Nootropics (a.k.a. "smart drugs" or cognitive enhancers) are basically the opposite of recreational drugs. You take recreational drugs to have more and better fun. You take smart drugs to do more and better work. In a culture already obsessed with productivity, you don't need me to point out that higher productivity through chemistry is, perhaps, not only unnecessary, it's profoundly un-fun.
Which is exactly how I felt about nootropics every time they popped up in my newsfeed. Like they were another stupid scam aimed at making stressed out stockbrokers more productive—or just another bogus nutritional supplement that none of us need.
But then I wondered: And what if they don't just work for stockbrokers? What if they can make people like me—creative types who write and do yoga and make art—more focused and productive? What if they could help people who are dedicated to evolving human consciousness evolve faster? My mind began to fill with visions of Bernie Sanders and Noam Chomsky amplified.
So I decided to try them.
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