You might have caught the tail-end of watercooler chats in your office about something that’s the new rage. Have you tried them yet? Did they work
A growing number of ambitious professionals are using them in an attempt to gain competitive advantage. The motivation is always the same, how can I become more focussed, think deeper, produce better results?
There’s a new kid in town: a group of drugs and chemical derivatives dubbed nootropics.
In this beginner’s guide you will find out about the different types of nootropics available, what the medical risks are and how you can safely take active steps to boost your brain power.
Standing at the frontier within
If you haven’t heard of nootropics, you soon will. The term is on the cusp of going fully mainstream after a decade of scattershot news reports that, more often than not, have tended to focus on more sensational aspects, such as a small number of fringe nootropic-enthusiasts ?micro-dosing? on LSD.
The term nootropic? was first coined by Corneliu E. Giurgea, a Romanian chemist who discovered and synthesised the drug Piracetam. He was looking for a way to describe the effect of Piracetam and settled on a new drug category, nootropics, loosely meaning drugs that act ‘towards the mind.
It wasn’t until much later though that the term resurfaced, being re-discovered by a diverse group of interested parties entrepreneurs, biochemists, libertarians, nutritionists and personal trainers. Inspired by do-it-yourself biohacking‘research (see here?for a great beginner’s guide) and empowered by an increasing amount of open source information, a community of self-described Noonauts? came into being.Starting off by discussing anecdotal experiences of trying different compounds on forum sites such as Bluelight and Longecity, today there’s a thriving Reddit community with its own wiki, a scientifically balanced FAQ and user-edited guides on how to get started on enhancing your mind.