Viagra for the brain

May 16, 2008 | Alex Evans | More on Technology | 

Via Kevin Drum, this vignette from Johann Hari about his experience taking Provigil, which (we’re told) college students describe as “viagra for the brain”:

I picked up a book about quantum physics and super-string theory I have been meaning to read for ages, for a column I’m thinking of writing. It had been hanging over me, daring me to read it. Five hours later, I realised I had hit the last page. I looked up. It was getting dark outside. I was hungry. I hadn’t noticed anything, except the words I was reading, and they came in cool, clear passages; I didn’t stop or stumble once.

Perplexed, I got up, made a sandwich — and I was overcome with the urge to write an article that had been kicking around my subconscious for months. It rushed out of me in a few hours, and it was better than usual….The next morning I woke up and felt immediately alert. Normally it takes a coffee and an hour to kick-start my brain; today I’m ready to go from the second I rise. And so it continues like this, for five days: I inhale books and exhale articles effortlessly. My friends all say I seem more contemplative, less rushed — which is odd, because I’m doing more than normal. One sixty-something journalist friend says she remembers taking Benzadrine in the sixties to get through marathon articles, but she’d collapse after four or five says and need a long, long sleep. I don’t feel like that. I keep waiting for an exhausted crash, and it doesn’t seem to come.

Tempting to agree with Kevin, who says he wants some - though you can’t help wondering about the general rarity of free lunches, as well as the implications for social equity (c.f. Jules on transhumanism)….

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Comments

2 Responses to “Viagra for the brain”

  1. Charlie Edwards on May 16th, 2008 8:43 am

    Worth noting that U.S. soldiers have been using the drug for sometime in Iraq in a bid to stay awake for up to 40 hours straight, without feeling “wired” and without crashing afterward.

    In the past soldiers have taken stimulants when they can’t afford to fall asleep, but these have all had side effects: poor judgment, jumpiness and the need for extra sleep as soon as the soldier stops popping them. But the new stay-awake pills appear to have no side effects, at least in the short term.

    It’s a case of 40 hours on 8 hours off.

  2. Mr. Gunn on May 19th, 2008 7:58 pm

    Hate to disappoint you, but the article discussing modafinil was a little over-enthusiastic. It’s more suited for people who have to say alert and watchful for long periods of time, rather than people who need to make better decisions. It would help night watchmen or troops on combat missions more than it would help a student, scientists, or software developer. For deep analytical thinking, you’ll get no help from provigil because you’re trading speed for depth.

    I kinda feel like punching Johann Hari in the face. Viagra for the brain? Did they really just say that? What a way to start a intelligent, considered, high-level discussion of the topic! I think Johann was probably not sleeping well and that’s why they got such a boost, but please note that getting a good night’s sleep comes with no side effects and requires no prescription. neither does piracetam, btw.

    If you’d like to read more about this stuff, I recommend Smart Drugs and Nutrients at Amazon.