4 ms·

It sounds to me like something that's quite dangerious. Maybe it helps people with narcolepsy but maybe it will be another thing people abuse like amphetamines?

by hoppp 2mo ago

subscribed 2mo ago
Modafinil is available for ages, acts close to this (it's mentioned in the article), and I don't hear of people abusing it.
- projektfu 2mo ago
  It gets abused by people who just want to stay awake, but not in the sense of being a party drug. For example, by students, drivers, security officers, and politicians.
  - subscribed 2mo ago
    It promotes wakefulness and (allegedly) concentration. It's not a magic or amphetamines, not sure how is that an "abuse"? Do people drinking coffee in the morning *abuse* it?
    - projektfu 2mo ago
      Coffee isn't a Schedule IV controlled substance in the US. I'm using a pretty strict definition of abuse, which is just using medication outside of its indications, or when it isn't prescribed to you.
- ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
  I don't know of anyone using it in the first place...
  - subscribed 2mo ago
    That's okay, they're elsewhere.
    - ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
      I'm sure all 12 of them are.
  - FeteCommuniste 2mo ago
    Apparently it's used by about 10% of UK university students, according to a survey: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-024-00174-3 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-024-00174-3 I remember there being kind of a burst of articles about it on HN about ten or fifteen years ago, with a lot of commenters talking about their use of it.
    - ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
      > The Prolific advert stated that participants were being sought for an anonymous survey on their views on the use of modafinil as a cognitive enhancer by UK university students. Textbook case of "how do we select the most number of people who would say yes" ism. People who are taking modafinil and have a strong opinion about it. If I'm a student I would never click on that ad in the first place if I have never heard of modafinil (like most people haven't), because the survey is about something I don't know. And if I vaguely heard of it and click, there's a friendly awareness page and quiz right at the start about the thing and its side effects that says I won't get paid if I don't answer correctly, what are the chances I'll continue wasting my time?
- hoppp 2mo ago
  Modafinil is abused as a smart drug by students, entrepreneurs, stock market traders etc Same people who use adderall for work.
  - subscribed 2mo ago
    Are you saying people are using Adderall AND Modafinil at the same time? That'd be either exceedingly rare or borderline unwise. I'd love to see some actual forums or papers about that because this seems very unusual given the partly overlapping effect but significantly different paths.
    - hoppp 2mo ago
      It's an OR not an AND Whatever is available currently. "People who use adderall for work" is a generalization, for example stock traders at Wall Street are famous for doing cocaine, taking amphetamines for work and possibly every smart drug, including modafinil. But they won't take them all at the same time because then they get too high to work.
      - subscribed 2mo ago
        Eh, you don't get "high" on modafinil. Adderall or other amphetamines used in therapeutic doses (or even above that) don't make user "get high". Modafinil is extremely easy and cheap to get for anyone with one eye and one working finger, Adderall a tiny bit harder but easy for a "trader". "Possibly every smart drug, including modafinil" is just many guesses mixed up, nothing to actually discuss with. I'll stop wasting electrons here, you do you.
        hoppp 2mo ago
        Stop wasting electrons with replying then? If my answer is pointless your is even more.
engineer_22 2mo ago
looks like potential for abuse is low - people with normal orexin activity could even experience diminished capacity by these drugs
dylan604 2mo ago
It doesn't matter what it is, people somewhere will abuse it. Maybe doesn't need to be anywhere near the subject.
- gessha 2mo ago
  Reminds me of a discussion about how cyber implants would bring upon cyberpunk - a person who needs an implant asks themselves: What if I use my implant this way…

It sounds to me like something that's quite dangerious. Maybe it helps people with narcolepsy but maybe it will be another thing people abuse like amphetamines?

by hoppp 2mo ago

It sounds to me like something that's quite dangerious. Maybe it helps people with narcolepsy but maybe it will be another thing people abuse like amphetamines?

subscribed 2mo ago

Modafinil is available for ages, acts close to this (it's mentioned in the article), and I don't hear of people abusing it.

projektfu 2mo ago
It gets abused by people who just want to stay awake, but not in the sense of being a party drug. For example, by students, drivers, security officers, and politicians.
- subscribed 2mo ago
  It promotes wakefulness and (allegedly) concentration. It's not a magic or amphetamines, not sure how is that an "abuse"? Do people drinking coffee in the morning *abuse* it?
  - projektfu 2mo ago
    Coffee isn't a Schedule IV controlled substance in the US. I'm using a pretty strict definition of abuse, which is just using medication outside of its indications, or when it isn't prescribed to you.
ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
I don't know of anyone using it in the first place...
- subscribed 2mo ago
  That's okay, they're elsewhere.
  - ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
    I'm sure all 12 of them are.
- FeteCommuniste 2mo ago
  Apparently it's used by about 10% of UK university students, according to a survey: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-024-00174-3 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40979-024-00174-3 I remember there being kind of a burst of articles about it on HN about ten or fifteen years ago, with a lot of commenters talking about their use of it.
  - ShinyLeftPad 2mo ago
    > The Prolific advert stated that participants were being sought for an anonymous survey on their views on the use of modafinil as a cognitive enhancer by UK university students. Textbook case of "how do we select the most number of people who would say yes" ism. People who are taking modafinil and have a strong opinion about it. If I'm a student I would never click on that ad in the first place if I have never heard of modafinil (like most people haven't), because the survey is about something I don't know. And if I vaguely heard of it and click, there's a friendly awareness page and quiz right at the start about the thing and its side effects that says I won't get paid if I don't answer correctly, what are the chances I'll continue wasting my time?
hoppp 2mo ago
Modafinil is abused as a smart drug by students, entrepreneurs, stock market traders etc Same people who use adderall for work.
- subscribed 2mo ago
  Are you saying people are using Adderall AND Modafinil at the same time? That'd be either exceedingly rare or borderline unwise. I'd love to see some actual forums or papers about that because this seems very unusual given the partly overlapping effect but significantly different paths.
  - hoppp 2mo ago
    It's an OR not an AND Whatever is available currently. "People who use adderall for work" is a generalization, for example stock traders at Wall Street are famous for doing cocaine, taking amphetamines for work and possibly every smart drug, including modafinil. But they won't take them all at the same time because then they get too high to work.
    - subscribed 2mo ago
      Eh, you don't get "high" on modafinil. Adderall or other amphetamines used in therapeutic doses (or even above that) don't make user "get high". Modafinil is extremely easy and cheap to get for anyone with one eye and one working finger, Adderall a tiny bit harder but easy for a "trader". "Possibly every smart drug, including modafinil" is just many guesses mixed up, nothing to actually discuss with. I'll stop wasting electrons here, you do you.
      - hoppp 2mo ago
        Stop wasting electrons with replying then? If my answer is pointless your is even more.

engineer_22 2mo ago

looks like potential for abuse is low - people with normal orexin activity could even experience diminished capacity by these drugs

dylan604 2mo ago

It doesn't matter what it is, people somewhere will abuse it. Maybe doesn't need to be anywhere near the subject.

gessha 2mo ago
Reminds me of a discussion about how cyber implants would bring upon cyberpunk - a person who needs an implant asks themselves: What if I use my implant this way…