Nyan cat, Psytrance, Meditation, Programming

My highest score at nyan.cat was achieved when programming. I was at work and struggling to get much done. Then I put on nyan cat and within a few hours I had resolved several issues. I guessed it might be helping because it occupied the part of my brain that usually would be free to distract me by generating unrelated thoughts.

I also like to listen to psytrance music when programming. I thought it was good because it is simple and repetitive, so unlikely to be distracting. It’s also fast and good for keeping me awake for long hacking sessions.

Meditation also can help to clear the mind of unwanted thoughts and aid concentration. I think this state of focus is what some programmers call flow.

I suspect now that trance music and meditation probably produce similar mental states, which aid concentration and getting things done. I therefore recommend that offices should play repetitive music such as nyan cat to boost productivity and increase morale. :) I also recommend hacking at psytrance parties.