

Brain-Doping at the Lab Bench - kkleiner
http://singularityhub.com/2009/04/20/brain-doping-at-the-lab-bench/

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anigbrowl
It's a perennial issue, but not a very important one. Fears that 'I'll be left
behind if I don't take xxxxx because everyone else is' are overblown, and
balanced by fears of 'I'm only productive because I take cocaine, maybe I
actually suck' or whatever.

I've always liked recreational drugs, and a little boost at a critical moment
can enhance work; but since one's body quickly develops a tolerance it's not
compatible with any long-term work consumption (as many have found to their
cost). Many (most?) articles about drugs posit some kind of linear
relationship between the input and output, whereas the reality is nonlinear
dynamic system with a complex feedback loop.

Thus, I love a big mug of coffee every morning, but it's not so much that it
makes me super-productive as I get a bit slow and crabby on the days when I
skip my coffee. It doesn't give me any edge over a non-coffee drinker. On the
other hand I don't get a caffeine hangover or crash, which would be a risk
with a more potent drug if I took it regularly.

Anyway...the article assumes there's only one kind of enhancement. A good
scientist or engineer is just as likely to have a brekthrough idea while
decompressing on the weekend with a beer or a fattie, as when sitting at their
work station. Same reason many people get their best ideas while walking,
soaking in the tub, or whatever.

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rms
This post is kind of confusing because it starts off with someone else's April
Fool's joke.

This article from Nature discusses some of the ethical issues here rather
well: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/13134612/Naturrecom456702a>

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k0n2ad
I see a possibility of companies marketing drugs such as Ritalin and Provigil
as "cognitive enhancers." I mean, caffeine is powerful CNS stimulant as it is
and it's completely unregulated. So what's to stop a drug company from making
an analogue to Ritalin, or a lighter dose of Ritalin and marketing it as a
brain booster? Selling it OTC? Given that the FDA is already having enough
trouble regulating areas such as the energy drink/supplement market - all the
different concoctions of caffeine, ginseng, ginkgo (and tons of other herbal
supplements) are readily available to 12 year olds. I'm curious and a bit
concerned at the prospects.

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chris11
While I wouldn't say that drug makers are marketing stimulants to the healthy,
I would say that they are not differentiating enough between medical use and
use for cognitive enhancement.

It seems like the drugs are being marketed as a way to improve life, not just
a way to treat a pathological illness. The difference may be subtle, but it is
there. Advertisements usually show a kid's life changed for the better,
whether it is making more friends, or getting better grades. These are
probably all accurate. But everyone has had these problems to some extent. And
these ads don't really differentiate between symptoms of an illness, and
symptoms caused by some other problem, and viewers can't really tell the
difference themselves. So these drugs are somewhat being marketed as a brain
booster.

~~~
asciilifeform
<http://yarchive.net/med/lifestyle_drugs.html>

