This article sucks, and is basically marketing for the new wave of nootropic companies. I think nootropic use is an issue that will enter the societal conversation relatively soon, but it's important to note that for the most part, the younger generation has already gone half-in on nootropic use-- while many were non-consensually plied with nootropics by their parents/teachers to increase their productivity, nearly all have experimented with nootropics to some degree on their own, even if it's just with coffee. I am of the opinion that a good place for us to land would be the removal of any and all limits on what a person is allowed to consume in the name of self-modification, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone other than the user. In practice, most nootropics are whitemarket or greymarket, with a number of notable entries being prescription-only.
Nootropics are for everyone, and always have been due to the fact that having greater cognitive ability is a large factor in success at most tasks.
Coffee (caffeine) is the most consumed nootropic in the history of the planet, and is probably the safest. There are probably a number of other equally useful yet harmless compounds out there that are ripe for discovery, but I wouldn't exactly put my money on the options that this article suggests.
I've experimented with nootropics extensively, and here are some of my findings:
1. Piracetam makes me very spacey and distant
2. Modafinil is good for staying awake without jitters, but otherwise useless
3. Adderall is too stimulative and leads to jittery, coked-out thoughts
4. Caffeine is a winner
5. Weed improves creativity but makes tracing the logical steps of your thoughts more difficult
6. Fish oil helps reduce skin dryness but nothing else that is detectable
The broad stroke of your thinking is in line with ours -- it'll be inevitable. However, we do think it's important to start the dialogue and bring in policy makers as nootropics get more mainstream and as more exotic, unregulated/prescription drugs get roped into the scene. For example, sourcing unregulated research chemicals from labs in China or India zip-tied up in large, plastic baggies is sketchy. Bringing nootropics out of their current 'homebrew' status will really push the market forward.
You should try your caffeine with l-theanine if you don't like an over-stimulated, jittery effect. l-theanine is a pro-drug for GABA, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and is shown to ameliorate some of the edge off stimulants. Our indiegogo campaign for SPRINT makes it really easy to use: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sprint-declaring-war-on-a...
L-theanine has been on my list for a while. I agree that random RCs from Chinese factoring labs are likely to lead to people getting hurt, but right now, that's part of the game that people are willing to play to get an edge when stuff like Adderall (the layman's view of a nootropic holy grail) is illegal without a scrip. Legal and safe nootropics are a good goal to work for, but frankly I wouldn't expect any kind of legislative proactiveness on it-- wait until kids are dying or getting maimed by mystery RCs, because that is when their backlash against nootropics will come.
I checked out your indiegogo campaign and noticed the following:
"Geoff and I have been friends since going to college at Stanford, where we both studied Computer Science. We've scored 99th %ile on the big 4 tests: ACT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT. We know how to work and excel in some of the most challenging, demanding, and exciting academic environments in the world."
Do either of you have any kind of experience in neurobiology, biochemistry, or physiology? I understand that your product is basically a repackaging of confirmed-safe chemicals, but without some actual background knowledge your chemical ratios as well as pathway optimization will be mostly guesswork...
I would suggest trying Vyvanse[1] instead of Adderall. It's available by prescription and, being an amphetamine, is schedule II (meaning there are rules on how much you're allowed to have at one time, I think 30/month). Nevertheless, it has greatly increased my productivity with minimal side-effects; the only side-effect I've noted to date is diminished appetite, but it does seem to have worn off over time.
Comments
This article sucks, and is basically marketing for the new wave of nootropic companies. I think nootropic use is an issue that will enter the societal conversation relatively soon, but it's important to note that for the most part, the younger generation has already gone half-in on nootropic use-- while many were non-consensually plied with nootropics by their parents/teachers to increase their productivity, nearly all have experimented with nootropics to some degree on their own, even if it's just with coffee. I am of the opinion that a good place for us to land would be the removal of any and all limits on what a person is allowed to consume in the name of self-modification, so long as it doesn't hurt anyone other than the user. In practice, most nootropics are whitemarket or greymarket, with a number of notable entries being prescription-only.
Nootropics are for everyone, and always have been due to the fact that having greater cognitive ability is a large factor in success at most tasks.
Coffee (caffeine) is the most consumed nootropic in the history of the planet, and is probably the safest. There are probably a number of other equally useful yet harmless compounds out there that are ripe for discovery, but I wouldn't exactly put my money on the options that this article suggests.
I've experimented with nootropics extensively, and here are some of my findings:
1. Piracetam makes me very spacey and distant
2. Modafinil is good for staying awake without jitters, but otherwise useless
3. Adderall is too stimulative and leads to jittery, coked-out thoughts
4. Caffeine is a winner
5. Weed improves creativity but makes tracing the logical steps of your thoughts more difficult
6. Fish oil helps reduce skin dryness but nothing else that is detectable
The broad stroke of your thinking is in line with ours -- it'll be inevitable. However, we do think it's important to start the dialogue and bring in policy makers as nootropics get more mainstream and as more exotic, unregulated/prescription drugs get roped into the scene. For example, sourcing unregulated research chemicals from labs in China or India zip-tied up in large, plastic baggies is sketchy. Bringing nootropics out of their current 'homebrew' status will really push the market forward.
You should try your caffeine with l-theanine if you don't like an over-stimulated, jittery effect. l-theanine is a pro-drug for GABA, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and is shown to ameliorate some of the edge off stimulants. Our indiegogo campaign for SPRINT makes it really easy to use: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sprint-declaring-war-on-a...
L-theanine has been on my list for a while. I agree that random RCs from Chinese factoring labs are likely to lead to people getting hurt, but right now, that's part of the game that people are willing to play to get an edge when stuff like Adderall (the layman's view of a nootropic holy grail) is illegal without a scrip. Legal and safe nootropics are a good goal to work for, but frankly I wouldn't expect any kind of legislative proactiveness on it-- wait until kids are dying or getting maimed by mystery RCs, because that is when their backlash against nootropics will come.
I checked out your indiegogo campaign and noticed the following:
"Geoff and I have been friends since going to college at Stanford, where we both studied Computer Science. We've scored 99th %ile on the big 4 tests: ACT, SAT, GRE, and GMAT. We know how to work and excel in some of the most challenging, demanding, and exciting academic environments in the world."
Do either of you have any kind of experience in neurobiology, biochemistry, or physiology? I understand that your product is basically a repackaging of confirmed-safe chemicals, but without some actual background knowledge your chemical ratios as well as pathway optimization will be mostly guesswork...
I would suggest trying Vyvanse[1] instead of Adderall. It's available by prescription and, being an amphetamine, is schedule II (meaning there are rules on how much you're allowed to have at one time, I think 30/month). Nevertheless, it has greatly increased my productivity with minimal side-effects; the only side-effect I've noted to date is diminished appetite, but it does seem to have worn off over time.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisdexamfetamine