Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf] • Hacker News Board

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#141

Post by bserge » Sun, Dec 06, 2020, 8:32 PM UTC

scns wrote: post #122

bserge wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come to realize that "I" am just a small part of the brain. A virtual machine running on top of the primitive host. Every single second is a struggle over the who gets control of the hardware, and most of the time the host wins. What "I" want and what the primitive host brain/OS wants are 2 completely different things. Food, shelter, reproduction. That's all it needs. Needless to say, "I" want so much more. Of c…

Jonathan Haidt used the metaphor of rider and elephant in The Happiness Hypothesis (worth the read IMHO): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happiness_Hypothesis One commenter on HN once wrote, that meditation helps him more than the stimulants. The ten stages of meditation ( https://www.consciouslifestylemag.com/wp-content/uploads/201... ) depicts the mind as an elephant too. It gets distracted by the ape mind (look!…

Thank you for the recommendation, I will check it out.

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#142

Post by notduncansmith » Sun, Dec 06, 2020, 11:51 PM UTC

bserge wrote: post #86

notduncansmith wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, meth will do that to you. I was diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD, and while I definitely felt the “high” from Adderall (and was convinced I was more productive) it was hard to say I actually was. I did find it easier to stay up later than I should; but that loan always comes with interest, the drugs just give you a bigger line of credit. Ditto other stimulants. The only stimulant I still use is caffeine, an…

How do you deal with the dozen thoughts present in your head every waking second? How do you recover when you get distracted in the middle of work and can't get right back to it? How do you even do the planning itself when that task is just one of the ten or so that your brain thinks should be done right now?

Sometimes I don’t: I feel overwhelmed, I start to despair and I become very sensitive. Coming back from those times is hard, and sometimes I get into cycles of bad habits that persist for days (or, at the worst of times, weeks).

When I do manage, it’s a mix of things going on.

It helps to follow genetic advice like exercising, staying hydrated, sleeping enough, and not drinking too much. It’s generic advice because it’s pretty universally applicable.

Separating tasks into “must do” vs “want to do” helps keep things from falling through the cracks and makes it easier to prioritize.

I try to be mindful of when I am giving myself leisure time vs demanding performance, and reminding myself (preferably aloud) which mode I am in if I find myself distracted. Speaking of speaking aloud, vocalizing my internal monologue (aka “talking to myself”) helps me debug it, sort of like rubber ducking. I like to declare my goals for the day out loud to myself in my room, and it’s easier to get through hard times and make tough decisions when I talk to myself. I also feel like it improves my memory, though I haven’t measured to confirm.

It helps to work on my relationships with success and failure, and with meaningness. Some days will be failures. Most successes will be modest. Evaluating your self-worth on a day-to-day basis is like day-trading on the stock market, very risky and not the best growth strategy for most people. Warren Buffet’s investing advice is remarkably applicable to life in general.

Being in nature is incredibly healing. I love camping with friends/family, but any outdoor activity is good.

I’m incredibly optimistic about the potential of therapy involving psychedelics and I am a monthly donor to MAPS. Some people may benefit from pursuing similar treatment modalities on their own, though there are inherent risks and of course there is no silver bullet for mental health treatment.

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#143

Post by sterlind » Mon, Dec 07, 2020, 12:00 AM UTC

why_only_15 wrote: post #58

hpoe wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one thing that terrifies me about moving away from my Dr. if I were to move across the country and suddenly couldn't get my medicine I know I would quickly become a wreck for a week or so well I dealt with all of the comedowns.

trans people experience this a lot. It's a big reason why i decided not to get hormones from a doctor and instead order them online.

I felt this during the big injectable estrogen shortage of 2019. Ended up begging an ex for some of their vial because I couldn't get my Rx filled anywhere.

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#144

Post by why_only_15 » Mon, Dec 07, 2020, 1:08 AM UTC

sterlind wrote: post #143

why_only_15 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

trans people experience this a lot. It's a big reason why i decided not to get hormones from a doctor and instead order them online.

I felt this during the big injectable estrogen shortage of 2019. Ended up begging an ex for some of their vial because I couldn't get my Rx filled anywhere.

Woah I had never heard about that, could you say more?

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#145

Post by sterlind » Mon, Dec 07, 2020, 7:34 AM UTC

why_only_15 wrote: post #144

sterlind wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I felt this during the big injectable estrogen shortage of 2019. Ended up begging an ex for some of their vial because I couldn't get my Rx filled anywhere.

Woah I had never heard about that, could you say more?

I had the timeline wrong, it was 2016-17 apparently (years have been a blur for me.)

There was (is?) a duopoly of manufacturers for estradiol valerate: Par and Perrigo. [0] Perrigo stopped manufacturing, only disclosing issues with "shortages of an inactive component" to the FDA and refusing further comment. Par said their supplier for the API pulled out, and had to rework their supply chain.

I eventually managed to track down a trans-run compounding pharmacy that had apparently stockpiled the stuff (so grateful to my community!) but it was a rough time and I'm glad my ex came through for me. Detransitioning is harrowing, I speak from experience.

0. http://www.ridgepoliticalreviews.com/all-articles/no-country...

