Comment · Mon, September 8, 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
threboady · 1 points
I relate to a lot of this, actually. Although I wasn't the smartest person in the school (looking back there was one guy there who was literally a genius and still to this day one of the smartest people I have ever met, his raw intelligence was really just incredible, I have met very few people in my life with his natural level of talent) I was definitely in the top few (although it's not as though the school I went to was that good, though there were quite a number of people who looking back, probably had IQ of 130+ at our school) and I relate a lot to these experiences. I maintained an A average until my final year of school where I dropped out but even then my study hours weren't really comparing to what was actually required. Add on top of that I was absent a lot and showed up late, often in a daze and slept through some of my classes it makes me realise what an achievement it was to make it as far as I did with my grades. Especially the part about not being taken seriously in school. Because I was always fatigued and had allergy problems, I was considered the dopey, slow kid. People would actually be surprised when I got good test results. They would look at my score and say to me, "wait, you're actually smart?". It's both insulting and flattering at the same time.
I remember one time a bunch of us were sitting in one of the piano rooms (there were several sound-proof…
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
I can only recommend MDMA if you use it properly, and do a lot of your own research before taking it. It is an amazing substance. However, it can be very damaging when abused. Also, if you are not in the right state of mind, it is not going to show you what you need it to, and can actually make things worse. Never rely on a drug as a cure. They are simply tools that one can utilize to learn about oneself.