohol[ic drinks], and that is outright ridiculous -- or so I thought, but it was another case of [2]. Also, modern art. My model of smokers was roughly that, they start doing it to look cool, and then get hooked, so that they have to smoke to fend off the pain of withdrawal. I didn't think the act could feel good itself! Now that I think about it, people don't mention the good feeling of other drugs in debates about them either. For alcohol, I had a good explanation: those benefits are taboo, and people use the purported taste and refinement of their "fave bev" as "intellectual covering fire" for what they really want, the alcohol high. In conclusion, the phenomenon in [2] is serious business! [1] See, for example, the responses to this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569775 [2] http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-ex... [3] Incidentally, I read Bostrom's Superintelligence, where he mentions writing the book while being powered by caffeine and nicotine, but I wrote that off (like most purported benefits of smoking) as psychosomatic.
  - quantdev 9y ago
    I'm glad you had a revelation and took it so well. Although maybe not as extreme as you, I also used to think nicotine/cigarettes had almost no benefits and was surprised to learn otherwise. I'll go so far as to say as nicotine is quite possibly the most successful nootropic, with modafinil a close second.
_acme 9y ago
You're not alone. I've never felt any effects from smoking cigarettes. I think the effects are incredibly minor compared to those of other substances, to the extent there are effects at all.

Wait, what? I've never felt any of those effects from smoking, and I made sure to inhale deeply. Maybe I'm doing it wrong? Are there people who are genetically unable to get the high?

quantdev 9y ago

That's very strange that you've never felt stimulation or increased focus from nicotine! It's possible that you have some genetic variation that causes that or it's possible you're just not self aware, but I couldn't say which. For an incredible overview of the benefits and harms of nicotine, see Gwen: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine

k__ 9y ago
Same here. Never got into smoking tobacco or weed, both just made me feel bad.
smokethrowaway 9y ago
This ... is truly a bizarre revelation. I had no idea people actually got such physical pleasure and stimulation from smoking. [1] I guess it's one of those things that's so obvious no one actually says it. If you think about it, that benefit is never mentioned in debates about smoking and the appropriate government response. I know because I aggressively scour for such upsides, being the "hipster contrarian". Had I known about the pleasure and stimulation of smoking[3], you can bet I would bring it up every time! Reminds me of "What Universal Human Experiences Are You Missing Without Realizing It?" [2] Now you might ask, "Did it never seem strange to you that people would suck this disgusting tar into their lungs if it didn't at least feel good or something?" Well, no. IME, people indulge in a lot of BS without obvious explanation. For example, people claim to like the taste of alcohol[ic drinks], and that is outright ridiculous -- or so I thought, but it was another case of [2]. Also, modern art. My model of smokers was roughly that, they start doing it to look cool, and then get hooked, so that they have to smoke to fend off the pain of withdrawal. I didn't think the act could feel good itself! Now that I think about it, people don't mention the good feeling of other drugs in debates about them either. For alcohol, I had a good explanation: those benefits are taboo, and people use the purported taste and refinement of their "fave bev" as "intellectual covering fire" for what they really want, the alcohol high. In conclusion, the phenomenon in [2] is serious business! [1] See, for example, the responses to this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14569775 [2] http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-ex... [3] Incidentally, I read Bostrom's Superintelligence, where he mentions writing the book while being powered by caffeine and nicotine, but I wrote that off (like most purported benefits of smoking) as psychosomatic.
- quantdev 9y ago
  I'm glad you had a revelation and took it so well. Although maybe not as extreme as you, I also used to think nicotine/cigarettes had almost no benefits and was surprised to learn otherwise. I'll go so far as to say as nicotine is quite possibly the most successful nootropic, with modafinil a close second.

_acme 9y ago

You're not alone. I've never felt any effects from smoking cigarettes. I think the effects are incredibly minor compared to those of other substances, to the extent there are effects at all.