/big/ - BRAIN IMPROVEMENT GENERAL

[Anonymous No.14780006]

What do you do for your brain, /sci/? Do you have any theories or general ideas about maximizing human cognition? Discuss your general views, dispense whatever wisdom and knowledge you wish to share, ask questions.

>Mental exercise
Mathematics, playing instruments/writing music, strategy games/chess, meditation, reading, programming, visualization, learning languages, etc.. What do you do and why? How does it affect your cognition? Do you have a routine?

>Lifestyle
Physical exercise, diet (do you even artichoke?), sleep routine, daily organization (do you follow a routine or your intuition, are you chaotic or organized?), effects of (intermittent) fasting, interior decoration (cluttered or organized, lots of plants or few plants, clean house/dirty house), etc.

>Nootropics
Modafinil, alpha GPC, phenibut, noopept, LSD, lion's mane, citicoline, huperzine A, MCT oil, the list goes on and on and on. There are hundreds of supplements and drugs out there that help you get the most out of your mind. Do you use any? Do you have a stack? Do you prefer nootropics that improve things like neurogenesis and connectivity (long-term), or direct cognitive performance enhancers (short-term), or perhaps brain metabolism supporters that increase brain oxygenation, glucose metabolism, ceberal blood flow, etc.?

>General Neuroscience discussion
Neuroplasticity, important brain regions for problem-solving and decision-making, the trade-offs of multi-tasking, flow states, consciousness as a bottleneck for information, latest research, stress reduction techniques, effects of mindfulness, role of human contact in relation to brain health, etc.

[Anonymous No.14780035]

lots of good uninterrupted sleep at night, lots of daydreaming, lots of time left alone, happy music, kino movies, inspiring books, a no stress lifestyle in a stress free home.
Complementary items are the usual ones: good nutrition with 3 coffees a day, at least 3 workouts per week, healthy relationships in your life.
As you can tell, academia is not good for your mental abilities

[Anonymous No.14780124]

>>14780006
Is Brilliant any good for improving your brain?

[Anonymous No.14780194]

>>14780006
reminder that fish contains mercury, the poisoning from which makes you dumb

[Anonymous No.14780197]

>>14780006
posting for dopamine agonists again because this is the only place i can post without it getting back to me
if antipsychotics take everything away and ruin your life, surely the opposite has got to give you everything and save it. right?

[Anonymous No.14780232]

> Start with grammar.
Master the internal kinetics of your language in order to master your thoughts and mind. Very basic and extremely underappreciated.

> mathematics
Begin with an old college algebra test. Master the pre-calculus basics including arithmetic, algebra, equations, logic, number theory, coordinates, trigonometry, functions, and sigma notation. Calculus is not necessary at this level. It's for engineers and math majors. Any other use is a silly meme. It's certainly not synonymous with intelligence as any monkey can memorize derivative/integration formulas. There are better uses for your time.

> fun & games
Get a book of IQ/aptitude tests, calculation tests, spatial tests. Learn how to play chess, poker, black jack, etc. Whatever games interest you. It doesn't all have to be serious and stressful. Relax and play some games.

[Anonymous No.14781144]

Coffee, cardio and studying

[Anonymous No.14781159]

>>14780006
>dispense whatever wisdom and knowledge you wish to share, ask questions.
I will die, preserving it is futile.
Amphetamines, always cut to the cake, 70%, 80% of most books are shit, if it's a good technical book 50% is good. Ignore the shit, skip, take your uppers 1 hour before studying session, rotate the books 2 hours per subject. If it's oral do it 2 hours amp prior.
Melt that brain and become filthy rich and knowledgeable in your field, so you can tell hacks from real researchers. If you are rich enough you can subtly tell the hacks to fuck off, I've seen it.

[Anonymous No.14781721]

I take 300mg luvox, 4mg brexpiprazole, nicotine vape, weed vape and fortified wine.
>>14780197
Interesting but i'd be concerned about withdrawals?

