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comment by halinc
halinc  ·  4114 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: 10 Geniuses Who Used Drugs -- And Their Drugs of Choice | Alternet

These are fun to read. I suspect part of this is because I tend to think of illicit drug use as a time sink or worse, and realizing that a capital-G great person managed to be so influential in spite of a 'bad' habit emphasizes their brilliance.

The idea that greatness can come from drug use is even more alluring. In some of these cases I think the author may be reaching. Watson's friend told some guy who then told a British tabloid that he credits LSD with the discovery of the double helix? I'm not denying the value of a psychedelic experience, but you don't have to play telephone to support its existence.

The anecdote about Erdös' wager was pretty funny.