DIY Neurostimulation on the rise
nature.com
nature.com
You're certainly not guaranteed any amount of success, but the right smack on the right part of the machine might just fix the rattle.
That said, a routine of high-quality sleep, daily exercise, nutritious food, mindfulness meditation, and limited caffeine use will do far more for the average person – with substantially less risk.
I metabolize caffeine slowly and have practically no tolerance. A medium-sized latte anytime after 5 PM will keep me up all night. A decaf equivalent will make it really hard to fall asleep (remember that decaf still has caffeine).
I think my limit when not ingesting caffeine in the early morning is about 200mg before I have issues with falling asleep.
I've seen research suggesting the use of repeated low dosages (20-200mg per hour) throughout the morning and early afternoon for optimal performance. However, many of these studies have very small sample sizes and should be read cautiously.
I feel best with no caffeine at all.
Why limited caffeine?
What I've seen is that caffeine works for some people and it doesn't work for others.
1. It helps promote a healthy body weight by suppressing appetite and boosting your metabolism.
2. It enhances dopamine action in the brain which is linked to improvements in learning and memory.
3. It has been shown to be neuroprotective; caffeine consumption has been linked to lower rates of both parkinson's and alzheimer's.
4. Caffeine intake has even been linked to higher testosterone levels.
So, enjoy caffeine all you want, just don't consume so much you feel overstimulated, or can't get to sleep at your usual bedtime.
Intellectually, I know I should just unstimulate that part but meh.
My guess: at best these "neurohackers" will accomplish nothing other than some good times socializing with each other (good for them), at worst they'll hurt themselves.
> It is very difficult to target a specific region of the brain, especially with simple home set-ups that use wet sponges as the contact points.
My layman's speculation is that things like cognition have complicated and fine-granted regulatory systems associated with them, which may have sub-optimal set-points for many people. To get true "cognitive enhancement" you'd have to 1) influence these systems in precise targeted ways (i.e. not with a blunt instrument) and 2) do it in a way that won't trigger counteracting regulation. Anything less would probably cause side-effects and/or be temporary with negative withdrawal symptoms.
first sentence really paints a picture
So yes, it can be used to accelerate skill learning for skill dependant people but can be (and is) detrimental for knowledge workers
(Wireheading is also used in a drug-like way; the aforementioned Louis Wu is an ex-addict.)
Maybe this is silly, but I view this as evidence of societal sickness. Young men are pushed so hard to be the very best at whatever they do that they are willing to use unproven, unsafe technology to alter their biology to give them an edge.
Sure, if you asked them they'd say that they wanted to be smarter for smartness' sake, but I doubt it's true.
I mean, when has society not ever been sick? Think of the gold rushes, oil rushes. There's always been desperate people willing to risk it all. It's only now they have access to these options. The only surprising thing should be for people who don't understand the weird new societal pressures placed on people in this age range.