[Anonymous No.14781784]

>>14780232
Low IQ post in a low IQ thread.

[Anonymous No.14782846]

>>14780035
>>14781144
>coffee
jesus christ fuck no

[Anonymous No.14783121]

>>14782846
Why?

[Anonymous No.14783148]

>mental exercise
n-back is the only thing worth drilling, everything else is a meme waste of time.

[Anonymous No.14783332]

>>14781784
what do you suggest instead?

[Anonymous No.14783343]

>>14780006
Never noticed this but Terry actually had a very handsome profile

[Anonymous No.14783385]

>>14783148
Got any more like it?

[Anonymous No.14783634]

>>14780006
Recently read a book on mnemonics and I now have succesfully memorized the first 6 chapters of a physics textbook. Probably soon I'm gonna read a book about speed reading and learn that aswell.

Also I'm currently working on a way to self induce any desired obsession, most of my plan is laid out but I'm only stuck on how to upregulate dopamine receptors :/

[Anonymous No.14783711]

>>14780232
>thinking in words

[Anonymous No.14783727]

>>14780006
Things that have worked for me in the last 2 years to improve my cognition:
> Doing math and visualizing complex things in my mind for several hours a day
> 1 hour of intense excercise per day
> Learning new lenguages
> Sleeping 7-8 hours a day
> Doing things i used to do with my right hand do it with my left hand.
> No drugs for gods sake it takes effect in the long term

What have helped y'all anons?

[Anonymous No.14783770]

>>14783634
>self induce any desired obsession
how do you plan on doing this

[Anonymous No.14783778]

>>14783727
>visualizing complex things
what complex things?
>1 hour of intense excercise
what kind of exercise?
> Learning new lenguages
Multiple at once ?

[Anonymous No.14783785]

>>14783727
> Doing things i used to do with my right hand do it with my left hand.
There could be some cognitive drawbacks that come with ambidexterity, it's a trade-off, not a straight upgrade.

[Anonymous No.14783816]

Got 105 on mensa norway. Always knew i was not very bright but 105 is so low to me. At least if had like 115 i could potentially do most things.
I don't know why i feel so bad tho. This was expected. Why do we humans always strive for more?

[Anonymous No.14783818]

>>14780006
>Intellectual Insecurity General
Yeah, that explains this whole board.

[Anonymous No.14783842]

>>14780197
>dopamine agonists
Just try it and see if it does anything for you.
I'm interested in trying it as well but I just started microdosing psylocibin and I want to find out what that does for me first.

[Anonymous No.14783853]

>>14783727
In what way have you noticed that your cognitive ability has improved?

[Anonymous No.14783939]

>>14783818
>being that intellectually insecure that you feel threatened by other people maximising theirs
Yeah, that explains your whole post.

[Anonymous No.14783941]

>>14783939
Cope.

[Anonymous No.14784017]

>>14783941
Cope.

[Anonymous No.14784429]

>>14783778
> what complex things?
I started with topology and differential geometry to move into manifolds

>1 hour of intense excercise
Cardio

>Multiple at once ?
French and english, yes

[Anonymous No.14784466]

>>14783853
Problem solving is less dificultad, grasping any kind of complex concept is easier than before and my mind works faster

[Anonymous No.14785575]

>>14784466
In all categories, like linguistic, mathematical, visualisation, philosophy, etc?

[Anonymous No.14786585]

>>14785575
problem-solving is overarching and general.

[Anonymous No.14786611]

>>14783778
How about programming languages?

[Anonymous No.14786724]

>>14780006
there was this guy who wanted to replace his blood with worm blood because hemocyanin provides better oxygenation - higher endurance, strength, improved thinking
Haven't heard of him for a while, I will assume he died of sepsis

[Anonymous No.14789324]

>>14780035
>lots of daydreaming
>lots of time left alone
Sounds like bs. The rest is fine though

[Anonymous No.14790058]

>>14780035
Human contact (genuine social contact) is one of the greatest nootropics there is

[Anonymous No.14790159]

Don't consume excitotoxins: processed glutamate (MSG), aspartame etc.

