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Cognitive enhancing drugs for the professional

Catwell
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High-yield systhesis of Modafinil from Benzhydrol

I'm not talking about steroids or human growth hormone, since we are not all pro athletes. But we are professional engineers, using our brains. A lot of people are talking drugs to enhance mental performance. It turns out, according to Scientific American, an ever growing number of students, leaders of the industry, and professors are taking drugs to give themselves a little edge. Energy drinks, coffee and other caffeine delivery products are not even what they're all using. Most are taking prescription Ritalin, Adderal, Modafinil, Methylphenidate, Provigil, any pill for ADD/ADHD. The result, superior focus, energy, a competitive edge. The regular hapless salary man, tired at all times, will never compare to that 'young go getter' hocked up on Ritalin and Red Bull.

 
Does all this mean we have to start doping to get ahead? And if we're prescribed these pill legally, is that still bad? Though doing this is not frowned upon like in sports, it does still give a bad connotation. However, we all do it to some degree, if only in a mild sense. The coffee pick me ups, the 5 hour energy supplements, anything with the word "boost" printed on the label for example. This would not be considered an unfair advantage in a professional sense.

 
Take Modafinil, a popular thought enhancing drug, [It] promotes wakefulness¹. Research on the drug has found that an acute dose of Modafinil will increase alertness, memory, and planning in healthy young adults². It is already understood that many U.S. and U.K. professionals in academia are using Modafinil to counteract jetlag, enhance productivity, mental energy, and dealing with other challenges. According to the journal Nature, 20% of academics have admitted to using some sort of stimulant. Also, 7% of their students have admitted to use. Although the effects of Modafinil are mild, by report, is it still ok for physicians to just prescribe the drug for little reason? A big report is due, an engineer might feel forced to take a drug like Modafinil. Students taking entrance exams, in competition, or other demanding task might take it as well. This type enhancement has been a big forcus for the military for years. Being more likely to succeed will make anyone consider the option.

 
Intellectuals are doing it, and they're smart, right? How do you feel about doping for the job?

 
Cabe

 
1. Morein-Zamir, S., Turner, D. C. & Sahakian, B. J. Schizophr.
Bull. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbm090 (2007).
2. Turner, D. C. et al. Neuropsychopharmacol. 29, 1363–1373
(2004).

  • My suspicion is that if you use it more than very occassionally, you lose the benefit.  I have this with RedBull.  I have one almost every afternoon.  It used to enhance my concentration, but after a time it only gets you back to where you should be.  I suspect there will be a backlash against the energy drinks and prescription stimulants.  It used to be they marketed the stimulants to treat ADHD and obesity, knowing that some people sometimes took them for enhanced concentration and wakefulness.  Now they're openingly promoting the drugs for wakefulness.  None of this is terrible.  People have taken drugs since ancient times and which ones are socially accepted and which are demonized is an accident of history.  I suspect there will be a backlash against the always-on culture, and that will come out in the need to demonize these chemicals.  It's similar to how people who rejected the 60s counterculture had to demonize marijuana despite its low risk profile.  It's not about the chemical itself but rather what people feel about what the chemical respresents.

  • in reply to DAB

    Like I said, if you drink coffee, soda, or energy drink you are taking a performance enhancing drug or sorts, caffeine.

     

    "73% of poker players use substances to  stay focused. Nearly 100% of truck drivers are on something. Once you  apply the word "drug" to stimulants it's immediately evil and illegal.  But, which is worse, alchohol and cigarettes or Adderal for someone's  body? I think I would rather have someone on Modafinil driving behind me  than drunk.... We don't approve of such activities in  our sports, but we turn our backs everywhere else. Writers have been  doing this for centuries, for example. Hemmingway, Warhol, Hunter S.  Thompson, R. Crumb, and most musicians have taken some mood altering  consumable that lead to moments of inspiration and creativity that have  shaped our culture. " (from another post of mine.)

     

    The people taking the drugs, stimulants, seem to need them for their job. Would the world be the same without the use? As I said, if being more awake means you will benefit greatly if you are more awake, would you do it? Would you drink a lot of coffee? Would you drink a "5 hour energy?" Would you take Modafinil?

     

    I am not trying to be an advocate here, I am just letting people know it is happening.

     

    Cabe

  • Every persons physiology is different.  Anytime you introduce different chemicals into the body you initiate a sequence of reactions, none of which you can predict ahead of time.  True, some chemicals may provide benefits, even measureable performance improvements, but each will also come with a number of unpredictable side effects.

    Even medical professionals spend long periods of time researching and testing new drugs because they are not able to accurately predict what will happen when they are used by many people.  At best, they derive a potential probability of success or failure, but each person will respond differently.

     

    Since I don't trust the professional medical experts to get it right, I am not even going to consider using myself as a guinea pig to test so called enhancement drugs.

    A doctor who is his own patient is a fool.

    There is a reason why they call it doping.  Only a dope would use them.

     

    Most of us have been given certain genetic capabilities based upon what our ancesters learned.  Now is not the time to throw away centuries of natural genetic building blocks for the illusion of instant improvement.

    I have seen the horror that drug abuse can have on people who use them.  There is nothing these drugs or chemicals promise that would convince me to try them.  I have too much natural ability to risk something different.  Even in my current disabled situation.

     

    DAB