If deliberately practicing your way to success seems like a lot of work, there’s always the prescription drug route. In The New Yorker, Margaret Talbot explores the increasing use of cognitive-enhancement drugs. Tests have indicated that the drugs improve concentration but their effect on abstract thought and creativity is unclear. As one scientist put it, “I’m a little concerned that we could be raising a generation of very focused accountants.” (On the other hand, that might not be so terrible …) [%comments]
A Generation of Very Focused Accountants
TAGS: drugs
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What’s next on the media percecution list? Are you going to judge that people with depression are weak for not just dealing with their issues and moving on? Is the next witchhunt sound bite going to be “…I fear we are raising a generation of flattened-affect zombies…”?
A lot of people in my field drink coffee, which they feel helps them to work better. I don’t feel that they are a cheat in any way.
I’m a pretty high-achieving college student and I take it occasionally; I’m prescribed, but honestly just haven’t gotten around to filling the prescription. With the amount of Adderall on college campuses, it’s tremendously easy to obtain through close friends – there’s no need for anyone to go to drug dealers. IMO it’s not as though doctors are OxyContin dealers, there are just a good deal of people who can make a convincing (and, perhaps, correct) case that it would have a significant positive impact on their quality of life, and I think doctors are loath to withhold that from patients.
Demographically, I’d say that perhaps more intense students tend to be less likely to use it, but I think it’s more of a link between academic focus and unwillingness to experiment than that it is a drug only used by those on the margins per se. There’s definitely a link between going out and partying and using Adderall, but there are a decent number of highly competitive students in my experience who fit this mold. Perhaps students who already drink alcohol or smoke marijuana are more receptive to the idea that drugs can improve one’s quality of life? Interesting topic, though.
You’re playing the out-of-context game a little bit there. There’s not anything that points to what the article calls neuro-enhancers (almost exclusively stimulants) causing an impairment on creative though, just that it does not seem to imrpove it any while it does improve concentration-driven tasks. The article talks about self-dosing college students writing uninspired papers, but they are generally talking about the fact that what they’re trying to do is be productive enough to get it done fast rather than taking the time to put thought and effort into it.
What’s more, the quote you mention was specifically that neuroscientist musing that if (normal) children at critical developmental stages are taking drugs like ADD meds to be able to multitask and concentrate on tasks at hand, they will not be spending any time on day dreaming more conducive to creative thought. The line of reasoning would be that without the drugs, at some point the brain would naturally lose sight of the task and wander but the drug keep it “in line.” The concern, then, is that these kids never learn how to think creatively, valuing organization and follow-through above all else.
Still, great article. Thanks for the link.