Comment · Sat, August 30, 2014 · Ceretropic
Seriously. Why do we take nootropics?
Original post in this thread
DocDimethyl · 118 points
Just some healthy skepticism (also aimed at myself)...
1) Why should healthy individuals chronically take drugs designed and tested for a specific subset of mentally disabled people?
2)These are often novel compounds; is it worth it to risk a slew of possibly serious unknown side effects just to gain than a slight and often temporary increase in cognition?
3) Are you absolutely certain that something such as neurogenesis or allosteric ion channel modulation is something you want? What rationale do you base this desire off of? Have there been RCT human studies examining the effect of something such as induced neurogenesis on a healthy individual?
4) Nootropics don't fall under the same production scrutiny as pharmaceuticals; suppose chronic intake of 'x' nootropic has resulted in the accumulation of a toxic impurity or metabolic by product?
6) Are nootropics an indication of some sort of modern mental dysmorphia? Are we really that insecure about or intelligence?
Sorry. Just a few questions I have been thinking of. I still love nootropics but I think its good to be skeptical as well.
Thanks!
What they were answering
Nwildcat · 10 points
Well there's learning about human cognition, and then there's manipulating one's own biological function chemically. I'm not sure you really addressed that aspect of his question.
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
How can one fully understand a substance if they have never felt the effects? Learning the mechanisms only goes so far.