4 ms·

> I may be of the minority here but I am definitely not the minority in the real world. I disagree. I think huge numbers of people take nootropics frequently i

by imagist 10y ago

> I may be of the minority here but I am definitely not the minority in the real world. I disagree. I think huge numbers of people take nootropics frequently if not daily (caffeine and prescribed mood-altering drugs) and I'd bet that you'd consider these completely normal and non-crazy. But that belief is based in normativity, not logic. All of these substances have negative side effects, and the industry around prescription drugs is very much at odds with the actual research around prescription drugs. In fact, the only substances on the list which I think probably don't have negative side effects are ones that most people probably don't take (Fish Oil and Vitamin D3). > If you care about health why not exercise and eat healthy and never take any type of drug for any reason unless you are sick. What's a drug? What's sick? Arguably, refined sugar is a drug, or the dopamine that you get from surfing news sources like HN. And things like caffeine, which are entirely normative, aren't even arguable: they're just obviously drugs. Arguably, being inflicted with a need to work 40 hours a week on tasks that don't fulfill our emotional or social needs is a horrible chronic illness. It certainly has affected my life more negatively than my chronic allergies (which I live with, untreated). Choosing to take a nootropic should be about the tradeoffs, and health definitely is not the only factor.

npsimons 10y ago
> health definitely is not the only factor But it is the biggest factor; without your health, you have nothing. When I'm weighing alternatives and tradeoffs, I tend to think in a sort of "three laws" mode: 1) If it's good for my long-term health, do it. 2) If it increases my athletic performance and doesn't conflict with 1), do it. 3) If it makes me look or feel better and doesn't conflict with 1) or 2), do it.
- imagist 10y ago
  > But it is the biggest factor; without your health, you have nothing. That's simply not true. That may be your priority, but it's not everyone's, and the assertion that "you have nothing" is ridiculous. If I could live to the age of 50, make a major positive change in the world in that time, and then die, I'd make that trade. Of course, you don't get a guarantee that solid, everything is probabilistic. But there are definitely cases where you can trade health for some other value, and many of us are willing to make that trade. > 1) If it's good for my long-term health, do it. > 2) If it increases my athletic performance and doesn't conflict with 1), do it. > 3) If it makes me look or feel better and doesn't conflict with 1) or 2), do it. This is laughably simplistic. For example, according to this, money never comes into your considerations. Cool story, bro.

by imagist 10y ago

npsimons 10y ago

> health definitely is not the only factor But it is the biggest factor; without your health, you have nothing. When I'm weighing alternatives and tradeoffs, I tend to think in a sort of "three laws" mode: 1) If it's good for my long-term health, do it. 2) If it increases my athletic performance and doesn't conflict with 1), do it. 3) If it makes me look or feel better and doesn't conflict with 1) or 2), do it.

imagist 10y ago
> But it is the biggest factor; without your health, you have nothing. That's simply not true. That may be your priority, but it's not everyone's, and the assertion that "you have nothing" is ridiculous. If I could live to the age of 50, make a major positive change in the world in that time, and then die, I'd make that trade. Of course, you don't get a guarantee that solid, everything is probabilistic. But there are definitely cases where you can trade health for some other value, and many of us are willing to make that trade. > 1) If it's good for my long-term health, do it. > 2) If it increases my athletic performance and doesn't conflict with 1), do it. > 3) If it makes me look or feel better and doesn't conflict with 1) or 2), do it. This is laughably simplistic. For example, according to this, money never comes into your considerations. Cool story, bro.