Rich could get smarter while poor get dumbed down

Two stories this week on intelligence issues stand in jarring opposition.

First is the call by several scientists for healthy people to have the right to give themselves intellectual "steroids."

"I would be the first in line if safe and effective drugs were developed that trumped caffeine," author Michael Gazzaniga of the University of California, Santa Barbara, declared in an e-mail.

Second is the sad finding that children in poverty tend to have reduced brain activity.

Barring a VERY comprehensive national healthcare plan, it's easy to see how the income gap could become an intelligence gap as well.

Also, per the statements of Gazzaniga, et al, whether or not any of the scientists in question have any financial connection, Big PhARMA is behind this.

And, the big drugmakers certainly won't rush out to tell you about Second is the sad finding that children in poverty all the side effects of these drugs.

Let's tackle one - chemical dependency. What if the alleged brain-boost effects of Adderall lessen with more and more usage, whether through physical dependency, psychological dependency, or both? And, what if its non brain-boost effects produce good old-fashioned amphetatmine addiction?

In short, there ARE NO "safe" brain-boosters at this time. As Christpher Waljek notes, we've also never tested any of these drugs for use on healthy people for off-label reasons, other than the self-testing going on right now.

And, he adds this - the drugs of today, the Adderall and Ritalin, boost test performance, not necessarily intelligence. (There's a whole raft of sidebar arguments here, of course, on what "intelligence" is, is "intelligence" as currently defined by most U.S. social psychologists more nature or nurture, is there a thing such as "q," etc.)

Back to his main point, that these are focus enhancers and not intelligence enhancers, anyway:

Do you really want a doctor who passed his boards as a result of taking speed — and continues to depend on that for his practice?

No. No. No.

There, that was easy.

On price and related issues, he weighs in again:

How soon before the penis enlargement industry produces herbal stimulants to profit from everyone's cognitive shortcomings?