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I certainly agree with the author's concluding sentence: "Forget the smart drugs and supplements; put on your shorts and go exercise." When he set up the oppos
by nicklaf 11y ago
I certainly agree with the author's concluding sentence: "Forget the smart drugs and supplements; put on your shorts and go exercise." When he set up the opposing viewpoint earlier in the article, it made me cringe:
"I know, exercise is work, so you undoubtedly want to know if there is a smart pill, like Adderall or Ritalin, that will do the trick."
What an awful idea.
The mathematical and geometrical genius H.S.M. Coxeter lived to age 96. He attributed his continuing mental agility through old age to never being "bored", and to doing 50 push-ups a day.
- lsc 11y agoWhy is a pill that makes you more like what you want to be an awful idea? I'm not making any statement about the effects of the drugs in question; if they don't work or have bad side effects, obviously, that's bad, but my point is that people seem to think that drugs, even when they work and have reasonable side effects are a somehow bad or shameful route to self-improvement, and I don't see why that is. If we're talking about famous people, what about Erdos?
- nicklaf 11y agoSorry, I should be more precise. I don't think the pill itself is an "awful idea". What is a bad idea (IMO) is relying on a pill specifically because you don't want to exercise, which has been shown to work, and has too many interrelated benefits to mention. I think stimulants are fine--Erdős took amphetamines, lots of kids take Adderall, and most mathematicians probably drink tea of coffee.
- lsc 11y agoah. yeah. From what I read nothing is as effective as exercise. I recently stopped bicycling to work... and am a lot worse for it. Just sayin' if there was a pill that was as effective as exercise, I'd take it.