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Comment by yarou | Hacker News Reader

Anecdotally, Modafinil improved the functioning of the right hemisphere of my brain. I noticed this type of enhancement with Phenibut as well, my "emotional intelligence" was increased by one or two orders of magnitude.

On the other hand, Adderall increased my raw intelligence by several orders of magnitude. I strongly believe that amphetamines should be decriminalized and unscheduled, as they are the only class of pharmaceuticals that are proven to increase cognition with a fairly limited side effect profile.

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Studies have shown that Ritalin gives some with ADHD access to their executive function [1] -- as I recall, it "lights up" the neural pathways that connect that portion of the brain and gives them access to it, and for example, they become empathetic when they normally are not (empathy/perspective is one aspect of executive function).

[1] http://adhdrollercoaster.org/adhd-and-relationships/adhd-imp... (overview with link to UC Berkeley study)

"Limited"? psychosis!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulant_psychosis

In excessive dosage, sure.

Alcohol will also cause you to make incredibly poor judgements, in excessive amounts. The key is responsible use.

> I noticed this type of enhancement with Phenibut as well, my "emotional intelligence" was increased by one or two orders of magnitude.

(Jokingly) So Phenibut would be the party drug of choice for people with Aspergers? I want to know why you think that that drug increased your EQ that much. One to two orders is 10 to 100 times which is an incredibly strong effect.

Edit: I see in the sibling comment that you didn't actually mean orders of magnitudes of improvement. Still want to know how Phenibut increased your EQ.

I don't think you know what several orders of magnitude means. Did you have an IQ of 10 and then got to 100 or 1000? Anyway, this aside, the feeling that you are few times smarter is there, like I say, it's a high ( which, btw, like any dopamine pumping thing, means your next high needs Moar and moar) . The reality is that you are a bit smarter, not few times more, and you work much more.

I didn't mean orders of magnitude in the literal sense, otherwise I would have included my IQ.

Judging from the fact that you created your account recently and your first post ever is negative about Adderall suggests to me that you have an agenda.

I'm sorry Adderall fucked up your life bro, but spreading FUD about it does everyone a disservice, especially for those who want to get into cognitive enhancement.

This isn't FUD, this is presenting you with the other side of the coin, what you are losing, what you are risking, from first hand and second hand experience ( I happened to escape the treadmill, but friends of mine didn't get that lucky...). I never denied the enhancements, only their magnitude. And I think they are not worth the risks. Others think they are.

FWIW, I have no personal experience with Adderall or any amphetamines, haven't used any (but am rather curious about trying some day), but I also found your post very confusing due to the phrasing. "One or two orders of magnitude" implies some sort of quantitative assertion, even though a clearly hyperbolic one, and there's no clarification as to how significant the effect you experienced actually was. Pointing that out does not equate "spreading FUD" in any way. Furthermore, the parent's statement that you got "a bit smarter" rather than orders of magnitude smarter is comparatively correct according to any reasonable medical understanding.

A little touchy, are we?

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