Someone else's blog inspired me to get thinking about this idea. I won't say who, I'm sure they don't want any credit for what I have to say *lol*. It's regarding the film "Limitless"...The the story of it raises the question for some people on whether this fantasy drug would really be a beneficial aid to knocking out the walls of psychological/intellectual limitations, if it were to actually exist.
In the film, the main character takes a fictional drug, NZT, that supposedly allows that person to access 100% of their brain at once, instead of the scientifically proven 10-20% used at any given time. And after implementing the drug, the character's life seems to blast off, accomplishing what most would only dream of in a fraction of the time it would actually take to do...
I've done more than my share of (voluntarily) reading up on psychology for quite a few years, and while I'm no doctor, I believe I have enough understanding of it to be the equivalent of a degree...a really small one, perhaps *lol* :.P
About 9 or 10 years ago, I challened myself to write a master thesis, to see if I could do it...It was on my belief on how base human behavior really is, even today, despite our supposed "evolvement" and "advances"...How humans only THINK they've outgrown the bonds of enslavement by our most base impulses. It says basically went on to say that virtually any human activity, thought or endeavor can be categorized into one of three: food, sex, territory. Pick virtually any aspect of human life, thought or deed, and somewhere underneath you will find the root cause falls under one (or more) of those categories. I wish more could be said about human behavior than being so apish, and if you disagree, feel free to correct me. I wish I still had my thesis...A lot of my stuff went AWOL after my (now FORMER)in-laws moved in, including all my notes from my psychology "studies", most of my artwork from art school...and books...and clothes...and dvd's...cd's...and cookware...oh, don't get me started on that *lol*
People marvel at how the NZT drug could "expand the horizons and abilities" of one's life, how much more one can do or become...
Even after all these years of so called "evolutionary development", humans still think with and are ruled by their limbic brains more than they might realize. All this drug seems to do is just "expand the horizons and abilities" for simply more of the same "food-sex-territory" thinking. Perhaps I'm not eligible to make an opinion on this, since I haven't seen the film, though from what I have read, seen and heard, the film's main character spends all his drug-induced potential pursuing very self-centered endeavors. Very "FST" type thinking *lol* Would usage of this drug truly elevate you to a new level of existence, or is it just knocking out the walls to expand the very floor you're on?
To me, the "limitless" drug just seems like a way to expand on selfish and base thinking. I fail to see how this would be any "advancement" for humanity...most everyone I hear talking about this drug applies it's hypothetical use in ways that serve only themselves and no one else...maybe a "trickle down effect" on others in their life, at best. Does it have the POTENTIAL to serve mankind in a beneficial way? I'd imagine so, having one's brainpower so turbocharged, one might easily solve the worst problems that plague mankind...one may be able to improve more lives and reach more people in a fraction of a day, than be treated as the overwhelming task it is...But...be honest...would you really use it that way if you had the opportunity? Or would you use it exclusively as a vehicle to improving only YOUR life? How much of brain power do you use NOW towards helping other people? Just like the old myth of being "changed" as a result of having more money...Having more money does NOT "change" you, it's merely a tool that allows you the freedom to be more of who you already are. If you were an asshole before money, you now have the freedom to be even more of an asshole with it. If you're a charitable person before money, you'll be free to be even MORE so with more money. If you perceive that person as "changed", then perhaps you didn't know that person as well as you thought you did. That's on YOU, not THEM...
The film raises another thought: The problem humanity always seems to run into in most anything in life: looking OUTSIDE yourself for an answer...looking towards another person to make you feel good, an object, substance or gizmo, a belief outside yourself...relying on external feedback instead of introspection...when you have virtually all the answers already inside you, here we are wasting time looking outward chasing quick fixes, pre-packaged solutions, fantasies, seeking people to trust enough to do the thinking FOR us. When will we learn? Have any of you seen the movie "Formula 51"? That proves my point pretty well... If you haven't seen it, then watch out because I'm giving the ending away... People in THAT film experienced such tremendous highs from the drug "formula 51" that it became pretty dangerous to be seen around...Due to it's high demand, it attracted attention from dangerous people wanting in on the make. In the end, it turns out, it was a PLACEBO. All that drug did was serve as a tool to let down that person's inhibitions just enough to let out what was already inside them. The human brain has a veritable pharmacy of hormones and chemicals already present, yet we rely so heavily on external substances for just about everything...from feeling good to just making it through the day. Imagine how "limitless" our lives could really be if we could access this?
My definition of "limitless" would be the ability to transcend the constraints of ordinary human thinking...something even NZT doesn't seem to accomplish...it just seems to widen the neuropathic channels for more stimulation, more material desires, more greed. Doesn't sound like an "advancement" to me...
No comments:
Post a Comment