How limitless can we be!? ("Limitless" the movie)

How Limitless can we be? (Limitless)-the movie by Nisro (On & Off ) 

Bradley Cooper (Eddie Morra):  “A tablet a day, and I was limitless”

Hearing “Morra” , the main character of the movie “limitless” saying this , one can not help but wonder how limitless can one really be? And if  that experimental drug which Morra (a struggling writer) takes and which allows him to use 100 percent of his brain really exists!?

Thinking about that, I had to roam the net trying to find answers to this very question! Is there really a drug out there that has effects as those of the NZT in the movie?

Well, guess what?

It seems I’m not the only one who has the question on her mind but it is one of the most frequently asked questions on IMBD

Does a drug like NZT really exist ?

Yes and no. Some of the effects of NZT, like increased productivity and focus or the feeling of having to keep moving forward is similar to the effects of Adderall and Ritalin. There also seems to be a new drug called Focalin XR, which can help people with focusing and efficiency too. But the ability to recall all the memories in your subconscious and/or the ability to process information in an almost superhuman capacity that NZT provides is not an effect of any known drug. It is more likely that this is an allegory for our culture that has come to rely heavily on pharmaceuticals to improve our lives.

It seems that the movie has stirred so much controversy and questions regarding cognitive enhancement. 

Ishan Dasgupta, (a research program coordinator at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.) has written an interesting article on this subject looking at it from a rather ethical point of view and trying to answer the question that the film raises “Can a pill make you limitless?”

Also

Amanda Dobbins discusses the brain issues that the movie raises and debunks “the 10 percent of your brain” myth !

Surprisingly I stumbled upon a forum where someone asserts that he takes a medication that is similar to the one in the movie. Allow me to quote him:

"I take it. It's not AS dramatic as in the movie, but it is real.

Developed by the USAF. Refined, and now available to the public.

It's now called Nuvigil, the early version called Provigil had many side effects. And Insurance won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

It's like a low dose of Meth with no effect on heart rate or blood pressure. Just makes you VERY awake, Alert, and creative.

My biggest issue with it is how it makes me so focused people around me think I have lost focus. Hard to explain, but for example you could tell me a story while I'm watching TV and reading a book. You'd think I was ignoring you, but I heard everything you said and even will even respond to questions.

At the same time, I am fully aware of the TV show on, news, documentary, movie, etc.... and can follow the plot of the book I am reading.

As a matter of fact, I would say that doing one thing like watching a football game is beyond boring.

It drives my wife nuts.

But it does make me more social and I definitely am more "likeable" when on it. When I am trying to make a first impression, I will look at you and you KNOW, I am absorbing your every word.

I am going to stop it for a few weeks though, it is not addicting, but you do build a tolerance.

Another forum member responds to him adding that :

ProVigil is ridiculously expensive.…..It's $450 for a 30 day supply. I only take when I know I will need to be alert. To me, it's a miracle drug. It should be available for anyone, but it's only prescribed for some very specific conditions, e.g., sleep apnea patients, Sleep Shift Wake Disorder (people who work third shift, and the next day need to work 2nd shift), narcolepsy, etc”.

-----

Well, after all said and done…If the drug does exist (hopefully), I wish it would be available soon for everyone because “How many of us ever know what it is to become the perfect version of ourselves?”

P.S.

I must admit that I loved the movie for its smart quick script and interesting story line.

3-8-1432 / 4-7-2011