92 replies to this topic

[doug123]

Good observations.  We must draw a distinction though between becoming rich and being creative.  Those richest people above all solved a problem.  Problem solving is the most efficient way to become rich and the reason is simple:  The world is full of problems, some big, some small.  But a solution to either type can result in wealth.  So I would argue that those above were not so much creative as they happened to be at the right place at the right time, had knowledge which could be applied to solve a problem, and applied their knowledge.  The first point is less important as I believe all those people above would have been successful had they come at a different time in history, but it is doubtful if they would have been as financially successful had they not been at the right place at the right time.  Certainly some luck was involved, but I admire their passion and risk-taking.

DukeNukem:  Did you make the video game "Prey"?  How about "Duke Nukem 3D"?

That's our Duke. Let's not get starstruck now...

Edited by nootropikamil, 30 June 2006 - 08:09 PM.

[FunkOdyssey]

Dude, is that really a dunce hat you are wearing there?

Its a pimp hat, from a "pimps & hoes" party. [thumb]

[Ghostrider]

DukeNukem:  Did you make the video game "Prey"?  How about "Duke Nukem 3D"?

That's our Duke.  Let's not get starstruck now...

Are you serious? Duke Nukem 3D was one of the best first-person shooter games I have ever played (considering its time). Man, that was such a cool game. Anyway, what the hell happened to Duke Nukem Forever?

[doug123]

YES! He happens to be participating in a topic in which this forum's front page may being re-crafted. We want your feedback!

http://www.imminst.o...42&t=11305&st=0

From the topic linked above:

I think the new/neo design is better, but it still paints this place as a hardcore geek hang-out. For example, the first thing I see is a call for abstracts. As a first time visitor, this is going to scare me off right away! In fact, this place scared me off many times in the past before I decided to devote 30 minutes to looking around, and I finally stumbled into the forums and finally found a few topics that interested me. But, the point is, I really had to work at getting to like this site -- it did nothing on it's own to pull me in. This site is 100% a marketing failure. Truly, it's a case study of all the mistakes a site can make. That's why I basically have give-up syndrome, and don't even want to put time into fixing things, because it needs to be nearly 100% redone, and frankly I do not want to put up with all the resistance I'll meet here.

A critical thing that is missing, for example, is a mission statement on the front page. Something short, compelling, and that pinpoints the reason this place exists, and why anyone should care to be a part of this important movement. In other words, first timers here do not see a story. It's like picking up a new novel, you always turn to the pack cover to get a synopsis of the story -- this is what sells the book. Well, nothing sells ImmInst -- there's no sales text. And even digging around in the About menu I still can't find the type of text I'm talking about.

This place is nerdsville to the max. And I sense that most people here want to keep it that way. And even though the new look is an improvement, it doesn't improve the chances of ImmInst becoming a meaningful site for those interested in open-ended life extension.

Edited by nootropikamil, 01 July 2006 - 05:38 AM.

[zoolander]

I would say that creativity is a combination of many cognitive processes. For example, memory and attention.

Over the last few days I have been experimenting with different dosages of galantamine. My normal dose is usually 4-8mg per day.

I stopped all other supplements and increased the dose to 12 and 16mg. My perception of memory and attention increased and I wrote lyrics to 2 songs. I wrote these lyrics on very busy days.

For me to be creative I need space. Space away from my usual mental workload. I haven't written any songs for a few months now but during my experimentation the writing just came. I even had to stop driving and pull over to the side of the road on one occasion to write my thought down.

IMO, galantamine increased my memory, attention and focus to a level that I could multitask my thought processes. It may just be coincidence but if you read the research on galantamine and AChE inhibitors my assumptions make sense.

[doug123]

My grades on Calculus 2 exams (I'd upload a copy if I could find it) back in Fall 2003.

First exam (no Aricept -- which is also a acetylcholinesterase inhibitor) 63%

Second exam (with Aricept): 92%

Creativity? I'm not sure...my memory worked better it seemed.

Edited by nootropikamil, 01 July 2006 - 06:44 AM.

[Ghostrider]

My grades on Calculus 2 exams (I'd upload a copy if I could find it) back in Fall 2003.

First exam (no Aricept -- which is also a acetylcholinesterase inhibitor) 63%

Second exam (with Aricept): 92%

Creativity?  I'm not sure...my memory worked better it seemed.

