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| One surefire way I could enhance my academic performance would be to somehow prevent Hero from sitting on and eating my notes. |
Have you ever had to have
three, four, five, even six coffees to stay awake to cram for exams? Or maybe
get through a late night exploratory surgery? I always thought of performance
enhancing drugs as something that only high-level athletes indulged in, but in
fact they are used by desk jockeys, students, veterinarians, surgeons, concert pianists and people in just
about any field.
You might think you’re
taking that No-Doz out of choice, but use of these kinds of drugs to facilitate
work output is quietly becoming the norm. One pill to stay awake won’t hurt,
will it? Think about it: if everyone did this all the time, it would become the
new norm. Suddenly, the decision not to take these may not be a choice.
Take study for example.
There are plenty of reports of people using drugs like Ritalin to enhance their
concentration. And have you heard about people using beta-blockers to get over
stage fright when defending their PhD? But Drs Nicole Vincent and Emma Jane
reckon that taking smart drugs, or cognitive enhancement, is ethically risky business.
Check out their argument
in The Conversation here. (Here's one of my favourite quotes below).
Advances in science and technology subtly shape our lives by gradually, and often imperceptibly, changing the moral, legal and social landscape. What we expect of ourselves and of one another also changes with the times. It changes with what we think people are capable of doing and what we think is reasonable to expect people to be capable of doing.
You can also view Dr
Vincent’s Ted Presentation here.
If you don’t like the idea
of an employer or indeed colleagues expecting an artificially enhanced you – to
the point that you can’t fulfil your duties adequately without some form of
cognitive enhancement - then it’s worth considering whether you indulge in any
enhancers at all. We're already connected to employers and colleagues 24/7 via ever-present smartphones. Do we really want them, in some sense, inside us?
BTW, if you’re currently
studying and stuck for study tips, check out this post on exam study tips; or this post on how to study in vet school.
