Drugs, Work, and Cognitive Surplus

History of work and civilization related blog post here.

(http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html)

While the speculation takes several different twists and turns, the basic premise is that drugs allowed society to deal with a cognitive surplus while work changed and morphed to fit the industrial revolution. While insightful, one is left to wonder if video games qualify in the current environment or whether the addictions to participation are a substitute for the easing of the cognitive surplus effects.

Mind the Source and the Work Command Center

Arts and Letters Daily was the source of the link:  http://www.aldaily.com/

My own interests were tickled by the lead-in summary:

“The brain is the most complex object known. We can barely grasp the simplest mental functions in biological terms, and yet we blithely use drugs to treat mental disorders… more»”

Well, there is history, explanations of function, details on equipment, and a pretty potent exploration of the evolution of philosophy surrounding brain work in the 19th century. I didn’t know new neurons, a recent revelation, were triggered by antidepressants.

Read and Wonder:

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=400008