Any of the following labeling terms indicate that MSG is present: glutamate, monopotassium glutamate, glutamic acid, citric acid, hydrolyzed protein of any type (s.o.y.), autolyzed yeast, whey protein concentrate, protein.

Other ingredients that almost always include or produce free glutamic acid during the processing phase include: seasonings, any "flavors" or "flavoring" including so-called natural flavoring, bouillon, broth or stock, brewer's yeast, maltodextrin, carrageenan, oligodextrin, barley malt, malted barley or malt extract.

[Anonymous No.14790166]

I take a locally produced supplement called GiuCuLina (pic rel) and it has these ingredients:
>Ginkgo Biloba Powder (60 mg)
>Nano Curcumin Powder (100 mg)
>Spirulina Powder (300 mg)
2 pills a day.
Is it good?

[Anonymous No.14790169]

>>14790166
GinCuLina*

[Anonymous No.14790199]

>>14790166
Anything nano is VERY bad. Otherwise the ingredients themselves are all known very positive nutrients, not much to say about that unless you want to quantify it and compare to other nutrients for economical reasons.

[Anonymous No.14790252]

>>14790199
>Anything nano is VERY bad.
why?
How do you get knowledgeable about this stuff?

[Anonymous No.14790278]

>>14790166
Meme ingredients unlikely to have any real effect, probably a waste of money.

[Anonymous No.14790294]

>>14790252
To be honest I learned it all from 1 person. But they do provide plenty of scientific research for many things. They have YouTube (which isn't updated much anymore but still has a lot of information), BitChute, website and a podcast. If I were to give one piece of advice, if you were to decide to listen to them, it would be to look past the prejudices regarding the material outlook of the person etc. I'm not saying that you have them or will have towards that person, but it is something I learned to believe is a common theme in populace. Search for Tony Pantalleresco.

[Anonymous No.14790316]

>>14790252
Regarding nano, short and simple answer is that our body doesn't see and recognize the nano-sized particles and can't work with them, process them. Which by itself would be a hard stop because it means your supplement does absolutely nothing.
But that is not the main danger and harm of nano. Just because our body can't process it, it doesn't mean that it has no effect. In fact, it can travel to any part of the body and wreak havoc. And of course it accumulates too.

[Anonymous No.14790340]

>>14790294
HerbsPlusBeadWorks
https://www.youtube.com/user/HerbsPlusBeadWorks/videos

independz
https://www.bitchute.com/channel/gS5E0SSRIbLH/

independz podcast
https://independz.podbean.com/

[Anonymous No.14790406]

>>14780197
"surely the opposite has got to give you everything and save it"
not true for anything in biology I suppose.
Hell not true for anything period.
Youll have to find what works for you.

[Anonymous No.14791064]

>>14786724
I remember that. But, I don't think I saved it. If anyone here has that thread saved, please share

[Anonymous No.14791826]

I have a problem where I call myself retarded and rage quit after getting something wrong. I never used to be like this but I was always lazy so I never accomplished anything, but after some trauma and drug use I get super angry if I don't get something right. Could the trauma have affected my personality that way? Mind over matter, and I try to observe my thoughts, but I'm trying to keep myself stable all the time and it's exhausting.

[Anonymous No.14791858]

>>14791826
>after some trauma and drug use

Couldn't imagine anything worse.

Trauma needs a safe space (physical, mental, emotional etc) and you working on it to release itself.

>An incapacity to process a series of overwhelming emotional experiences causes the trauma. The lack of processing usually happens because at the time, the response overwhelmed us, and we simply lacked the cognitive ability and support system to process it. Managing emotion is a lifelong skill which needs to be taught gradually from early childhood in a safe environment. Confidence with your emotions is not a given; it is learned from a positive role model.

