My 'smart drugs' nightmare
bbc.co.uk
My 'smart drugs' nightmare
1–10 of 55 posts
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#2Productivity is the new fascism.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#3"The following day, a train journey presented what I expected to be a perfect opportunity to get some work done with the aid of a smart pill. I was wrong.
I became distracted - more so than normal. While the drug made me focus, it was on the wrong things - such as playing video games on my smartphone."
That's because of something called the Yerkes-Dodson curve which basically says if your body is not aroused enough then your performance decreases, and if it's overly aroused then you can't focus on anything. This applies to well-learned tasks or other things that depend mostly on cognitive abilities (differently shaped for different types of tasks). It sounds like the author didn't need to take modafinil because he was already good at concentrating on things and taking it just put him on the far end of the curve and destroyed his performance.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#4This isn't a drug you just jump right into. If you're interested in nootropics, it's smarter to test the waters with simple stuff like choline (preferably in the form of citicoline of alpha GPC) and ALCAR (acetyl L-Carnitine), then slowly considering a racetam like piracetam or noopept.
You need to know how you respond to the easy stuff first. This guy jumped right into the deep end without looking.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#5Anecdote: I also experimented with modafinil and found that though it made me more energetic physically, it was just as likely to distract me as it was to help me focus.
Upon reflection about how poorly sleep/wakefulness/daydreaming is understood, I decided that I didn't want to guinea-pig myself with biological forces out of my depth.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#6The Author says he got a headache and other problems that are most likely side effects. But I assume you shouldn't order your drugs online AND oversea.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#7Man takes prescription drug for the first time. He discovers that he has most of the side effects and does not like his experience.
News at 11
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#8Taking Modafinil for funzies is a bad idea, but this doesn't rise to the level of "nightmare."
Unless you have nightmares about developing a rash and getting a poor night's sleep.
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#9Does modafinil even improve cognitive performance compared to being well-rested?
Re: My 'smart drugs' nightmare
#10Man takes prescription drug for the first time. He discovers that he has most of the side effects and does not like his experience. News at 11
Yup, basically. Headline was way overstated.