Фармакология на службе пробужденности

[Ева]

Да, среди трансгуманистов модафинил (и его аналоги) очень популярен. Правда, в России он не продается, но местные привозят его из-за границы.
Интересна также идея трансгуманистов насчет инъекций окситоцина для повышения альтруистических наклонностей :-)
Подробнее о трансгуманизме: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism (на англ.)

[ds]

I’m not the only one who has taken advantage of this effect. The Silicon Valley insider webzine Tech Crunch reported in July 2008 that some entrepreneurs now see modafinil as an important competitive tool. The tone of the piece was judgmental, but the implication was clear: everybody’s doing it, and if you’re not, you’re probably falling behind.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200907/intelligence

Вспомнилась одна мысль, которая возникла при разговоре с товарищем увлекающимся всякими витаминами: как для formula-1 постоянно разрабатываются новые идеи по улучшению, так же может быть когда-нибудь будет и с людьми

ещё вспомнилось, что в любом киберпанк-фильме или книге как-нибудь улучшают людей симбиозом с машинами

[wayter]

Статья об "усилителях интеллекта" (intelligence augmentation). В частности, говорится о медицинском средстве modafinil, которое повышает алертность, фокусировку, ясность мышления, распознавание паттернов.


In pharmacology, too, the future is already here. One of the most prominent examples is a drug called modafinil. Developed in the 1970s, modafinil—sold in the U.S. under the brand name Provigil—appeared on the cultural radar in the late 1990s, when the American military began to test it for long-haul pilots. Extended use of modafinil can keep a person awake and alert for well over 32 hours on end, with only a full night’s sleep required to get back to a normal schedule.

While it is FDA-approved only for a few sleep disorders, like narcolepsy and sleep apnea, doctors increasingly prescribe it to those suffering from depression, to “shift workers” fighting fatigue, and to frequent business travelers dealing with time-zone shifts. I’m part of the latter group: like more and more professionals, I have a prescription for modafinil in order to help me overcome jet lag when I travel internationally. When I started taking the drug, I expected it to keep me awake; I didn’t expect it to make me feel smarter, but that’s exactly what happened. The change was subtle but clear, once I recognized it: within an hour of taking a standard 200-mg tablet, I was much more alert, and thinking with considerably more clarity and focus than usual. This isn’t just a subjective conclusion. A University of Cambridge study, published in 2003, concluded that modafinil confers a measurable cognitive-enhancement effect across a variety of mental tasks, including pattern recognition and spatial planning, and sharpens focus and alertness.

I’m not the only one who has taken advantage of this effect. The Silicon Valley insider webzine Tech Crunch reported in July 2008 that some entrepreneurs now see modafinil as an important competitive tool. The tone of the piece was judgmental, but the implication was clear: everybody’s doing it, and if you’re not, you’re probably falling behind.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200907/intelligence