What? No double-blind placebo test??? That's anecdote, not science! :-) Sorry, couldn't resist. In the end, it's the real-world results like those above which matter. Remember though that what works for some (Aricept) may not work so well for others. It depends on your personal body chemisty. Ultimately, we are walking biological computers. Although I am sure there were other factors involved than just taking Aricept. More sleep/academic focus, more stress due to poor performance on the first exam?

I will say though, that after taking 600 mgs Alpha-GPC, 250 mg DMAE (additional choline source -- gotta use it up somehow), 500 Acetyl-L-Carnitine, 250 mg ALA (also being superseded), 800 Piracetam, 750 Aniracetam, 800 Oxiracetam, and 2 capsules of Ortho-Mind...I have felt the most noticable nootropic effect so far...even after *only* 7 hours of sleep. I felt in peak mental shape all day long and no side effects, not even a hint of a headache...although I rarely get headaches, maybe once a year due to eye strain from too much time behind the computer. Today was the first time I had taken more than one *racetam at once. I put in a 14 hour day at work (with a 1 hour lunch break) and could have gone for at least another 2 hours. The combination of the three felt more potent than each individually. Pretty good, hope to experience the same tomorrow.

[doug123]

You are correct that I did not double blind/placebo control these tests -- but I chose drugs that managed to pass such testing on healhy subjects.

[magnanyme]

Piracetam is great for creativity, you’ll ned a choline donor with it and for low budget choline bitartrate is ok. Personally, I found bacopin very good also for creativity in another way than piracetam, and it’s also cheap. For those 2, you’ll have to wait 3-6 weeks to see results.

[doug123]

Piracetam is great for creativity, you’ll ned a choline donor with it and for low budget choline bitartrate is ok. Personally, I found bacopin very good also for creativity in another way than piracetam, and it’s also cheap. For those 2, you’ll have to wait 3-6 weeks to see results.

How exactly do you define "creativity?"

[pikatchu]

Good question… especially when English is not your current language. I would say that creativity is the ability to think about something new and/or original when you have pressure to do it but also when you don’t need to. I would say that it’s your imagination fertility. Creativity is important for artists, writers and marketing guys who have to innovate and reinvent.

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 03:58 PM.

[xanadu]

"Behavioral data indicated that schizotypes had enhanced DT ability compared with schizophrenic and control subjects, who showed similar performance overall."

They had the DT's? DT = delirium tremlins

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 03:59 PM.

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 03:59 PM.

[doug123]

That is a great set of posts, treonsverdery. Can you also provide us with the hard links for the quotes you used in your last post?

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 04:00 PM.

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 04:01 PM.

[doug123]

treonsverdery: you kick some serious ass!

[neuroenhanced]

Since no one seems to know.

http://dictionary.re...ivity&x=12&y=13

1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.


Also to answer the thread's question propranolol would seem to be the best choice.

Cogn Behav Neurol. 2004 Jun;17(2):93-7.
Effect of anxiolytics on cognitive flexibility in problem solving.Silver JA, Hughes JD, Bornstein RA, Beversdorf DQ.
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose is to examine the effect of different classes of anxiolytics on cognitive flexibility. BACKGROUND: Situational stressors and anxiety impede performance on "creativity" tests requiring cognitive flexibility. Noradrenergic agents have been shown to modulate cognitive flexibility as assessed by performance on anagrams. To determine whether these findings on noradrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility are specific to the noradrenergic system or are a nonspecific anxiety effect, we compared the effects of propranolol, lorazepam, and placebo on the anagram task. METHODS: Subjects attended 3 test sessions. Prior to each session, subjects were given 1 of the 3 drugs. As in previous research, the natural log of the solution latency of each test item was summed for each test session and compared across drug conditions. RESULTS: For subjects able to solve the anagrams, solution times after propranolol, but not lorazepam, were significantly lower than after placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, this suggests that the phenomenon of noradrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility does not result from a nonspecific anxiolytic effect, but rather is specific to the noradrenergic system.

Neuroreport. 1999 Sep 9;10(13):2763-7.
Noradrenergic modulation of cognitive flexibility in problem solving.

Beversdorf DQ, Hughes JD, Steinberg BA, Lewis LD, Heilman KM. Department of Neurology, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus 43210, USA.

