I pointed this out in another comment - most work actually carries negative externalities and side effects that you're not accounting for. Disagree on Moloch, I

I pointed this out in another comment - most work actually carries negative externalities and side effects that you're not accounting for. Disagree on Moloch, I defer to the fish pond example. It's not zero-sum, it's negative sum (everyone ends up worse off). Ever met someone who has burned out? It's not pretty. Did you know that work-related-stress is amongst the largest threats to (particularly men's) health? Have you seen workaholism, stress-induced alcoholism, general-burnt-out-ness ruin relationships? What makes you think nootropics won't cause these problems as well? After all, ex nihilo nihil fit. Ever think about how much gas you burn getting to work, how much plastic trash you create at lunch or coffee, how much coal it takes to keep the lights and the AC on for you to do what you do? Ever think about how many people died of weird lung diseases to produce that coal? Again, nothing comes from nothing. Unless your work really is curing cancer, de-acidifying the oceans, or colonizing Mars, it's likely that your work is actually a negative sum game. You're worse off for it, and so is everyone else.