Students in the West are using drugs, such as Ritalin and modafinil available over the internet, to increase the brain’s alertness during exams. A behavioural neuro-scientist warns universities that they must investigate measures, including random dope testing, to tackle the increasing use of cognitive enhancment drugs by students for exams. Local educator Mok Wen Kwang shares his opinion on the usage of “cosmetic neurology”.
When the editor told me to explore this, I was curious. I have never heard of this term before. It was an early Sunday morning, and I decided to read up on it while I chugged down on my coffee. You see, I'm a bit of a Garfield. I don't function well, mood-wise or cognitively, without my daily dose of coffee.
Cosmetic neurology, or the use of drugs to cause the brain or the body, to function better by altering mental, cognitive and affective systems, is quickly becoming the whipping boy for ethicists. Is there really a cause for concern? Have they never drunk coffee?
The use of medicine to treat diseases has been around since time immemorial. Medicine has always been used to alleviate or eliminate symptoms and diseases, thus improving the quality of life of the afflicted. If drugs are able to improve the quality of life of the sick, why shouldn't it also be used increase the quality of life of those of us who are healthy? In certain cases, a person who is ill may actually enjoy a higher quality of life than a healthy person that is not performing at a level that he knows he should be. Quality of life is thus subjective and medicine should be a vehicle to assist anyone who wants to attain a higher quality of life.
Ethicists are in a furore over British university students who are increasingly buying drugs which enhance cognitive powers and mental alertness. These students are said to be able to now possess an unfair edge over those who are “clean”. The ensuing debate on implementing urine tests before allowing them to sit for exams is truly bizarre.
I see a person taking drugs to improve alertness and cognition no more differently than someone who is better prepared because he is able to garner more resources than the average student, be it with the help of an experienced tutor, the use of a better computer or simply being better nourished. There is an advantage, but it is nearly negligible. There is at the moment no drug that would drastically improve one's intelligence; therefore there is no leverage that is yet so substantial that it is unfair. The only issue here is who gets these benefits? It is the same in every other competition in the university or in the school of hard knocks: if you are rich, you would be a slight one up on everyone else. This disparity is as common as the disparity you see in every society in terms of education, housing or nourishment.
What should we all be concerned about then? It should be centred on safety and the character of the child.
While it is imperative to do well in scholastic tests, it is another thing to throw caution to the wind for that quest. We should be worried that our students might be consuming potentially harmful drugs masquerading as the real thing.
Secondly, we should be worried about the issue of character. Our forefathers always understood the value of good old hard work. They were willing to work hard and endure struggles to achieve their goals. Fast forward today, and “pain” and “struggle” are spoken in hushed tones. Those are dirty words. Having a headache? Don't waste time sleeping it off and resting, take a Panadol. Have an exam the next day and you only have one night to cram everything in? There is always modafinil. Pain and struggle builds character, and such drugs which allow us to reap all the benefits without the pain can only cause our degradation in character.
Mental alertness? Improved cognition? Caffeine is all that and more. It is the world's most common psychoactive substance, is cheap and most importantly, legal. So, coffee anyone?
5 Responses to “Use of Cognitive Enhancement Drugs Fair?”
-
-
Latest Forum Posts
Thread Views Replies Latest Active Threads
-
Featured Category
-
OZ Rocks
Sing along and sway to the beat with songs such as “Holy Grail”, “Reckless” and many others hits from these two stars in a one night only performance at the Marina Bay Sands.
Read More -
ACE! Festival 2012: The Little Mermaid
Magically retold through energetic physical theatre, object puppetry, light and shadow, we bring you far below the crashing waves of the ocean’s surface to meet a young mermaid, who bravely saves a mysterious human, after a vicious storm throws him from his ship
Read More -
ACE! Festival 2012: Just SO?
Have you ever wondered how the camel got his hump, how the leopard got his spots, or how the elephant got his trunk?
Read More
-
-
Most Viewed
- Interesting Places in Singapore You Have Not Been
- 35,071 views - Top 5 Supper Places in Singapore
- 30,325 views - Epic FAIL
- 29,237 views - Top 5 Most Romantic Dining Destinations in Singapore
- 14,664 views - Insects Under the Electron Microscope
- 9,347 views - 10 Sure Signs She is Flirting With You
- 8,468 views - 5 Romantic Destinations in Asia
- 6,884 views - 20 Cool but Unknown Facebook Tips
- 6,739 views
Popular Posts
- thINK before you Ink (1 vote)
- Spectacular Glaciers (2 votes)
- Body Language During Dates (2 votes)
- 5 Romantic Destinations in Asia (4 votes)
- Top 10 Weight-Loss Myths Debunked (2 votes)
IELTS speaking test common topic
The Internet is global. This means that we use the network, regardless of who invented it, belongs to all mankind.This “global” is not an empty political slogan, but its technical assurance. The structure of the Internet is a distributed network connection in accordance with the “packet switching”. Therefore, the level of web design technology, the Internet is absolutely there is no central control problems. In other words, there can be a certain country or a certain interest group through some technical means to control the Internet. In turn, the Internet can not be closed within a country – unless the establishment is not the Internet.
Article link: http://www.jdkjweb.com
Now, our simple for everyone may collect the IELTS speaking test common topic, I hope to provide a little help for everyone.
How did you learn to use the internet?
What do you think is the best way to learn about (or learn how to use) the internet?
Is there anything you don’t understand about the internet?
Do you think the internet is a good thing?
What are the good and bad points about the internet?
(Similar to above) Is there anything you don’t like about the internet?
Internet is far from being we often talked about the “information superhighway”. This is not only due to the transmission speed of the Internet is not enough, more importantly, the Internet has not yet finalized, has also been developing and changing. Therefore, any technical definition of the Internet can only be a moment, the present.
Very interesting subject, thank you for sharing.
You are welcome.We can work together.The next time, I hope you can also share your theme.
Just wanna remark that you have a very nice site,
I really like the design and style and it really stands apart.
thanks very much for your evaluation!I hope you can share your feelings.