Boffins chomp noggin-nobbling narcotics
Jekyll and super-intelligent Hyde
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Shocking research by Nature has revealed that many of the world's boffins are routinely taking psychoactive drugs to boost their brain power.
An "informal survey" by the leading research rag has uncovered an epidemic of drug use in scientific circles. One in five respondents to the survey reported they had used cognition-enhancing prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.
Specifically, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) drug Ritalin, sleep medication Provigil, and beta blocking heart drugs are all reportedly guzzled to improve focus, concentration, and memory. More than one third had obtained their fix from an internet pharmacy. All but one of the 14 British scientists who responded ordered online.
The enhanced eggheads reported side effects including sleeplessness, jitteriness, anxiety, and headaches.
But the poll also revealed that most boffins have no problem with their competitors obtaining a chemical advantage. Four in five said healthy adults should be allowed to turbo charge their own brain if they want to.
Boffinry's - and indeed the public's - fancy for personal enhancement is nothing new, of course.
In 2006, Sir David King, then the UK government's top scientific advisor, briefed ministers at Downing Street on what was dubbed "cosmetic neurology". He warned that regulators will have to be ready for an explosion in public interest in the concept over the next 20 years.
In November, the British Medical Association attempted to kickstart debate on the ethics around mental meddling. "It should be remembered that people are willing to endure major surgery to enhance their visual appearance, so they may be willing to do so to improve their cognitive ability as well, if the techniques prove to be effective," the doctors' group said.
Read Nature's own report on its findings here. And step away from the coffee machine. ®
COMMENTS
Smack works fine
on concentration in the short term but then you sort of driffftt ooffffffffffffffffffffff
Re: Drug Use
> Sadly, it seems that only a minority of the populace can be
> trusted to safely use anything (including especially alcohol)
But AC, they *can* be trusted. I've personally known users of both cocaine and meth who were fully functional citizens when they weren't partaking, and sometimes even when they were. In the world at large, everyone knows that drug use is endemic in some occupations, yet the work gets done to a more than acceptable standard.
Besides, whether they're trusted or not, those who choose to use extra-legal meds have no difficulty getting a supply.
@Mike
What's implied by your comment is that everyone that dabbles in any sort of 'chemical enhancement' or recreation is only imagining any improvement, while to the rest of the 'sober', intelligent people, they look like utter fools. There's certainly some merit to that argument---anyone that's seen a friend go through the various stages of tequila (eg. handsome, brilliant, bulletproof) can attest to the fallacy of that viewpoint. Been on both sides of that one myself. However, your implied generalization that anyone that takes anything is merely fooling themselves, is at least as bad. True, it's only the 'train wrecks' that make the evening news. For every five people that manage to screw themselves over horribly or kill a family of four while high on something, I'd estimate that there's one or two people that quietly use 'artificial means' for performance enhancement or recreation to some positive effect. I'd have to agree though that anyone that buys anything from a spammer is in need of a dose of common sense.
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