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from the better-living-through-chemistry dept.
The NYT reports that drugs like Adderall were once only prescribed to help children with attention deficit disorders focus on their school work but then college students found those drugs could increase their ability to study. Now a growing number of workers use them to help compete. What will happen as these drugs are more widely used in the workplace? According to Anjan Chatterjee, the use of neurotechnologies to enhance healthy people’s brain function could easily become widespread. "If anything, we worship workplace productivity by any means. Americans work longer hours and take fewer vacations than most others in the developed world. Why not add drugs to energize, focus and limit that annoying waste of time — sleep?" Julian Savulescu says that what defines human beings is their extraordinary cognitive power and their ability to enhance that power through reading, writing, computing and now smart drugs. "Eighty-five percent of Americans use caffeine. Nicotine and sugar are also cognitive enhancers," says Savulescu.
But cognitive neurologist Martha Farah, says that regular use on the job is an invitation to dependence. "I also worry about the effect of drug-fueled productivity on people other than the users," says Farah. "It is not hard to imagine a supervisor telling employees that this is the standard they should aspire to in their work, however they manage to do it (hint, hint). The eventual result will be a ratcheting up of “normal” productivity, where everyone uses (and the early adopters’ advantage is only fleeting)."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @02:06AM
I don't believe you, because of your lack of both kinds of reason. Just because someone has more to lose does not mean they take more risk. A business owner investing a million dollars with the expectation to make a profit is not more risky than a working class family going half a year's income into debt just to afford the means to get to work.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @02:28AM
Many (most) of these business owners came to this country poor speaking English as a second language. They got jobs and eventually opened up their own place and grew their business. If they can do it then I am less sympathetic to a native born that doesn't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @03:24AM
*Some* of them can do it. Most fail. You look to the successes and then pretend it is a general trend.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @04:19AM
Never said it was a general trend just that I seen it happen with many people I know.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday April 23 2015, @04:12AM
If it's not the general trend, why the lack of sympathy when it fails?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 23 2015, @10:38PM
Those that succeeded worked hard to do it. The failures had just as much an opportunity as those that did start out poor and succeeded.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 24 2015, @01:23AM
And all big multi billion dollar companies started out small (or at least they had parent companies that did). YouTube, Facebook, Xerox, etc... They didn't sit around and complain about how impossible it is to succeed, they went out there, worked hard, and succeeded. They deserve to reap the rewards of their hard work and if they can do it then I have less sympathy for those that don't when they complain about how unsuccessful they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @04:34AM
Citation or you are a liar. Go ahead, just one source indicating that many or most i.e. over 50% of business owners are foreign born and started poor. Go!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @01:09PM
I am referring to the ones I know, I didn't mean it to be a general statement. Myself being a descendant of foreign parents my perspective in terms of whom I know will probably hold such a bias.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @01:42PM
Yet you made a general statement and have defended it repeatedly.
Do you not see what you are doing? Bias, moving the goalposts, outright lying, trying to cover and deflect. These are not good traits.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @03:32PM
I didn't lie, I never moved the goalposts, when did I cover and deflect anything. If you mean I later made certain clarifications what's wrong with that.
I agree I didn't communicate that this was my experience from the outset and that what I typed could reasonably be seen as a general statement but that's not how I meant it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 22 2015, @03:42PM
They also aren't burdened with opportunity cost people born here are. Your analogy is flawed.