Comment · Thu, December 6, 2012 · Ceretropic
Why not meditate?
Original post in this thread
GuysRelax · 34 points
After reading through links and comments I find many people are concerned about safety. There doesn't seem to be a single substance that works on everyone so people are trying mixes. Some people are taking pictures posting to make sure their "substance" is legit. Apparently effects are subtle anyway. Some of the substances sold on amazon have either extremely positive reviews or extremely negative.
So after checking out the top posts, it seems about 10 months ago someone posted a study on meditation. Its the 9th top link of the year on this subreddit.
Of course I am speaking from an ignorant position having not tried nootropics but I would still like to reopen this comparison and ask if our goal is to enhance cognition and we have studies that show meditation does just this, why are we seeking substances?
Should I combine practices? Should we all?
What they were answering
Direct reply to the original post — see the thread post above.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
Because meditation does not advance our knowledge of how our brains work. It helps us to understand and control our own emotions. However, it does not bring us closer to the scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drive everything we do.
Many of us are not here because we need, or even want, to solely to enhance cognition. We want to expand our knowledge and understanding of the human brain. For many, it's not enough to simply get the results. We want to know why we got the results. It's that curiosity that drives our interest. The more knowledge we acquire, the more our curiosity grows. Enlightenment without understanding is merely a self-perpetuated illusion. For some, meditation offers a way for them to get the results they seek. For others, the results they seek lie in the questions along the way. Nootropics offer a reason to keep questioning.