Mind enhancing drugs in racing

[WhiteBlue]

The thing that naggs me is the "mind enhancing" label. It has always been my personal philosophy that drugs do not have a positive role in a healthy body. a healthy body achieves a very complex equilibrium which can be improved by training and other natural methods. by adding chemicals that may lack due to a deficiency the capability of the body and mind to perform one or the other function may be supported. usually this is achieved to the detriment of other functions or by causing collateral damages.

F1 racing drivers are unusually gifted individuals who typically undergo a decade and more of very specialized training. I cannot believe that they enhance their mind by fairly crude chemical manipulations. with crude I'm referring to the fact that nobody fully understands all aspects of the human brain and mind. so how can we justify the hybris of "enhancing" something that we don't really understand.

[Pup]

It's an enchanting philosophy, I agree. Though I don't know if science would back you up.

My ideal philosophy would be that everyone be graded on what they achieve with what they have either been given or given themselves. If an athlete wishes to achieve something through steroids that is otherwise unachievable, I say fine - go for it. So long as you're honest with yourself and others about the value of your achievement, then what do I have to complain about?

But then, my philosophy is likely as tenuous as yours.

[Belatti]

Now that new drugs do NOT impair your driving but maybe enhance it (apparently, I haven't tried the new drugs), the policy seems to lack enough tools. I find hard to believe all drivers are angels (with the exceptions of Alonso, Kubitza, Webber, Heidfeld and Räikkönen... ).

Kimi gives a clear advantage to their rivals... well, that´s at least what a have heard

[nae]

"mind enhancing" label

2 words

red bull

[modbaraban]

"mind enhancing" label

2 words

red bull

[nae]

[-X

[Miguel]

If the decision to use the guillotine was taken after drinking red bull, there's a strong case why Red Bull has been banned in France for a long time.

[Ciro Pabón]

Pup, welcome. What a great post.

I think most people agree on the "I like good losers" proposition. Very un-american, very european, extremely latino position. Who checks "same car performance" in NASCAR, like people do in F1 among teammates? Nobody.

About the glasses/Ritalin comparison, well, OK. It's worrying to find so many people with the same diagnosis in so few years, it reminds me of fashiont trends like "indigo kids" or something like that. You wonder if psychiatrists have at hand something to diagnose ADD that is equivalent to the thingie ophtalmologists use to diagnose myopia. When I read the cues to ADD diagnostics, I have the disease. I don't take aspirin, much less Ritalin, I'm resigned to be myself (or maybe less than myself... ).

I also find funny the fact that drug companies advertise their products. Why on earth you have to advertise a drug for a heart contidion? Beats me. It's not like people is going to say: "Well, I saw the add and after three heart attacks they finally convinced me to take my medication". I think most people agrees that behind new drugs for mental conditions there is a lot of invested money expecting to be recovered.

I think this is a "very proper thread". WhiteBlue explains he is disturbed by the "mind enhancing" label. Me too, because I think is a new label, a new problem racing has to deal with somehow, a disgusting but true label.

I had no idea of this kind of problem surging until I read a friend's post (Lawrence) in GP about "What drugs do the drivers take?". After reading for a while before posting in that thread, it dawned upon me that mind drugs have changed a lot, more than cars.

I definitely don't want them in racing: until now, racing has been a thing that depends on valiant people to drive magnificent cars. We all appreciate the efforts of backmarkers, knowing perfectly that the best driver in the worst car has no chance to win a cup, but he has a chance to win some hearts. No problem with that. Von Tripps or Schumacher? For me, both.

[nae]

not like people is going to say: "Well, I saw the add and after three heart attacks they finally convinced me to take my medication"

class =D>

it is only now that people are becoming aware of the way the brain works
who knows fangio might have had a diet that was rich in the active ingredient in
(name of drug) but it was all natural and unmeasurable back in the day when rose tinted glasses where common.

its being going on for years, only now its measurable the moral high ground is sought to prevent it.

[Pup]

Ciro, I suggest you take a look at this site. A continually updated virtual playground for all things neuro - don't click if you have any projects due today.

While the psychiatrist may use different tools than the optometrist, I think their technique these days is identical - 'which is better, this or this', only with drugs rather than lenses. Perhaps 'what is the next number in the series' will become their version of 'what's the smallest row of letters you can read'. However, I do imagine that someday something like an EEG or MRI will provide not only substantiated diagnoses, but more numerous and varied conditions as well.

I should look into patenting bespoke medications. A single pill tailored to treat your unique defects, prescribed online, and manufactured and dispensed on demand.

[Ciro Pabón]

Great site, true. BTW, I've just finished my week work, it's summer solstice, the day is sunny, there is a warm breeze, I can hear the chimes in my patio (I mean, my backyard) and it's Friday, 4 pm, the happiest hour of the week, so no problem with datelines. Besides, it's Race Weekend and students summer vacation started. Nice day.

[Belatti]

I´ll have two of the happy drugs Ciro is taking

No, seriously: being predisposed to be happy, having 5 minutes a day to stop and look at the simple nice things that surrounds us (like Ciro did) is not only good for your health but also enhances your mind capabilities, it´s like you think in a smooth, faster way.

For not going too OOT: when a driver is angry and frustrated the way maybe Fernando was last year, results are not the best possible.