[Anonymous No.14791862]

>>14791826
>The source of the trauma is now gone. This energy finally has a chance to bubble to the surface. It wants your Higher Self (your consciousness) to recognise it, to legitimise its right to exist, and finally, to provide it space where it can be expressed. This means being present with it, and allowing it to roam and play itself out in Your presence. ‘Your’ is in capital letters here because it represents not your mind or your ego, but the ‘you’ which lies beyond and above your mind.

To embrace your trauma is to exist in a state of spaciousness and intensity the likes of which you have never experienced. It requires a warrior mindset. During a flashback, look for the intensity and heaviness in your body which accompany it. Be alert, but relax your body. Become the feeling. Surrender to the horror of what you are experiencing in this moment. Look directly into this wave from the past. Go into it. Do this by directing all of your focus into it, gently brushing aside your thoughts and conflicting instincts. If you can take the leap of faith, your consciousness will grow, and your capacity to handle intensity will increase. This is how evolution works. Before you can simply ‘be present’, you need to be present with what is getting in the way of that. Evolution is a process where an organism’s state of being takes on a form that never existed before. You are capable of this, and you do it through faith, courage and conscious presence in the face of terror.

However, standing in front of the dragon is not always a wise strategy. You could get burnt to a crisp. Rather, you need agility and guile if you are to succeed in this fight. You need to pendulate in and out of the hot zone.

[Anonymous No.14791868]

>>14791826
>The source of the trauma is now gone. This energy finally has a chance to bubble to the surface. It wants your Higher Self (your consciousness) to recognize it, to legitimize it's right to exist, and finally, to provide it space where it can be expressed. This means being present with it, and allowing it to roam and play itself out in Your presence. ‘Your’ is in capital letters here because it represents not your mind or your ego, but the ‘you’ which lies beyond and above your mind.

>To embrace your trauma is to exist in a state of spaciousness and intensity the likes of which you have never experienced. It requires a warrior mindset. During a flashback, look for the intensity and heaviness in your body which accompany it. Be alert, but relax your body. Become the feeling. Surrender to the horror of what you are experiencing in this moment. Look directly into this wave from the past. Go into it. Do this by directing all of your focus into it, gently brushing aside your thoughts and conflicting instincts. If you can take the leap of faith, your consciousness will grow, and your capacity to handle intensity will increase. This is how evolution works. Before you can simply ‘be present’, you need to be present with what is getting in the way of that. Evolution is a process where an organism’s state of being takes on a form that never existed before. You are capable of this, and you do it through faith, courage and conscious presence in the face of terror.

>However, standing in front of the dragon is not always a wise strategy. You could get burnt to a crisp. Rather, you need agility and guile if you are to succeed in this fight. You need to pendulate in and out of the hot zone.

[Anonymous No.14791877]

>>14791826
Trauma is serious business, and requires a light touch. It takes many back and forth attempts over a long period, each of which supports the process. In moments where you feel overwhelmed with anxiety or fear go to a quiet place and try the following:

1. Invite your body to relax, especially your shoulders, stomach, thighs and buttocks. Allow your breath to move in and out of your lower belly at its own pace.
2. Locate the intensity or heaviness in your body. It can be in your skull, throat, chest, legs or in multiple places.
3. Welcome the negative feeling, and create a point of focus within it. This is your center, which will keep you anchored in the face of the storm.
4. Become aware of yourself as the observer of the intensity.
5. Continue to welcome the excess energy, staying with it as long as possible.

It is normal that, in the heat of the moment, the gravitational pull of fear, shame or guilt will hinder your capacity to focus. If you do manage to persist, you will eventually notice a shift. Emotions cannot kill you, even though it feels like they can. Courage leads to metamorphosis. Nonetheless, trauma is not to be trifled with. Easy does it. If you reach a point where you cannot tolerate any more, you should turn your focus back to the world and anchor yourself in an external source of safety until you feel ready to try again. This is the basic rhythm of pendulation.

