3 ms·

We don't know how it interacts with the body, but we're fairly certain that it doesn't alter your mind. You can stop taking it and all the symptoms will return.

whatshisface 8y ago
>You can stop taking it and all the symptoms will return. It sounds like you're agreeing with me that it alters your mind while you are taking it. I'm confused by the English language use going on here. The plan is to micro-dose entire cities with lithium, which means we are interested in what lithium does when you are on it, because entire cities will be on it for decades of elapsed time. The evidence clearly indicates that the people drinking this water will have their behaviors altered, potentially for their entire lives if they just so happen to stay in cities that medicate their populations in this way. In fact, the entire point is that people's behaviors will be altered. If lithium was mentally inert, then it would not be useful as a mental health drug, and nobody would be suggesting adding it to the water supply to improve public mental health.
- vegardx 8y ago
  The only real argument against it, and I'll grant you that, that we have is that we don't know how it interacts. It's a good assumption that is has something to do with brain chemistry, but we don't know, or if it's a direct relation or indirect interaction. Or if there even is one.
  - whatshisface 8y ago
    It is known that lithium alters human behavior. Given that, the "assumption" of it altering brain chemistry is a red herring: because "drug that alters human behavior" and "mind altering drug" are the same thing, with or without theories about brain chemistry. Even in an alternate universe where the mind resided in the spleen, if someone suggested that a drug should be added to the water to improve mental health, it would be tautologically identical to say that they wanted to add a mind-altering drug to the water supply. Now, to make the argument more longwinded but also more correct, if lithium treated stomach ulcers and the children were misbehaving because of discomfort, it would be impacting human behavior without being a "mental drug." However the evidence does not indicate that the counterfactual situation I proposed is true - in fact, just about every study agrees that lithium is a mental health drug prescribed to treat mental health problems.
rpedela 8y ago
Can you define mind? It is well known that lithium can be used to treat some mental disorders. It must be doing something to the brain in order to have that effect. In my view, that literally means lithium is mind-altering.

whatshisface 8y ago

>You can stop taking it and all the symptoms will return. It sounds like you're agreeing with me that it alters your mind while you are taking it. I'm confused by the English language use going on here. The plan is to micro-dose entire cities with lithium, which means we are interested in what lithium does when you are on it, because entire cities will be on it for decades of elapsed time. The evidence clearly indicates that the people drinking this water will have their behaviors altered, potentially for their entire lives if they just so happen to stay in cities that medicate their populations in this way. In fact, the entire point is that people's behaviors will be altered. If lithium was mentally inert, then it would not be useful as a mental health drug, and nobody would be suggesting adding it to the water supply to improve public mental health.

vegardx 8y ago
The only real argument against it, and I'll grant you that, that we have is that we don't know how it interacts. It's a good assumption that is has something to do with brain chemistry, but we don't know, or if it's a direct relation or indirect interaction. Or if there even is one.
- whatshisface 8y ago
  It is known that lithium alters human behavior. Given that, the "assumption" of it altering brain chemistry is a red herring: because "drug that alters human behavior" and "mind altering drug" are the same thing, with or without theories about brain chemistry. Even in an alternate universe where the mind resided in the spleen, if someone suggested that a drug should be added to the water to improve mental health, it would be tautologically identical to say that they wanted to add a mind-altering drug to the water supply. Now, to make the argument more longwinded but also more correct, if lithium treated stomach ulcers and the children were misbehaving because of discomfort, it would be impacting human behavior without being a "mental drug." However the evidence does not indicate that the counterfactual situation I proposed is true - in fact, just about every study agrees that lithium is a mental health drug prescribed to treat mental health problems.

rpedela 8y ago

Can you define mind? It is well known that lithium can be used to treat some mental disorders. It must be doing something to the brain in order to have that effect. In my view, that literally means lithium is mind-altering.