Stress causes impaired performance on tests of creativity. Drugs that block beta-adrenergic receptors improve test performance in patients with test anxiety. Furthermore, catecholamine precursors (L-DOPA) reduce the flexibility of semantic networks. Our study investigated the effect of noradrenergic system modulation on cognitive flexibility in problem solving. Eighteen normal subjects undertook three problem solving tasks (number series, shape manipulation and anagrams) 45 min after propranolol, placebo and ephedrine. On the task that appeared to rely most heavily on cognitive flexibility (anagrams), subjects who were most able to solve these problems demonstrated significantly shorter solution times (logarithmic scores) after propranolol than after ephedrine. This suggested that the noradrenergic system exerts a modulatory effect on cognitive flexibility in problem solving.

[doug123]

I'm teetering on the edge of agreement, but can't quite make that final step. I definitely agree with the statement about gaining as much diverse knowledge as possible. I've jumped majors far more times than my wallet would like. But I think the results in both projects and every day life have proven it to be a good path. I find myself incorporating design techniques from various fields to another on fairly frequent occasion, and the process of adapting one to another allows for a tremendous opportunity to gain a lot of perspective on the situation.

However, haven't you ever known someone who had a fairly broad education, and yet was totally unable to do anything with it that didn't involve repetition of specific techniques? Go to any high school and I'm sure you'd be able to find examples of people who've had education thrown at them, managed to soak it up, yet would or could not creatively combine any of it to solve a new problem.

YES. I also know of the converse. That is, individuals with little or no education who have more creative intelligence (the kind that can't be measured in a test) than those who went to highly prestegious schools.

Folks in the media have more power over what you know and think than you might expect. I could call this guy and be like...I want "x" on the news tomorrow -- a special next month. And, depending on who you are and who you know...it can be there...Tim Leary once said: "the media is the light" -- it's all you see...and know...something like that..

Where did emerson go anways?

Edited by nootropikamil, 12 December 2006 - 11:12 PM.

[doug123]

Another quality topic worth a bump.

[brutale]

Creativity is tough to pin down, but aniracetam (+GPC) alters my sense perceptions in subtle ways: e.g. hearing music a little differently, seeing things I had not noticed before in familiar settings. These altered/enhanced perceptions seem to set the stage for novel thoughts and new ideas. Piracetam may eventually have effects like this, but I don't feel it quickly, as I do with aniracetam. I seem to get a little more from piracetam when I take it with hydergine, but I wonder whether I'm just imagining the effects. With aniracetam, I have no doubt that it's doing something.

Creativity - as in creating - requires focus and motivation. Modafinil, for me, cannot be beat for that. I get about twice as much done vs. without it. It's way better than coffee. Alcar is good for energy as well.

[treonsverdery]

geocities.com/treonbarleyverdery/index.html

Edited by treonsverdery, 31 October 2006 - 04:06 PM.

[doug123]

I'm thinking on a better idea than: a supplement with a thoughtful saying on each pill you had to ponder prior to gulping n 300 minutes on as well

like: you've had a creative thought why or why not contact a person about it online right now

treonsverdery: why did you put all of your posts in white? Tweeker!

Your contributions to this topic made it one of my favorites, now I can't see what you wrote! Is this one of your creative ways of communicating?

[tracer]

Don't discount Ani... it's my fav. Well worth the price, in my view. You can also get away with a far lower dose than PIR so although it is still more expensive it isn't nearly that bad.

[doug123]

Don't discount Ani... it's my fav.  Well worth the price, in my view.  You can also get away with a far lower dose than PIR so although it is still more expensive it isn't nearly that bad.

Although there is no real evidence to support such a theory, I don't necessarily "discount" Aniracetam as having the potential to increase "creativity;" however, if you glance over this topic, you might find that some of the most creative members of this community did not depend on any drug to induce their most creative (or productive) states.

I wouldn't dare associate any drug with creativity in the same manner that I would expect a creative idea to come from an individual born with (or developed, if that is possilble) creative intelligence. I think it all comes down to whether or not one knows how to "think outside the box" or not; not what pill you do or don't take.

Perhaps the best proof of this notion is to recognize that not a single individual we know of attributes any of their creative success to a drug. Let us know when you do find such an individual; and let us know what creative accomplishment they attribute directly to that drug.

In other words, I don't think you are going to get Bill Gates to claim that he came up with the idea for Microsoft because he took a large dose of Aniracetam that day in the same way that you won't get Scott (dukenukem) to tell you he came up with the concept for Prey thanks to a hefty dose of Piracetam.

[doug123]

Check out PBSparents Guide to Creativity here

Attached Files

•  PBS.JPG   99.35KB   2 downloads

[gsingh13]

does anyone know or have tried a nootropic that has enhanced their creativity/imgination.

[mrak1979]

piracetam.... don't know any other, but would like to.