[ExI] LA Times: Drugs to build up that mental muscle

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 27/12/2007, James Clement <clementlawyer at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Well, just Google Chess and Ritalin and you'll come up with articles
> accusing chess champions of "mental doping,"

That's not exactly new. People have been taking stimulants like
cocaine for centuries, probably millenia. They can help fight fatigue
and improve concentration in small doses for short periods, which
might give someone a slight edge in a long tournament, but the
limitations of these drugs are well-known. There are people who claim
they function better on stimulants, alcohol, cannabis etc., and maybe
they do under certain circumstances, but this does not make their
substance of choice a "smart drug".

BTW, cocaine, amphetamines, methylphenidate are all pharmacologically
similar. "Ritalin" (methylphenidate) is mainly a marketing exercise so
that people don't realise they're giving their kid speed.





-- 
Stathis Papaioannou