4 ms·
"The following day, a train journey presented what I expected to be a perfect opportunity to get some work done with the aid of a smart pill. I was wrong. I be
by anaphor 11y ago
"The following day, a train journey presented what I expected to be a perfect opportunity to get some work done with the aid of a smart pill. I was wrong.
I became distracted - more so than normal. While the drug made me focus, it was on the wrong things - such as playing video games on my smartphone."
That's because of something called the Yerkes-Dodson curve which basically says if your body is not aroused enough then your performance decreases, and if it's overly aroused then you can't focus on anything. This applies to well-learned tasks or other things that depend mostly on cognitive abilities (differently shaped for different types of tasks). It sounds like the author didn't need to take modafinil because he was already good at concentrating on things and taking it just put him on the far end of the curve and destroyed his performance.
- peteretep 11y agoPerhaps. I find Modafinil makes me slightly obsessive about anything. If I take it while procrastinating then I get really caught up in procrastination tasks. If I take it and force myself to start working straight away, great forces come to my aid.
- randycupertino 11y agoWhat is the difference between modafinil vs adderall?
- peteretep 11y agoThe one time I took adderall I didn't feel any different, but there were several points when I was explaining my world domination plans where the guy who gave it to me interjected with "that's the adderall talking". Looking back, the plans were somewhat manic.
- fancy_pantser 11y agoModafinil is for wakefulness more than concentration and combating ADHD. For example, USAF flightcrews use it for long sorties. When you find the right dosage for yourself it can feel a bit like a very strong, prolonged caffeine buzz.
- iaw 11y agoI suspect that he was still "on" modafinil from the day prior as well. 24 hours seems like an awfully short time for your brain to restore itself.
- Malician 11y agoThat's not even the all of it. Modafinil can have a 15+ hour half-life and he took a dose which was obviously too large. It feels like he had an expert compose a list of "things to do horribly wrong" before starting.