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Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

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Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#91

Post by LPTS »

josefresco wrote: post #71
tyn wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder which of the following describes best the downvoter's reasoning: a) The study is flawed, thus it shouldn't be cited b) You misinterpreted the study c) The study is valid but it's bad news for me, so I decided to shoot the messenger.

or d) the messenger was paid to deliver only certain messages, whilst the other messengers were fired/never hired in the first place.

or e) the drivel in this study is an example of winning at propaganda by getting people sucked into superficial debates over the wrong questions, which are formulated to stick in peoples heads on repeated hearing.

Get them asking the wrong questions and the answers don't matter. The assumption coded into the question matters. "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" "Does your drunk driving put your two kids at equal risk?"

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#92

Post by tyn »

josefresco wrote: post #71
tyn wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder which of the following describes best the downvoter's reasoning: a) The study is flawed, thus it shouldn't be cited b) You misinterpreted the study c) The study is valid but it's bad news for me, so I decided to shoot the messenger.

or d) the messenger was paid to deliver only certain messages, whilst the other messengers were fired/never hired in the first place.

By "messenger" I refer to myself (bringing the study to the attention of this thread's readers), it seems that I failed in communicating my point clearly - I'm quite sure you don't imply that I was paid to write this comment:) I admit that it would be better to add 'according to this study' (although there are more, one of them is cited in the article in my link).

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#93

Post by ajkirwin »

tyn wrote: post #34

Marijuana actually impairs memory and learning http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10607

In rats. And nerve cells in a dish. And that's only the neural firing patterns.

There isn't any actual proof that this HAS a detrimental effect. Did they give THC to the rats and then ask them to memorize some information, then quiz them later?

Hell, do that to a few users of cannabis. Then, perhaps, real results will be forthcoming.

Neuroscience is still very new, and a lot of things are ascribed without true understanding, to various actions within the brain. Just take a look at the farce of fMRIs, for instance.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#94

Post by LPTS »

edw519 wrote: post #11

Oh you poor baby! You have trouble reading and writing and 'rithmetic, so you need a little chemical help. You pussy. Get out of cocoon, er I mean school, get a real job, get married. have a couple of kids, get a mortgage and a couple of car payments, raise those kids without worrying too much about the evils around them, visit Mom in her nursing home, do things for others in need, and, if you have time, have a nice…

Your life sounds like it sucks because you did not use the consciousness altering properties of drugs to decide how to meet life on it's own terms and do your work here on earth. Doing drugs while you are young is a great way to avoid becoming this bitter later in life.

You remind me of a slightly more evolved version of those 90 year olds who hate anyone who isn't as repressed and miserable then they are. So you made choices according to the conventional wisdom of your time, your life sucks as a result, and you're getting more and more trapped in your shitty, repeating cycle as the time to get out gets smaller and smaller. You're going to die (tick tock, tick tock), and instead of doing all the unimagined cool stuff you would of dreamed up while using drugs responsibly, you're going to waste all of this beautiful gift that is our fleeting life doing stuff you hate. Each day, you feel it coming, and go through it anyway.

And, to top it off, when you die, you'll think your ascending into heaven, and God, a black woman, will meet you at the gate with dreads and a gold and green cap, and a blunt with 4 grams of hydro in a swisher sweet wrapper, and say "I put all those drugs all over the planet so you could use them to help you be creative enough to invent the future, and you failed to do your part because you were too distracted from the perpetual cycle of maintaining illusions. Fuck you, mon, I'm sending you back as a cockroach. You don't need more then a brainstem, because you never use it anyway. If living as a thoughtless drone in a hivemind was good enough for you this time, that's all you get the next time around." Then, the gates will slam shut, and you'll see God and Sagan and Erdos and Steve Jobs, all taking hits of that blunt, planning the evolution of humanity, and bumping some new Radiohead, while your consciousness gets shunted into the body of a cockroach so you can relive life in a more metaphoric expression of the way you chose to live in your human form.

Sounds less like a problem with people who use drugs and more like a problem with how your choices have sucked, and continue to suck at very deep levels of reality.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#95

Post by Andys »

josefresco wrote: post #2

Wow, an entire article about the benefits of pot and working and no mention from this "Ph.D" about the difference between Indica and Sativa marijuana. For those too lazy to Google it, Sativa (usually grown outdoors) is great for working (think euphoria, and optimism), Indica (usually indoor) is for relaxing at the end of the day and "zoning out". Think 'body high' Those FUD commercials you see with the kids deflated…

I've been surfing the 'net and reading the occasional pot-related article for years and this is the first time I've heard of that.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#96

Post by tyn »

LPTS wrote: post #90
tyn wrote: post #34

Marijuana actually impairs memory and learning http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn10607

Right. We all know that Carl Sagan, as well as most musicians, have horrible memories and suck at learning because drug use fried their brain. Marijuana doesn't impair learning. Stupidity (like this study) impairs learning. Marijuana modulates the way your short term memory works. It does not impair long term memory or recall. The effects of marijuana on short term memory may contribute to creativity by breaking down…

As an occasional user who lives in just 2 hours driving distance from Amsterdam I will be happy to be convinced by what you say (I mean it). Any references?

