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Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

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Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#141

Post by desireco42 »

I started experimenting with nootropics maybe year ago. There are some interesting effects. I still have to get something that would impress me. Claims that modafinil creates addiction, not true, it seems that same guy is going on forums and spreading those rumors. Anyhow, just wanted to say I am for it, but be reasonable.

However, you should also know, that it is much easier to get a lot of effects just by using things that are easily accesible to us:

* exercise or even walk (like 45 mins)

* coffee (obviously, unfortunately doesn't work for me)

* tea, green tea, yerba mate, others (amazing and powerful effects)

* music - trance or classical work really well

* binaural beats - also work exceptionally well, for focus and for creativity, idea generation

* meditation (goes with the one above)

So what I am trying to say, there are a lot of ways how we can boost our intellects. Let's not forget really enjoyable ones like green tea for example.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#142

Post by waterlesscloud »

desireco42 wrote: post #141

I started experimenting with nootropics maybe year ago. There are some interesting effects. I still have to get something that would impress me. Claims that modafinil creates addiction, not true, it seems that same guy is going on forums and spreading those rumors. Anyhow, just wanted to say I am for it, but be reasonable. However, you should also know, that it is much easier to get a lot of effects just by using thi…

I find that cutting my soda (and thus my sugar) intake out completely makes a huge difference in my ability to think clearly for extended periods.

Dunno why, might even be placebo effect, but I noticed the effect before I made the connection to the cause.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#143

Post by Evbn »

lars wrote: post #66
Permit wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Warning Sign D3: Too Few Subjects >The author advertising smart drugs doesn't describe any careful studies, so of course he doesn't mention the number of subjects in any studies. Most so-called studies of smart drugs have been far too small to have any statistical power. Neither yourself, nor Peter Norvig suggested an appropriate number of subjects for tests like these. So I'm curious, what would be an appropriate n…

You test some statistical hypothesis, and you end with some probability that the hypethesis is true. Increasing the number of people increases the number of samples. Loosely speaking, increasing the number of samples will reduce the variance on the variable you are measuring. When the variance is reduced, the confidence in the result is increased. Say you are measuring IQ before and after taking omega 3. Say your hyp…

This post, like so many others, states the p-value concept backwards. Statistics give you the chance of a false positive observation among a universe of negative realities, not the chance of a false reality in a universe of positive observations.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#144

Post by dlytle »

gwern wrote: post #138
twmb wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just have to comment that in his page, I disagree on using dual n back as a measure of mental ability. As the mind repeats a task over and over it learns what to expect. I personally view n-back as any other repetitive task, only it is mostly in the mind; the more you whittle, the better you will be at whittling. If you look at the wikipedia page [1] you will see that there have been papers both for and against n-b…

> I just have to comment that in his page, I disagree on using dual n back as a measure of mental ability. As the mind repeats a task over and over it learns what to expect. So? > I personally view n-back as any other repetitive task, only it is mostly in the mind; the more you whittle, the better you will be at whittling. Progress in n-back is very slow. I'm up to 2400 rounds and still am only at 30-50% on D5B; a di…

While you're here, I wanted to say thanks for all the research you've done and posted. It's been really useful reading.

Also, holy crap, D5B. I still get crushed on D3B.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#145

Post by te0x »

systemtrigger wrote: post #60
aelaguiz wrote: post #22

The article is really interesting, but I can't help but be suspicious of the data (opinion) contained within. The expert used in the article is John Holcomb, who owns a supplement e-commerce site. I can't find anything on his site that talks about his qualifications or any hard facts to back up most of this. I'm really interested in nootropics and increasing mental efficacy - but there is no shortage of snake-oil ven…

I question his motives because he recommends Piracetam daily dosage of 3 to 5 grams and said it may take up to 6 weeks to realize the effects. I bought Piracetam on Amazon after someone here on HN recommended it, and for the past 2 months have been taking 800 mg per day. I often skip a few days and have not noticed any addiction symptoms. I doubled my dosage one day, so took 1600 mg that day, and felt sick to my stom…

Interesting. I've been taking 2400mg since day 1 and have not experienced any physical side effects.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#146

Post by te0x »

desireco42 wrote: post #141

I started experimenting with nootropics maybe year ago. There are some interesting effects. I still have to get something that would impress me. Claims that modafinil creates addiction, not true, it seems that same guy is going on forums and spreading those rumors. Anyhow, just wanted to say I am for it, but be reasonable. However, you should also know, that it is much easier to get a lot of effects just by using thi…

Well, I see no reason not to use all of the above in conjunction with nootropics.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#147

Post by desireco42 »

te0x wrote: post #146
desireco42 wrote: post #141

I started experimenting with nootropics maybe year ago. There are some interesting effects. I still have to get something that would impress me. Claims that modafinil creates addiction, not true, it seems that same guy is going on forums and spreading those rumors. Anyhow, just wanted to say I am for it, but be reasonable. However, you should also know, that it is much easier to get a lot of effects just by using thi…

Well, I see no reason not to use all of the above in conjunction with nootropics.

I agree.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#148

Post by gwern »

dlytle wrote: post #144
gwern wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just have to comment that in his page, I disagree on using dual n back as a measure of mental ability. As the mind repeats a task over and over it learns what to expect. So? > I personally view n-back as any other repetitive task, only it is mostly in the mind; the more you whittle, the better you will be at whittling. Progress in n-back is very slow. I'm up to 2400 rounds and still am only at 30-50% on D5B; a di…

While you're here, I wanted to say thanks for all the research you've done and posted. It's been really useful reading. Also, holy crap, D5B. I still get crushed on D3B.

You're welcome.

Yeah, I struggled on D3B, like I did on D2B, D4B, D5B... It's really impressive how each level is a sudden massive jump in difficulty.

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#149

Post by kamaal »

tokenadult wrote: post #50

The article begins with "It’s a lengthy read, but don’t let the wall of text dissuade you." That's scary right there. Anyone who is scared off by this short, popular fluff piece needs a lot of help in reading (or is not a native speaker of English). To learn to read a piece like this thoughtfully and critically mostly takes practice in reading, not the latest "smart drug." I've been hearing people tout smart drugs fo…

Inevitable question: Why hasn't evolution already enabled a natural way of getting to this?

And since it hasn't why should we assume we are ready for it now?

Re: Nootropics – The Facts About “Smart Drugs”

#150

Post by drivebyacct2 »

powermeat wrote: post #114
Symmetry wrote: post #92

I think that the /r/nootropics FAQ has a lot of good related information, including links to scientific papers. http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/nootropics

And affiliate links where you can buy.

I see no such thing.
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