Submitted by Surfdaddy (not verified) on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 11:50.
> the author want to exacerbate this competition eye for eye at the point
> where everybody will be forced to kill themselves ingesting overdoses of neuro-stimulants
> just to stay in the market.
Software development is already a highly competitive, global phenomena where people are often (literally) killing themselves with overwork, lack of sleep, and excessive work schedules. Zack's point, as I understand it, is not to condone this behavior, but to point out that there are hundreds of cognitive-enabling drugs under development worldwide that might be used in this already competitive endeavor:
"So you can imagine the inherent coercive force that will emerge as those treatments become developed."
Whether it's drugs like caffeine (expresso, Red Bull) or Aderall or the new class of emerging memory drugs, it's likely to be hard to stop humans from using them to enhance performance even if such cognitive-enabling drugs are heavily regulated or even illegal.
Can the world move towards a more altruistic, cooperative economic model where everybody won't "be forced to kill themselves ingesting overdoses of neuro-stimulants?" Ironically, it's the potential for better brain science based on neurotechnological research that might just hold the key to improving international relations and reducing overzealous competition by understanding the neurological basis of cooperation and altruism.
> the author want to exacerbate this competition eye for eye at the point
> where everybody will be forced to kill themselves ingesting overdoses of neuro-stimulants
> just to stay in the market.
Software development is already a highly competitive, global phenomena where people are often (literally) killing themselves with overwork, lack of sleep, and excessive work schedules. Zack's point, as I understand it, is not to condone this behavior, but to point out that there are hundreds of cognitive-enabling drugs under development worldwide that might be used in this already competitive endeavor:
"So you can imagine the inherent coercive force that will emerge as those treatments become developed."
Whether it's drugs like caffeine (expresso, Red Bull) or Aderall or the new class of emerging memory drugs, it's likely to be hard to stop humans from using them to enhance performance even if such cognitive-enabling drugs are heavily regulated or even illegal.
Can the world move towards a more altruistic, cooperative economic model where everybody won't "be forced to kill themselves ingesting overdoses of neuro-stimulants?" Ironically, it's the potential for better brain science based on neurotechnological research that might just hold the key to improving international relations and reducing overzealous competition by understanding the neurological basis of cooperation and altruism.