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#97

Post by DanielBMarkham »

edw519 wrote: post #11

Oh you poor baby! You have trouble reading and writing and 'rithmetic, so you need a little chemical help. You pussy. Get out of cocoon, er I mean school, get a real job, get married. have a couple of kids, get a mortgage and a couple of car payments, raise those kids without worrying too much about the evils around them, visit Mom in her nursing home, do things for others in need, and, if you have time, have a nice…

Let's stop the piling on of edw, okay? Gee -- he just questioned the morality of pot as an aide in student studies.

I thought it was funny -- reminded me of a cranky old guy saying "Dang kids today! Toking up and killing brain cells"

Note I'm a libertarian and don't think that government has any business with what I choose to ingest. But heck, if you want to post an article on how good it is to toke up for your schoolwork, you gotta expect to hear some people who disagree for various reasons, right? What do you guys want, to be able to smoke it up and not have anybody say "what a waste -- can't you succeed without all the partying?" The reaction seems very mob-like.

There's all kinds of cool subtopics to this - the role of self-medication, the differences between pot and alcohol cutlures, the various moral implications of ingesting various substances, the stereotypical toked-up college liberal going to school for life, etc. Fun stuff to kick around, in my opinion.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#98

Post by LPTS »

tyn wrote: post #96
LPTS wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. We all know that Carl Sagan, as well as most musicians, have horrible memories and suck at learning because drug use fried their brain. Marijuana doesn't impair learning. Stupidity (like this study) impairs learning. Marijuana modulates the way your short term memory works. It does not impair long term memory or recall. The effects of marijuana on short term memory may contribute to creativity by breaking down…

As an occasional user who lives in just 2 hours driving distance from Amsterdam I will be happy to be convinced by what you say (I mean it). Any references?

I gotta go right now. I got a ton of references, but I'm off to some my yoga class and a nice walk on a beautiful day. I'll post it tonight or tomorrow.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#99

Post by edw519 »

LPTS wrote: post #94
edw519 wrote: post #11

Oh you poor baby! You have trouble reading and writing and 'rithmetic, so you need a little chemical help. You pussy. Get out of cocoon, er I mean school, get a real job, get married. have a couple of kids, get a mortgage and a couple of car payments, raise those kids without worrying too much about the evils around them, visit Mom in her nursing home, do things for others in need, and, if you have time, have a nice…

Your life sounds like it sucks because you did not use the consciousness altering properties of drugs to decide how to meet life on it's own terms and do your work here on earth. Doing drugs while you are young is a great way to avoid becoming this bitter later in life. You remind me of a slightly more evolved version of those 90 year olds who hate anyone who isn't as repressed and miserable then they are. So you mad…

You figured all that out about me from a single post? Amazing.

Your massive inellect and talent is wasted here at hn. Looking forward to seeing you on Dr. Phil.

Re: Pothead Ph.D. - This is most definitely not a cautionary tale

#100

Post by edw519 »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #97
edw519 wrote: post #11

Oh you poor baby! You have trouble reading and writing and 'rithmetic, so you need a little chemical help. You pussy. Get out of cocoon, er I mean school, get a real job, get married. have a couple of kids, get a mortgage and a couple of car payments, raise those kids without worrying too much about the evils around them, visit Mom in her nursing home, do things for others in need, and, if you have time, have a nice…

Let's stop the piling on of edw, okay? Gee -- he just questioned the morality of pot as an aide in student studies. I thought it was funny -- reminded me of a cranky old guy saying "Dang kids today! Toking up and killing brain cells" Note I'm a libertarian and don't think that government has any business with what I choose to ingest. But heck, if you want to post an article on how good it is to toke up for your schoo…

Thanks Daniel (I think).

he just questioned the morality of pot as an aide in student studies

No I didn't.

I challenged the appropriateness of a #1 hn post from a student who uses drugs to get by and then brags about it.

The reaction seems very mob-like.

I didn't know what to expect, but this was no surprise. Since "net" scores are the only thing that show, I'm curious how many up votes and down votes there were. Even though the net is negative, I wonder how many people agreed.

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