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#146

Post by notduncansmith » Mon, Dec 07, 2020, 10:48 AM UTC

notduncansmith wrote: post #142

bserge wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you deal with the dozen thoughts present in your head every waking second? How do you recover when you get distracted in the middle of work and can't get right back to it? How do you even do the planning itself when that task is just one of the ten or so that your brain thinks should be done right now?

Sometimes I don’t: I feel overwhelmed, I start to despair and I become very sensitive. Coming back from those times is hard, and sometimes I get into cycles of bad habits that persist for days (or, at the worst of times, weeks). When I do manage, it’s a mix of things going on. It helps to follow genetic advice like exercising, staying hydrated, sleeping enough, and not drinking too much. It’s generic advice because i…

Forgot to add: obsessively writing things down helps immensely. The act itself + the written artifact are a potent combo

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#147

Post by tayo42 » Tue, Dec 08, 2020, 4:41 AM UTC

chefkoch wrote: post #140

tayo42 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just went to double check my self quickly. It never was an official medicine, therapy with it was still experimental for alcoholism. It was having success but turned into a recreational drug that scared people so it all got banned. The same thing happened with mdma and crack later on. The penalties were excessive and reactionary to recreational use. https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2014/sep... Th…

>The same thing happened with mdma and crack later on. Why would crack be legal If cocaine was banned 60 years earlier?

I thought they increased penalties as a response to the epidemic, but that was heroine slightly earlier, same point though

https://www.npr.org/2013/02/14/171822608/the-drug-laws-that-...

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#148

Post by phobosanomaly » Tue, Dec 08, 2020, 7:24 AM UTC

bserge wrote: post #86

notduncansmith wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, meth will do that to you. I was diagnosed with inattentive-type ADHD, and while I definitely felt the “high” from Adderall (and was convinced I was more productive) it was hard to say I actually was. I did find it easier to stay up later than I should; but that loan always comes with interest, the drugs just give you a bigger line of credit. Ditto other stimulants. The only stimulant I still use is caffeine, an…

How do you deal with the dozen thoughts present in your head every waking second? How do you recover when you get distracted in the middle of work and can't get right back to it? How do you even do the planning itself when that task is just one of the ten or so that your brain thinks should be done right now?

I split my work into different 'tasks.' It's like a to-do list. One task might be to write an email, another task is to read a paper, another is to write some code, etc.

I put the tasks into a text file.

I run a python script that keeps track of which task I should be working on, displays it to me, and shifts from one task to the next every two minutes with audio cues for 30-minute sprints.

So, I work on the email for 2 minutes, then I hear 'SWITCH TASKS' in my headphones and I read like two paragraphs of the paper and I hear 'SWITCH TASKS' and I spend two minutes on the code, then I hear 'SWITCH TASKS' and it's back to the email. It cycles through the task list in 2-minute bursts.

I know it sounds insane and incredibly inefficient, but it's the only way I can keep my brain on track. I have to keep it moving at a million miles per second. When my brain is racing as fast as it can to keep up it seems to be happy and my aggregate productivity goes up (even with the inefficiencies at a micro-scale).

Sometimes I'm lucky and I get through a few 30-minute sprints my brain will fixate on one of the tasks and I can do just that for the next two hours uninterrupted, but that's not something I expect every day. It's nice when it happens.

My brain wants to be doing ten things, so I just feed it ten things and keep cycling though them in 2-minute intervals so it doesn't have a chance to get bored with any one thing.

This is how I stay off of meds.

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#149

Post by phobosanomaly » Tue, Dec 08, 2020, 7:31 AM UTC

emteycz wrote: post #85

notduncansmith wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of your post resonates with me. Can you clarify what you mean by “actually me”?

A long time ago while high on weed I noticed that my mind is actually two very disparate parts: My "autopilot" and myself. I can control the autopilot, but it can also control me, especially by promoting desires for porn, weed, sugar, videogames etc; this quickly becomes impossible to ignore, and then the autopilot takes over completely. Since then I noticed that this wasn't a creation of the drug, it's there all the…

Same. It's not just you.

Smoked pot for a while in my twenties and it was crazy how I immediately became aware how much of my daily life was just stuff I was doing on autopilot.

When I haven't smoked pot in a while I sort of lose that awareness of it, and the autopilot just blends into the noise of everyday life.

It's a little scary when you think about how unaware we normally are of it.

Re: Microdosing: Improving performance enhancement in intelligence analysis (2019) [pdf]

#150

Post by phobosanomaly » Tue, Dec 08, 2020, 7:35 AM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #32

lallysingh wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caffeine wears off quickly, and seems to be good for you. I go off cold turkey once in a while, and the worst I've ever gotten is a week of mild headaches.

Caffeine forms an addiction in a few weeks, and requires increasing doses just to keep you normal . What's good for you are other parts of the coffee bean. I avoid taking caffeine with any regularity, let alone daily. This is why I can get a full kick from a cup when I need it.

Much like nicotine, the addiction seems to be highly dependent on the person.

I can drink coffee for weeks and weeks, and the stop abruptly and suffer no ill effects. Same thing with oral nicotine pouches. I can use them for weeks and weeks, and then stop cold turkey and have zero craving or desire.

I know people who do the same and the withdrawal absolutely wrecks them.