[venusss]

No, I don't take drugs for recreational use.

-Fleeing Bellocq, Mensa Member of the Mission District

No, I'm pretty smart as I am. Not something I would find I really need.

Being smarter would only add to my anxieties. Maybe there is something to the saying "Ignorance is Bliss"?

[AngelWolf3]

I don't like taking medicines, I don't really trust them...I guess I would just have to take the old route and study to get smarter...

when i was younger (at school) i always wanted to take a drug that the guy had in the movie limitless- it would have been nice to have my whole brain on offer to me, and do good on my exams etc etc

would i do it now?

probably not... i can see how it could be helpful (especially with my creative writing) but no.... i think the moment's gone

Absolutely. Would you?

[missbelle]

No, I am no dummy so I would not.....plus another drug in my body would not be that hot!

[venusss]

Al Jaz has now interesting debate on "performance enhancing" drugs.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/me...uccess-0022400

you can comment there too.

if there was a drug like that i would be worried about its side effects : ]]

[Yoda]

Depends on the research on the drug, risk versus benefit.

[Nemo39122]

Hmm...I would, if it weren't for the fact that the mass stupidity of society already pisses me off. I imagine being smarter would make that worse.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by Nemo39122

Hmm...I would, if it weren't for the fact that the mass stupidity of society already pisses me off. I imagine being smarter would make that worse.

yeah, I am afraid I'd have the same problem.

Being intelligent doesn't mean you won't use it against yourself too.

[LadyShadow]

I don't think I would. Being smarter means you have more to think about hence more anxiety. I will just stay stupid and happy-go-lucky

[Flooded]

No. I'm happy with my smarts as they are.

[sunrise]

I think my basic level of brain power is sufficient (for now), but if I lost a significant amount of function, I would take the pills to give me back what I lost. My mother has Alzheimer's and takes two different medications to help her cognitive function. They don't help a lot, but are supposed to help slow down her cognitive losses. If there was a pill that could restore her thinking to its earlier level, then I would wish that she would take it. And I would take it too if I had Alzheimer's.

I do take ADHD meds sometimes, and I believe these are considered cognitive enhancers.

Nope ...good question tho!

[-jimi-]

Yea maybe. I mean I rarely play scrabble off Ritalin.

But just enhancing what I really have, what is the use? It doesn't help me with what I suck at. And if someone isn't artistic or musical it doesn't help with that.

I would rather take a drug for memory, but only because I'm used to having good memory and now it is really bad!

[Aoikaze]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

I do actually. Caffeine, nicotene, glucose. All are mind-altering substances that make me think and react faster.

[Contrast]

yes.
if it has something to do with rearranging neuroanatomy such as enabling null neuropathways to crucial segments of the brain, it can work to be beneficial.. it is how savants, become, savants.. only speculating though.

if we are talking about a drug that induces precipitated effects, it's the instant gratification that can lead to negative aspects of it.

fondling with your mental aptitude is need not, but if you get given the chance, then it is something i would pursue personally.

what i would find amusing is giving a placebo to a number of people then watching think they've become smarter but they actually subconsciously enabled their ideometre, making them feel and act more creative and logical.. tricking your brain into thinking it is running a circuit of acquired intellectuality.. well, that's only if you aren't a skeptic. tricking yourself into believing in something can be stronger than any potent drug there is itself.

[shayne12]

id be terrified of what id then realise about the world we live in

.. ignorance is bliss..

[Broken Angel]

Not really, being smart doesn't mean that I will succeed in my life.

[Vibe]

It depends. What they're referring to are drugs such as those for ADD and ADHD. I don't think those make you smarter. I think they make it so you conform better to societal standards, so you can more easily sit in a classroom. One might gain more knowledge from this, which makes them informed. I don't think their IQ goes up though.

The other key word in that picture is "may." There is no guarantee the drug would make you smarter. There are always side effects, so it would have to be a pretty damn amazing potential benefit for me to overlook those. Generally, I stay away from drugs which are meant to effect the mind, because the brain isn't fully understood yet.

However, if it were going to have a Flowers for Algernon type of effect - even if there was a known risk of death at some point - I would still be tempted to take it. I very much enjoy my intellectual pursuits and I think this world needs far more intellectualism. These days we revel in ignorance. The things I could do and think and understand before I died would make the potential loss worthwhile to me.

[lizardlady]

Nah, I'm content with the level of "smarts" I have.

[Heavy doody]

Only if there was a second pill to go with it for wisdom.