Another catcher for the why
I wrote my bachelor thesis about modafinil. Although it’s only a literature review I decided to publish some of its core findings on this blog. Here are some relevant quotes: Introduction: The subject of this bachelor thesis is, broadly speaking, cognitive enhancement. Bostrom and Roache (2010, p. 1) define cognitive enhancement as “the amplification or
Summary: Becoming happier is a learnable skill, just like becoming more rational. Likewise, the best method to practice happiness is similar to the best method to train rationality: Practice only a few basic techniques very often, instead of trying hundreds of advanced techniques only a few times. This is the best way to install new cognitive habits that make you happier.
“Ausweitung der Kampfzone” von Michel Houellebecq ist zweifellos ein Buch, das vor Nihilismus und Zynismus nur so trieft. Trotzdem – oder wahrscheinlich gerade deshalb – beschreibt es viele grausame Wahrheiten. Houellebecq vermag den Geisteszustand apathischer Hoffnungslosigkeit und Anhedonie wie kein Zweiter zu beschreiben: “Die Schwierigkeit ist, daß es nicht genügt, wenn Sie genau den Regeln
It’s old news that our medical system isn’t the most reliable truth-finding enterprise ever invented. Recently I stumbled over a concrete example that even surprised me. I searched on google scholar for side effects of zopiclone, a supposedly safe, relatively new hypnotic. With 123 citations on google scholar, one of the most promising hits was
Sometimes my outlook could be adequately captured by this little graphic:
[Epistemic status: MAOIs probably are the most powerful antidepressants – more evidence for this can be found in an excellent recent post on SlateStarCodex.] I’ve recently read the absolutely excellent classic “The Good Drug Guide” by David Pearce. Pearce is a hardcore transhumanist whose ultimate goal is to abolish all suffering. Even better, he’s not shying away
[Diese Abhandlung ist offensichtlich von weinerlichem existentialistischem Gedankengut inspiriert. Und ich bin natürlich auch nicht der erste, der auf eine fruchtbare Verknüpfung von Existentialismus und Psychotherapie hinweist. Zu einiger Bekanntheit gelang beispielsweise die existentielle Psychotherapie von Irvin Yalom. Allerdings war Yalom noch ziemlich von der Psychoanalyse beeinflusst und ignoriert meines Wissens nach viele neuere psychologische Erkenntnisse. Mein