Hi there.
With the amazing effects that nootropics have had on my brain and mind over the past year, I've been becoming more and more inclined to get into the development of nootropics/cognitive enhancers as my career of choice..unfortunately for me, I don't know anyone in the industry nor am I aware of all the necessary steps to take to get there.
I just turned 21 years old and am starting my first semester of college in the fall, I know I should have gotten in earlier but I wasn't ready until now. Anyway, I don't even know which classes I should be focusing on..my plan at the moment is to go into a community college and get my core classes finished up for my first 2 years, then transferring to a university and obtaining a PhD in biochemistry, psychopharmacology, or something of that nature. I plan on focusing on biology and chemistry above all else but I'm unaware of the more defined classes I should get into (ie: organic chemistry, physiology, anatomy, etc). I just want to know the ideal classes to take and the degree which will be required to get into a career of nootropic formulation/design. I'm highly interested in how drugs affect the mind and if I got into the pharmaceutical industry I would try to change the way the system is set up (I'm not a big advocate on western medicine, I despise most current medications and the way the medical system is designed over here. I much prefer the alternatives such as aryuvedic medicine, though I believe both systems need to be improvised and could benefit by being combined in a sense).
I've talked to some people about my goals for the future and most of the opinions I get include either comments of admiration, or comments of absolutely unrealistic expectations. My goals include taking the human brain/mind to a new level of experience and intelligence..I want to develop nootropics that will literally evolve the brain and potentially increase human intelligence on a global scale, mainly due to the fact that once intelligence hits a new level of evolution, the human race in general will hit a new level of evolution (at least in a societal sense, with technology, philosophy, morality, etc).
I want to contribute to society and enhance the well being of the human race..I want to design something revolutionary that will truly help people go beyond anything what they previously believed to be possible with their minds..something that will help instill a better sense of logic, reasoning, and creativity in the brain, so that we can minimize the damage from current social issues we are facing (violent crimes, theft, corruption, apathy, placing profits before human interests, etc).
I know it's extremely irrational to believe all the problems in the world can be fixed with a drug or substance, especially on a global scale, but I truly believe nootropics will be an incredible area of growing research during the next several decades and a lot more people are drawing an interest to increasing cognition every year.
Other goals I have include finding cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Schizophrenia. I pretty much want to make all mental aliments a thing of the past..of course just curing one disease takes a lifetime of work, but if there was a way to make all mental illness history, I'd be front in line to find out how. I also want to tremendously increase the human lifespan, and find irrefutable evidence of an afterlife..oblivion is a terrifying idea, and even though I'm very spiritual in nature, I don't have much faith to hold onto..finding evidence that a soul exists would be a very comforting feeling..that's one of the reasons why I've been so fascinated with psychedelics (dmt is of particular interest to me), along with metaphysics, philosophy, psychopharmacology, psychic phenomena, quantam mechanics, and the universe.
I just need advice on my situation..I want to get your perspective on this and if going to college would be an ideal thing to do (up to this point in life I'm pretty much self educated, but some things such as chemistry I just cannot seem to learn on my own). I really want to make a positive difference in the world somehow..but I want to do something that is obviously possible and not unrealistic. I'm not particularly well versed in mathematics, so school will be tough for me I'm sure, but I'm a very quick learner and I can easily adapt to something I'm interested in. I slacked off my past couple years in highschool so my gpa wasn't impressive, especially while I was experimenting with a variety of illicit drugs (but that behavior was left years in the past), so I don't know what chance I stand at getting into a respected university or institute..but I've changed a lot over the past few years and I want to do something worthy with my life.
What do you think I should do, and what is your opinion on my goals and mindset? Am I a dreamer, or do other people share similar ideals as myself? I want to connect with like minded individuals but I have a hard time finding people that even think about the things I talk about. Anyway, thank you for reading my thread, any advice is greatly appreciated.
Edited by Spectre, 08 June 2011 - 02:15 PM.
