From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@calweb.com)
Date: Wed Apr 09 1997 - 16:53:25 MDT
> This list has been a great help in finding and hopefully tomorrow
> being able to acquire my first helpings of so called "smart drugs". Also i
> think that the reliabilty of these drugs really isnt in question.
Or course it's in question, or I wouldn't have asked. I find not
merely insufficient evidence, but /no/ evidence, and not even the
attempt at evidence that they do a damned thing.
> For DMAE the one I choose to start on there was a simple biological
> explaniaton for its effects and simple biological reasons for its
> side-effects. Along the line these supplements and nootropics have to be
> passed by the FDA for approval as OTC, supplemental, and prescription
> availability and they must establish necessary guidelines for dosing and
> prescribing and probably even establish its LD50 dosage. so these
> supplements and drugs aren't totally unresearched.
Huh? That's precisely what I'm talking about--there are reams of
paragraphs like that one. Lots of buzzwords, zero information content.
> as for their claimed effects to the mental process, it doesnt really
> matter to me. If my body can be fooled into a higher ability to concentrate,
> better mood and extends my life span then i dont really care if more
> acetlycholine has penetrated the blood-brain barrier, its not really the
> issue, the results are.
> langlois@postoffice.ptd.net
Precisely! I agree. I don't care /why/ they work either, I just
want to know /if/ they work, and all I can find is explanations and
testimonials. I don't give a damn what gets transmitted where, or
why we think it might work, or how the people using them feel or what
they believe. None of that matters. Do they work or not? A simple
question, easy to answer, with methods known for centuries. The fact
that no one even tries to answer it is very suspicious. I'm happy
that you feel better or think you concentrate more with them, but if
I see no reason to believe that those aren't just placebo effects,
then I'm not going to blindly pop pills on some random testimonial.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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