A Dose Of Genius
'Smart Pills' Are on The Rise. But Is Taking Them Wise?
天才妙藥
“聰明丸”供不應求，但真是聰明的選擇嗎？
By Joel Garreau
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 11, 2006
裘‧佳利歐
華盛頓郵報記者
民國七五年六月十一日星期日
”Studying with diligent friends is fine,” says Heidi Lessing, a University of Delaware sophomore
“跟勤奮的同學一起讀書是件好事，”一位達拉瓦州州立大學的二年級學生海蒂拉辛說，.
But after a couple of hours, it's time for a break, a little gossip: "I want to talk about somebody walking by in the library."
但是，讀了幾小時後，該休息一下，聊聊八卦，”我想跟她講講剛剛從我們旁邊走過去的那傢伙。”
One of those friends, however, is working too hard for dish -- way too hard.
Instead of joining in the gossip, "She says, 'Be quiet,' " Lessing says, astonishment still registering in her voice.
他是我們的一個朋友，但是，這傢伙太喜歡八卦了……。跟我一起讀書的這位同學不但不願意跟我聊八卦，”她卻對我說：’別講話，專心讀書，’”拉辛訝異地說。
dish
1.
a. An open, generally shallow concave container for holding, cooking, or serving food.
b. dishes The containers and often the utensils used when eating: took out the dishes and silverware; washed the dishes.
c. A shallow concave container used for purposes other than eating: an evaporating dish.
2. The amount that a dish can hold.
3.
a. The food served or contained in a dish: a dish of ice cream.
b. A particular variety or preparation of food: Sushi is a Japanese dish.
4.
a. A depression similar to that in a shallow concave container for food.
b. The degree of concavity in such a depression.
5. Electronics A dish antenna.
6. Slang, A good-looking person, especially an attractive woman.
7. Informal Idle talk; gossip: "plenty of dish about her tattoos, her plastic surgeries, and her ever-younger
Her friend's attention is laserlike, totally focused on her texts, even after an evening of study. "We were so bored," Lessing says. But the friend was still "really into it. It's annoying."
她這位同學在讀書時，專心的程度就好像雷射一般(能始終心無旁鶩)，即使讀了一個晚上，還是能全神貫注在書本上。”我們都讀的好無聊啊，可是她還是那麼投入，真讓人受不了！”拉辛說。
The reason for the difference: Her pal is fueled with "smart pills" that increase her concentration, focus, wakefulness and short-term memory.
造成這種差異的原因是：她的同學吃了一種可以集中精神、提升注意力、保持清醒及強化暫時性記憶力的藥丸。
There are lots of the first-generation drugs around. They include Adderall, which was originally aimed at people with attention-deficit disorder, and Provigil, which was aimed at narcoleptics嗜眠症, who fall asleep uncontrollably. In the healthy, this class of drugs variously aids concentration, alertness, focus, short-term memory and wakefulness -- useful qualities in students working on complex term papers and pulling all-nighters before exams.
目前市面上有許多尚屬第一代的這類藥物，如：愛得若，原本用來治療注意力缺損症患者；普洛伏久(不夜神)，用來治療會不自主入睡的嗜眠症患者。對身體健康的人，這類藥物可幫助精神集中、提升注意力、保持清醒及強化暫時性記憶力，這些功能可有效幫助學生完成複雜的學期報告，並在考試前，挑燈夜戰。
Warning: Side Effects
警告：副作用
In the name of altering mood, energy and thinking patterns, we have been marinating our brains in chemicals for a very long time.
為了要改善心情、活力、甚至思考模式，我們將我們的腦子浸泡在各式化學藥品裡，已是由來已久的事(我們用各種藥品來刺激我們的腦子，已是由來已久)。
Caffeine is as old as coffee in Arabia, tea in China, and chocolate in the New World. Alcohol, coca leaves, tobacco and peyote 仙人掌go way back.
長久以來，阿拉伯人喝咖啡，中國人喝茶，美國人吃巧克力，都是為了要利用其中的咖啡因，來振奮精神甚至改變心情；其它如酒精、古柯葉、煙草及佩奧特仙人掌(致幻劑)等，則有著更久的歷史。
The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the eleventh century[1]. At first, coffee remained largely confined to Ethiopia, where its native beans were first cultivated by Ethiopian highlanders. However, the Arab world began expanding its trade horizons, and the beans moved into northern Africa and were mass-cultivated. From there, the beans entered the Indian and European markets, and the popularity of the beverage spread.
But there are side effects with every drug. The FDA warns it also may increase thoughts of suicide in young people. For a while last year, Canada pulled a form of Adderall from its markets as a result of sudden unexplained deaths in children with cardiac abnormalities. Provigil can decrease the effectiveness of birth control. All of these drugs come with a raft of side-effect warnings.
但是，任何一種藥物都有副作用。美國食品藥物管理局警告，這種藥物也有可能會增加年輕人自殺的念頭。去年間，加拿大曾將某種愛得若下架，因為該藥物造成有心臟病的孩童不知原因地暴斃。普洛伏久也會影響避孕藥的藥效。因此，所有的藥物在包裝上，都會註明許多可能發生的副作用。
Nonetheless, pharmaceutical companies are racing to bring to market new drugs aimed at fundamentally altering our attitudes toward having a healthy brain. The idea is less to treat a specific disease than it is to, in the words of the old Army recruiting commercial, "Be all that you can be."
僅管如此，藥廠還是競相發展新藥，想要從根改變人類的想法，鼓勵人們透過這些藥物，擁有一個健康的頭腦。這些藥品不再只是用來治療特定的疾病，而是正如美國陸軍過去常用的一句募兵口號：發揮潛能，實現自我。
沒有留言:
張貼留言