Where’s the line between a cup of coffee to wake yourself up, and using drugs to make yourself cleverer?
A nameless weblog
A space for things that are interesting, useful or amusing and, as such, a poor substitute for tea, coffee and biscuits with far-flung friends.
Categories
Amici
Archives
Meta
2 Comments
I’d say there is quite a gulf between the two, simply on the grounds that caffeine isn’t much of a mental enhancer. If being awake is all that is required, caffeine is a fairly good choice. You’ll feel like you are doing your business at the speed of thought (to steal from BG), but in reality you’ll be having increasingly incoherent thinking as you imbibe more.
The effect of caffeine on spiders is another indication that it is perhaps not as enhancing as might be thought.
The question that should really be asked though is “Will MENSA start random drug testing?”.
Sure – the effects are different. My point is that (aside from those religious groups who do indeed forbid coffee) as a culture we accept that one can take drugs not only to make oneself well, but to enhance performance. Lines are hard to draw.