[extropy-chat] Singularity Drugs

[Gary Miller]

On 4/14/06, Neil H. <neuronexmachina at gmail.com> wrote:


Not necessarily. For example, one might imagine some sort of "tweak" which
would enhance intelligence at the cost of dramatically increased energy
consumption. Something like this would be selected against over the millenia
of human evolution, as energy/food was generally hard to come by. In
contemporary society however, energy/food is quite easy to get -- indeed, we
have huge diet/exercise industries dedicated to trying to get people to
consume less food or use more energy. 


 I have read a good deal about many geniuses being manic depressive or
bipolar and producing their best work during their hypomania phases.
 
Wikipedia States:
"Hypomania is a less severe form of mania
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mania>  without progression to psychosis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis> . Many of the symptoms of mania are
present, but to a lesser degree than in overt mania. People with hypomania
are generally perceived as being energetic, euphoric, overflowing with new
ideas, and sometimes highly confident and charismatic, yet they are
sufficiently capable of coherent thought and action to participate in
everyday life.

It is questionable whether hypomania occurs without being part of a cycle of
mania or depression. Patients rarely, if ever, seek out a psychiatrist
complaining of hypomania. Johns Hopkins psychologist John Gartner in The
Hypomanic Edge contends that many famous people including Christopher
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus> Columbus, Alexander
Hamilton <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton> , Andrew Carnegie
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Carnegie> , Louis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_B._Mayer> B Mayer, and Craig Venter
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Venter>  (who mapped the human genome
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome> ) owed their ideas and drive (and
eccentricities) to their hypomanic temperaments (it is called the
hyperthymic temperament in clinical research). The creativity and risky
behavior associated with hypomania (and bipolar disorder in general) may
suggest why it has survived evolutionary pressures.

Although hypomania sounds in many ways like a desirable condition, it can
have significant downsides. Many of the negative symptoms of mania can be
present; the primary differentiating factor is the absence of psychosis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosis> . Many hypomanic patients have
symptoms of disrupted sleep patterns, irritability, racing thoughts,
obsessional traits, and poor judgment. Hypomania, like mania, can be
associated with recklessness, excessive spending, risky hypersexual
activity, general lack of judgment and out-of-character behaviour that the
patient may later regret and may cause significant social, interpersonal,
career and financial problems.

Hypomania can also signal the beginning of a more severe manic episode, and
in people who know that they suffer from bipolar disorder, can be viewed as
a warning sign that a manic episode is on the way, allowing them to seek
medical treatment while they are still sufficiently self-aware before
full-blown mania occurs."

Current drugs for manic depression tend to try and level you out not
maximize the happy hypomania side of the disorder.
 
My thought is that a drug that could be closely regulated by dosage to
control the level of hypomania could be both pleasurable and of great
positive benefit to society.
 
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