Comment · Thu, April 2, 2015 · Ceretropic
Most over-rated, under-rated noots.
Original post in this thread
x0rn · 69 points
List reasons.
I'm going with Picamilion for underrated, good gaba source and safer than Phenibut. Relaxing , anxiolitic and pairs well with a good scotch.
Semax -over rated. Very expensive, unstable, and benefits seem transitory. Maybe just me.
Edit: best non chemical noot: exercise, sleep and meditation. Most over-rated: tdcs
What they were answering
x0rn · 3 points
I'd like to hear from the OGs like /u/MisterYouAreSoDumb /u/sliverhyrda /u/gwern ect
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · Ceretropic
I think a lot of people are too absolute in how they assess compounds. Everyone's brain chemistry is different, so every compound it going to affect people in different ways. What may be life-changing for some, might be useless to others. That does not make the compound overrated or underrated. It just means that only a certain percentage of the population will benefit from it. Trying to shoehorn things into a universal rating is never going to be a scientific way to assess their usefulness.
Take Nicotinamide Riboside for example. It does nothing for me. I notice no benefits when taking it. It is also expensive. So if I were to just look at that, it is an overrated compound. However, others have stated that it works wonders for them. If I were to just base my opinion on the compound off my personal assessment, I would say it was useless. However, that does not seem to be the case for all. Even compounds that were useful to me at one point in time change. When I was depressed, Tianeptine would have helped me a lot. I've even used it occasionally, to get me through hard stretches when I was not depressed. However, taking it when I feel great actually leads to me becoming irritable. So compounds have their useful times, and times when their effects might not lead to benefits. Knowing when not to use a compound, or a certain combination, is just as crucial as knowing when to use it.
So as I learn more about brain chemistry, and speak to more people about how they react to things, I become less absolute in my assessments. If I were to just tell you which substances were overrated for me, then I think that would be doing them a disservice. They might be life-changing for someone else.