Did any of you see this on Digg? When I saw this article, I remembered a show NPR did a show a few months back on cognitive enhancing drugs. Cognitive enhancing drugs, aka Smart drugs, aka Nootropics are drugs that can increase focus and concentration, and lead to better spatial reasoning, greater alertness, and improved “clarity” of thinking. Some smart drugs include:
Hydergine – a “smart drug” that dilates the blood vessels of the brain.
Piracetam – It appears to enhance cognition and memory, slow brain aging, increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain
Aniracetam – great for memory and concentration
Minaprine – mood enhancer, aka Ritalin
Oxiracetam – Cognitive and mood support
Dexedrine – Alertness and mental function. Used by the U.S. Military’s fighter pilots in order to stay alert and focused, especially on long-range bombing missions
Provigil – used in treating excessive sleepiness associated with shift-work sleep disorders
Students whose parents could afford to buy these Nootropics give their kids the edge over normal, non-doping kids. That means less privileged kids will be left behind. The rich are already altering their brain chemistries, what is to stop them from changing their physiology to live longer and perform better?
Anyway, heres the article, brought to you by The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk)
Rich ‘may evolve into separate species’ – by Amy Willis
The super-rich may evolve into a separate species entirely in the future due to enhancements in biotechnology and robotic engineering, American futurologist Paul Saffo has said.
Mr Saffo, from San Francisco, says in the future people will be able to grow their own replacement organs, take specially tailored drugs, and use genetic research tools to alert them from any possible hereditary health dangers.
He adds that tomorrow’s world will be a fusion of biology and technology, where robots do the chores, cars drive themselves and artificial limbs are better than real ones.
Mr Saffo’s comments reflect claims by American scientist Ray Kurzweil who only a few months ago said immortality was only 20 years away due to the speed of advancements in nanotechnology.
But Mr Saffo says these improvements would only be affordable to the super-rich. And because of this, he says, advancements may lead to a divide between the classes and eventually could lead to the super-rich evolving into a different species entirely, leaving his not-so-rich counterpart behind.
“In the 1980s it was the personal computer – came out of the garage, changed the world. In the 1990s it was the web. The next big device to wander into our lives is robots,” he told the Sunday Times.
“We may find we are absolutely dependent upon these electronic insects and that we don’t even know we are dependent upon them until something breaks.
“I sometimes wonder if the very rich can live, on average, 20 years longer than the poor. That’s 20 more years of earning and saving. Think about wealth and power and the advantages that you pass on to your children.”
Popularity: 20% [?]
Hey my dude-
Yeah I’m still hustling. I really dig your posts, good stuff. Sorry it took me a minute to get back to you, just been a bit busy. Hey I could I use some input. I’m working on a follow up to a post, how to you keep yourself motivated. I’m looking for any daily habits, routines, or anything tip/trick that you use to keep yourself going while building your business.
Also I starting an affiliate program for blog. I’ll send you over the details.
Keep up the good the work. I check this blog regularly.
Many of these drugs are readily available to any class–like dexedrine, so would they necessarily be just for the rich? My big concern would be the long term effects—the minds could be enhanced, but would they also become crazy. It smacks of a show I caught a glimpse of the other day on the Hapsburg Dynasty-while most families increased their wealth through war, they did it through marriage. The males would marry women who did not have male siblings and whose father’s had great fortunes and assimilate the wealth into their own. In order to prevent this same thing from happening to themselves, they began marrying within their own family and interbreeding. To say the children were eccentric was probably putting it mildly. Either case messes with genetics. Would anyone, especially the rich want to take these drugs and alter their dna without testing the long term consequences? Just food for thought…
“Rich ‘may evolve into separate species’” is some bull. But I would probably consider if it said something about “Anti-Aging”. Can you make me look 22 again?
LMAO! I guess its no different than the rich being able to afford certain surgeries that the poor couldnt. Example: Majic Johnson has had HIV since I was in the Third Grade, and a great many who were infected at the same time are gone.