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The article doesn't really describe it being "abused," just perhaps too "easy" of an option for some who really could "just try harder". (By "easy" I mean presc

The article doesn't really describe it being "abused," just perhaps too "easy" of an option for some who really could "just try harder". (By "easy" I mean prescribed or requested with the "sure why not" attitude without reviewing the side-effects which the author lays out pretty plainly.) I don't find the sports analogy very compelling. We watch sports for the competition and the idea that the results are a combination of genetics+work. Hence taking PEDs is cheating in a sports context. But if there's a medication that helps you live your life better (i.e. in a way that's more fulfilling to you) and if taking the medication doesn't impact anyone else negatively, why would you not want it taken as widely as possible? The important thing is to let would-be medication-takers know with full honesty what the side-effects are - this is what the article focuses on most.

emodendroket 9y ago
The article talks about people's careers being stymied, or people losing promotions to, colleagues whose attention span is longer because they're abusing Adderall. That's the intro. > The human brain wasn’t built for accounting or software engineering. A few lucky people can do these things ten hours a day, every day, with a smile. The rest of us start fidgeting and checking our cell phone somewhere around the thirty minute mark. I work near the financial district of a big city, so every day a new Senior Regional Manipulator Of Tiny Numbers comes in and tells me that his brain must be broken because he can’t sit still and manipulate tiny numbers as much as he wants. How come this is so hard for him, when all of his colleagues can work so diligently? > (it’s because his colleagues are all on Adderall already – but telling him that will just make things worse) > He goes on to give me his story about how he’s at risk of getting fired from his Senior Regional Manipulator Of Tiny Numbers position, and at this rate he’s never going to get the promotion to Vice President Of Staring At Giant Spreadsheets, so do I think I can give him some Adderall to help him through? I don't see the problem with the analogy.
- xocyabencl 9y ago
  Sports is a zero-sum game. Productive labor is not. The mathematician Paul Erdos used amphetamines to make many major breakthroughs. This was a great benefit for society, regardless of whether he perhaps took a professorship that some less productive mathematician would otherwise have obtained.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    There is a pretty limited set of fields of endeavor where you could make this argument without it being ridiculous on its face.
    - xocyabencl 9y ago
      While many industries have an element of zero-sum competition, that's not the default. Whether you're designing a car, doing a surgery, giving a haircut, cooking a hamburger, etc. you are giving something of value to your customers.
      - Analemma_ 9y ago
        You’re describing retail jobs, where that might be true. But most white-collar workers never interact directly with customers. They have to demonstrate value to their boss, which does make it a zero-sum situation.
        xocyabencl 9y ago
        I don't think any of the jobs I listed are retail. I went out of my way to include a variety of industries, including knowledge work. "Demonstrating value to your boss" could include zero-sum bullshit or actual production. As a programmer, I've done both kinds of work.
      - emodendroket 9y ago
        Even assuming (optimistically) that an exceptionally good hair stylist could somehow... uh, I don't know, be so good that they can hire more stylists? Assuming there's space?... it's pretty rare to have, say, multiple heads of the same department.
        xocyabencl 9y ago
        You could cut more people's hair by getting it done faster, or do a better job cutting each person's hair. The point is that jobs where productivity improvement is possible are very common. Economically, productivity and technology are equivalent, and are the basis for prosperity. Productivity is not, in general, zero-sum.

emodendroket 9y ago

The article talks about people's careers being stymied, or people losing promotions to, colleagues whose attention span is longer because they're abusing Adderall. That's the intro. > The human brain wasn’t built for accounting or software engineering. A few lucky people can do these things ten hours a day, every day, with a smile. The rest of us start fidgeting and checking our cell phone somewhere around the thirty minute mark. I work near the financial district of a big city, so every day a new Senior Regional Manipulator Of Tiny Numbers comes in and tells me that his brain must be broken because he can’t sit still and manipulate tiny numbers as much as he wants. How come this is so hard for him, when all of his colleagues can work so diligently? > (it’s because his colleagues are all on Adderall already – but telling him that will just make things worse) > He goes on to give me his story about how he’s at risk of getting fired from his Senior Regional Manipulator Of Tiny Numbers position, and at this rate he’s never going to get the promotion to Vice President Of Staring At Giant Spreadsheets, so do I think I can give him some Adderall to help him through? I don't see the problem with the analogy.

xocyabencl 9y ago
Sports is a zero-sum game. Productive labor is not. The mathematician Paul Erdos used amphetamines to make many major breakthroughs. This was a great benefit for society, regardless of whether he perhaps took a professorship that some less productive mathematician would otherwise have obtained.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  There is a pretty limited set of fields of endeavor where you could make this argument without it being ridiculous on its face.
  - xocyabencl 9y ago
    While many industries have an element of zero-sum competition, that's not the default. Whether you're designing a car, doing a surgery, giving a haircut, cooking a hamburger, etc. you are giving something of value to your customers.
    - Analemma_ 9y ago
      You’re describing retail jobs, where that might be true. But most white-collar workers never interact directly with customers. They have to demonstrate value to their boss, which does make it a zero-sum situation.
      - xocyabencl 9y ago
        I don't think any of the jobs I listed are retail. I went out of my way to include a variety of industries, including knowledge work. "Demonstrating value to your boss" could include zero-sum bullshit or actual production. As a programmer, I've done both kinds of work.
    - emodendroket 9y ago
      Even assuming (optimistically) that an exceptionally good hair stylist could somehow... uh, I don't know, be so good that they can hire more stylists? Assuming there's space?... it's pretty rare to have, say, multiple heads of the same department.
      - xocyabencl 9y ago
        You could cut more people's hair by getting it done faster, or do a better job cutting each person's hair. The point is that jobs where productivity improvement is possible are very common. Economically, productivity and technology are equivalent, and are the basis for prosperity. Productivity is not, in general, zero-sum.