Some ways in which you can anchor yourself in a feeling of safety are:

• Breathe slowly and deeply.
• Take a warm bath.
• Spend time with someone who makes you feel good.
• Watch a movie or TV show.
• Listen to some soothing music.
• Go for a walk.
• Do some exercise.

[Anonymous No.14791919]

Exercise, sleep and a nootropic.

These are the only things that work that have meta analysis'. Everything else is snake oil.

For me, it's nicotine, exercise, getting lots of sleep (8h) and caffeine

[Anonymous No.14791933]

>>14791858
I have been working on it at home, the big trauma started right before Covid but I had a psychotic break too which made things even worse. Have had a bunch of smaller things happen over the years. I was oblivious about its impact, no shit I didn't do anything at school. I've developed strategies to help process the things that have happened and mitigate its daily negative effects, but external pressure for me to perform and work is so great that I find my progress painfully slow.

[Anonymous No.14792047]

>>14791933
Pressure in terms of financial needs? Or pressure from certain persons or society? If the latter, fuck them!

Only you know what is good or what is best for you.

The first step is realizing that you don't own anything to anyone and anything and have no duty towards anyone and anything.

Your life is for you and you only to live. Do what makes you feel best: relieved and all in place and eventually delightful and happy. There are no external goals for you to meet to please and appease others. Do what makes you feel good. :)

You have to be strong and work with yourself. Just make sure before you set out to do anything that you are doing this for yourself.

[Anonymous No.14792325]

>>14783121
detrimental long-term effects on dopamine regulation and release

short-term detrimental effects on adenosine functioning (interaction and receptor sensitivity)

short-and-long-term detrimental effects on sleep quality, keeping in mind that caffeine has a quarter-life of 10-12 hours

[Anonymous No.14793396]

>>14783770
Maybe monk stuff

[Anonymous No.14793472]

After weeks of using lion's mane, time seems to pass more slowly even after i stopped taking it, if you don't have a lot of anxiety i'd recommend it.

[Anonymous No.14793622]

>>14793472
Lion's mane is amazing for restoring cognitive functioning after things like sleep deprivation but holy fuck the headaches are unreal.

[Anonymous No.14793688]

>>14780035
lots of good uninterrupted sleep at night, >lots of daydreaming, lots of time left alone, happy music, kino movies, inspiring books, a no stress lifestyle in a stress free home.
>good nutrition
>at least 3 workouts per week, healthy relationships in your life.
10/10
>academia is not good for your mental abilities
8/10
>3 coffees a day
0/10

[Anonymous No.14793702]

>antiparkinson effects of fluvoxamine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32273939/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27338206/
>anti Alzheimer's effects of fluvoxamine
https://www.neurologylive.com/view/sigma1-agonists-offer-combination-approach-to-dementia-symptoms
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2819237/
>general cognition enhancing effects of fluvoxamine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20373470/
>sigma-1 agonists raise acetylcholine in the frontal lobes and hippocampus but not the striatum and reverse memory impairment from muscarinic blockade
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20060423/
>fluvoxamine dopamine in the frontal lobes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21487652/
>prazosin (a1 adrenergic antagonist) prevents memory deterioration in Alzheimer's
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23063647/
>a1 blocker reduces risk of parkinson's
https://medicine.uiowa.edu/content/prostate-drug-associated-lower-risk-parkinsons-disease
>5ht1a agonism increases dopamine and acetylcholine in the PFC
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166432808002933?via%3Dihub
>5ht1a agonism raises striatal dopamine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15906386/
>cognitive benefits of a2c adrenergic antagonism
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5558054/
>weed removes alzheimer's plaques
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/cannabinoids-remove-plaque-forming-alzheimers-proteins-from-brain-cells

[Anonymous No.14793704]

>>14780006
lots and lots of porn I want to become numb and dumb so I can mindlessly enjoy life in this shithole like everybody else around me.