I figure this forum is full of people from wide and varying fields so I thought we could get some interesting views on this. Firstly I want to state that I'm not talking about steroids or any kind of physical enhancers, purely things that would act in such a way as to aid the memorisation of information, or cause the brain to process faster or focus better etc. I'm currently doing a law degree, and I do OK, near the top of my class, and I have other outside involvements etc, but I like to strive to do more, and do it better, when some one mentioned the idea of cognitive enhancing drugs. They already give drugs that might have this effect to kids with ADHD etc to help them focus. So I though, well if it can help a kid with attention issues, it should turn a normal mind into something razor sharp. There are a few people who support this views including Henry Greely of Stanford Law School and Barbara Sahakian at the Department of Psychiatry (I think) at Cambridge. They argue for greater research into this area, and to make these kinds of drugs available to the public for general use. We live in a time of information overload and high pressure to achieve, and I have no problem with that, or that some people want to enhance themselves, or find a better edge, its all about survival in your environment at the end of the day. Anyway, I'm just wondering what people think about this, or if anyone has any experience in this field.
Actually I was reading some where (will try to find it) that fish oil (I assume you mean Omega 3 or 6) only works on young people during the time when the brain is being developed but not in adults when the brain structure is complete.
I've seen it works on depressive people as well but you might be right, or the difference is more noticeable at least. It's good for the body as well if you're not eating tons of fish each week
99% of people are nowhere near reaching their capacity for learning. Most people can only read at ~300 words per minute for God's sake. Taking learning enhancing drugs for most people would be like a couch potato taking steroids.
I have no idea if that's good or bad I'm afraid. I can ready pretty quickly but I have no idea how quickly, although reading Moby Dick feels like really slow going lol. Also, it must depend on what your reading, and whether it is familiar, and the level of comprehension required. For example I can read a fictional story very quickly, but read my law text books much slower, and would probably read my friends medical text even slower again. Skim reading and scanning I don't count as "reading" because you're only searching for keywords and it doesn't require you to comprehend what you are reading.
300 words/minute is what most people read fiction at with barely passable comprehension. It is perfectly possible for most people to read fiction at over 1000 words/minute with very good comprehension if they practice reading. Reading is a skill, but most people stop learning that skill at about 10 years of age. Learning enhancing drugs will no more help you learn that skill than steroids will teach you how to do a Zercher squat. If, when you read, you 'say' the words in your head, you're rubbish at reading and since reading is a major component of learning, you're also rubbish at learning.
Can you elaborate on this? Are you saying when you read text, your not supposed to hear the words in your head?
Yes. If you sound out the words in your head, then you can only read as fast as you can talk, which is fine when you're five years old, but severely limiting when you're an adult.
Ok i get what you mean, makes sense, but whats your definition of sounding words out? like breaking them down syllable by syllable? to help pronounce and figure out the word? Because i know when i read, i hear the words in my head, sounds weird not to... However i can count the number of books iv read cover to cover on one hand. But i do not consider my self a "Slow" reader.
"hearing" the words in your head doesn't necessarily take the same amount of time as speaking. Even actual hearing/comprehension of words does not take as long as speaking.
Because taking drugs to enhance mental capacity to give you an advantage is not at all like taking drugs to enhance physical capacity to give you an advantage.
I'm not clear on the original question. Are you asking whether, in our opinion, the taking of nootropics to enhance mental function is a good thing or not?
Still much much much slower than the mind is capable of comprehending. For a start it is impossible to read more than one word at a time when sounding the words in your head.
My main concern with drugs like this is its adverse effects especially if its efficacy has not been determined conclusively. They may be heavily marketed to cure ADHD, Parkinson's disease etc but I doubt if its long-term effects have already been assessed or if these drugs have been tested on healthy individuals. I have to agree with Holyheadjch that "Taking learning enhancing drugs for most people would be like a couch potato taking steroids. "
This is actually a major problem in US universities. Kids who were diagnosed with ADHD can make a lot of money selling their pills (I think Aderal is the most popular right now) to other kids as study aids. It is basically speed...it focuses attention, helps with memory retention, and reduces the need for sleep. Perfect for a kid pulling an all-nighter before a midterm.
Depending on the drugs, they can have some debilitating side-effects. For example Ritalin can do anything from turn you into a vegetable to turning you psychotic to killing you outright. Setting aside the question of whether that drug is too dangerous to use at all, I would certainly say it is far too dangerous to use when there is no need for it.
But what about the kid who has been working his ass off, and also using? It is pretty analogous to performance enhancing drugs in sport I think in really competitive environment (e.g., med school).
