the Greater Nomadic Council

1200mg of caffine in one day is way too much. Of course, there are reasons other than caffine to stay away from cokes (people who can't figure out why they are fat should look past the salad they're eating and into the caramel drink they ordered). I probably have around 200mgs on days that I study, and that will get me through eight hours in a chair.

See here for caffine info.

Yeah, it's too much, but people like their socially accepted drug addictions. Balzac was a coffee freak, btw. He would gradually increase his doses while working on a novel until he was (at one point) swallowing balls of ground coffee whole, an experiment he didn't repeat. :) See:

The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee

NOOOOO, Mike! Keep the faith! Be strong! For the love of god, are you a poet, or a mouse?

I'm a longtime devotee of coffee in its more basic forms. It's truly a gateway drug, and a wonderful one at that. I've just discovered espresso, believe it or not, and of course that kind of thing inevitably leads to others. I LOVE the sensation of having more energy than I know what to do with, I love the focus a good coffee buzz gives me, and I rarely, as was observed, experience any kind of pronounced come-down - just a return to the level of energy I would have been stuck with for a few extra hours if it were not for the wonders of coffee.

Ritalin is also great. Anyone know where to get some?

And in related news, my friends recently acquired a coffee table made entirely out of mirrors. As you might imagine, the party over there is most definitely on.

Heavy coffee use is bad for you. I'm one of those who thinks our bodies and minds function the best when kept healthy, in-shape, and regularly unencumbered by drugs. That's not to say I think occasional drug use is detrimental (legal or illegal), but regular use is. It's just much harder to regularly exercise and sleep well than to drink a pot of coffee every day.

Besides, aren't poets supposed to be iconoclasts? :)

As for Ritalin, there's evidence that it increases IQ test scores in adults. I would imagine that's a result of temporarily increasing focus, though, yet another thing that you can train yourself to be capable of. Chess and reading difficult books are both particularly good for increasing focus and concentration.

Well, I exercise regularly, sleep well (avg 7-8 hours a night, which may be below the "recommended" 9hrs, but whatever), and eat very little red meat, fast food, etc. Coffee isn't to help me get through the day - I'm perfectly capable of that. And it's not necessarily a focus thing, either - writing, unlike how I imagine chess, is not a meticulous, careful process, it's an activity posited on energy and enthusiasm, which a little jolt seems to help me tap into. That little extra boost makes me feel like I've been handed a ball of magical force by a benevolent deity, and given complete freedom to direct it in whatever direction, or to whatever purpose, I choose.

Ahh.. how pretty. :) Caffeine in doses larger than one cup tends to impair my ability to read, write, or concentrate in general. I usually do my best writing just after waking up or just before going to sleep, too, so a lot of energy doesn't seem to be essential for me.

Interesting. Reminds me of our conversation about the divergent effects of that old mary jane on different persons. I'd be interested to hear Scott weigh in on the effects of caffein on him.

Also, I got the impression you were giving up caffeine for health reasons - bah. But if it really interferes with your writing, then by all means, kick it to the curb with my blessing.

I'm not giving up caffeine. I've just been hooked on it too many times to know what it does to/for me. The benefits don't outweigh the costs so I'm cutting back. It has nothing to do with writing, just my general sense of health. My biggest predictor of writing output is my rate of reading. The more poetry I read, the more I write. When I take a break and don't read any for a while, my writing output declines as well.

If it's mainly a health thing, you might want to do some research. My understanding (thanks mostly to The Straight Dope) is that it's not been conclusively proven that coffee can be firmly linked to any health risks. Of course, as big an apologist for coffee as me would be expected to say as much.

Well, I'm not worried about any long term health effects. I'm largely in the experimental phase still now anyways. If it doesn't have any effect on my energy level, then I may just go back to drinking coffee all the time. dunno...

It hasn't been firmly proven that smoking cigs has anything to do with lung cancer either. (According to at least one study, where lung cancer death rates are much lower per capita in China than in America, but China's per capita smoking rate is much higher. I would link to the study if I knew where it was.)

Things that make you go "hmmmm."

Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, do whiskey, cigarettes, and espresso make you feel good, and you know what? They make me feel GREAT.

So nyeh.

hahaha...wait a minute; I was just responding to your invokation of a scientific study with one that reached an absurd conclusion.

Either way, I have no strong opinion on the topic, other than this: moderation rocks!

Coffee (the only drink I consume with high caffeine content) is primarily a social drug for me. It adds a bit of excitement into conversation and it tastes great. For an activity requiring concentration like working or writing or chess, one cup can be useful--it gives me an extra energy boost while also relaxing me since I associate it with good times. But it increases the liklihood of distraction. Two cups is too much to go along with any work-related activity (for me). I'm really not much of a coffee drinker (I don't drink it in the morning or within 5 hours before I go to bed) even though it is hands down my favorite drug.