this post was submitted on 18 May 2024
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https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.10002

Abstract (emphasis mine):

The concept of a 'Ballmer Peak' was first proposed in 2007, postulating that there exists a very specific blood alcohol content which confers superhuman programming ability. More generally, there is a commonly held belief among software engineers that coding is easier and more productive after a few drinks. Using the industry standard for assessment of coding ability, we conducted a search for such a peak and more generally investigated the effect of different amounts of alcohol on performance. We conclusively refute the existence of a specific peak with large magnitude, but with p < 0.001 find that there was a significant positive effect to a low amount of alcohol - slightly less than two drinks - on programming ability.

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[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

In my experience I can write more code after a few drinks. However I usually find that the code is of low quality when I check it the next day…

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Really? I've written code so advanced while drunk that I couldn't even understand it the next day, but it did what it was supposed to do and solved complex issues.

[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

If you can’t understand it, is it high quality?

[–] Anticorp@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I have no idea! But it looked very complicated and advanced, and did what it was supposed to do. LOL

[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

I mean maybe that just means you were bad at naming which is the hardest part! When I’m sober I spend a lot of thought on naming things, and when it gets skipped over while drunk I’m just like wtf did I write?

[–] exocrinous@startrek.website 2 points 6 months ago

So you're saying you can't write readable code while drunk