The reports about the widespread use of drugs, cognitive enhancers, among scientists is making the rounds. I tend to think that it might be a positive thing, even if there are side effects. The fact is that if you go into science you’re looking at a life of relatively meager remuneration for the intellectual firepower you can bring to any question. Someone who has the abilities and skills to get a tenure track position could almost certainly have been able to make a go of it in a much higher paid profession, but they didn’t. Why? Many reasons, from fame to doing what you love. The reality though is that most scientists don’t really stand out, and unlike Gilgamesh no one will remember them in the future. I think that the culture of science does need a lot of warm bodies, so there is a positive spillover effect to someone spending their whole life in a scientific career, despite the fact that only a tiny minority of individuals will accrue to themselves the glory of immortality and acclaim.
With those cold facts in mind people should cut scientists some slack. This is not to diss I-bankers, doctors and lawyers, they’re all needed, but scientists don’t get paid jack compared to these professions. Scientists contribute to the body of human knowledge, and to human welfare. From biomedical advances to material science the fact that researchers devote their cognitive cycles to questions of deep importance for the structure of our civilization and quality of life of its citizens with minimal remuneration is somewhat amazing. It isn’t surprising in the world of science people sometimes look to more than caffeine to gain some margin, and increase their productivity within the finite constrains of time, family and basic physiological needs. If a scientist wants to eat a lot of steak because of the sensory pleasure which they extract from the experience, that’s great! It might lower their life expectancy, but one should evaluate the total utility under the curve, not the length of that curve on the X-axis. Similarly, if they make recourse to cognitive enhancers which might have consequences in the long term, so be it. Why do athletes take performance enhancing drugs? To win! Why do scientists take cognitive enhancing drugs? To get the most out of their career, yes, but a byproduct of this is to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to scientific productivity! That is a form of perfomance enhancement which has consequences for more than personal ego, it may increase the well being of millions (potentially).
Drugs can be bad, but we need to look at the big picture here. If your child goes into science would you dissuade them from a lifetime expectation of relatively meager earnings in relation to their cognitive aptitudes? What’s a few years & quality of life at the end of one’s life when set against the sacrifies already implicit in the choices one makes?
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