Limitless: An entertaining film with a dangerous idea
Eddie Morra is a creative, smarter than average guy with some motivation issues. He can't get off his ass and apply his intelligence to his work. Sound familiar at all - my internet slacker friends? I identified with the character after about the first 30 seconds of the film.
I won't give away any of the plot points, but Eddie's answer to his slackitude comes from a new black market pill that lets him write brilliant novels, trade stocks like a pro and speak any language fluently with just a few days of practice. In short, the pill turns him into a mental superman. The science of the drug is glossed over in typical Hollywood style - but it has to do with utilising that "80% of your brain that you don't use". Right. Of course, as this is Hollywood, there is a downside to the drug of the type that Roy Batty discovered in Bladerunner:
Maybe because I identified with the character, I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoyed this movie a lot - right through until the end credits.
Afterwords I felt a bit uneasy. It seemed like this film could have been financed by Ciba - the manufacturer of Ritalin™ or Wyeth - the makers of Ativan™. The effects of the fictional drug are like a super version of what's already on the market.
If you have the time, have a listen to this Podcast where Merlin Mann (Creator of 43 Folders) talks about medicating his ADD.
I know I'll get some flack for this - but I'm not sure that ADD is a disease so much as a condition or symptom of the world we live in. I'm wondering if pills will be required for all of us (or at least those of us in the IT industry) to keep up with the pace of change.
Limitless is an entertaining, reasonably smart action flick, shot in an interesting visual style (a bit like Pi) - that could be the harbinger of a new age of chemically augmenting your brain.
I won't give away any of the plot points, but Eddie's answer to his slackitude comes from a new black market pill that lets him write brilliant novels, trade stocks like a pro and speak any language fluently with just a few days of practice. In short, the pill turns him into a mental superman. The science of the drug is glossed over in typical Hollywood style - but it has to do with utilising that "80% of your brain that you don't use". Right. Of course, as this is Hollywood, there is a downside to the drug of the type that Roy Batty discovered in Bladerunner:
The light that burns twice as bright burns for half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy.
Maybe because I identified with the character, I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoyed this movie a lot - right through until the end credits.
Afterwords I felt a bit uneasy. It seemed like this film could have been financed by Ciba - the manufacturer of Ritalin™ or Wyeth - the makers of Ativan™. The effects of the fictional drug are like a super version of what's already on the market.
If you have the time, have a listen to this Podcast where Merlin Mann (Creator of 43 Folders) talks about medicating his ADD.
I know I'll get some flack for this - but I'm not sure that ADD is a disease so much as a condition or symptom of the world we live in. I'm wondering if pills will be required for all of us (or at least those of us in the IT industry) to keep up with the pace of change.
Limitless is an entertaining, reasonably smart action flick, shot in an interesting visual style (a bit like Pi) - that could be the harbinger of a new age of chemically augmenting your brain.
9 Comments
blankfist*utilizing
ADD and ADHD are euphemisms for strong-willed and creative, possibly. Maybe these people are bored with the humdrum of institutionalized education or the repetitiveness of their job, and these little pills help them "fit in" and be the cog instead of the new voice or innovator.
dystopianfuturetodayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%25_of_brain_myth
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)
Some ADDers take offense at this popular view. They see ADD and ADHD as very specific set of symptoms that you either have or don't have - but would agree that many people have been misdiagnosed with the disorder.
I share your view however.
>> ^blankfist:
utilizing
ADD and ADHD are euphemisms for strong-willed and creative, possibly. Maybe these people are bored with the humdrum of institutionalized education or the repetitiveness of their job, and these little pills help them "fit in" and be the cog instead of the new voice or innovator.
berticusi facepalmed when a relatively "smart" movie like inception used the 10% brain myth, and it's even more insulting in a movie about psychopharamaceuticals... but this is entertainment, i guess. i dunno, the movie looks shit to me from the trailer, but then i suppose i have this whole psych bias thing where i have difficulty suspending disbelief when it comes to matters of the brain now.
you are aware that psychopharmaceuticals are already a reality, yes? just perhaps not in the domain of this movie. boston legal had an episode that covered a real drug that dampens emotional/traumatic memories -- it's an ongoing controversy.
re: ADHD... i definitely do not share your viewpoint on its cause, but i certainly think the disorder has been needlessly politicised and therefore is a conceptual mess.
blankfistIf you were all using more than 10% of your brains, you'd know we actually do in fact use only 10% of our brains.
gwiz665That's only 10 % right.>> ^blankfist:
If you were all using more than 10% of your brains, you'd know we actually do in fact use only 10% of our brains.
DeanoYour review has made me want to see it. If only to work out if De Niro has more than two scenes. Without him we'd be wondering who the hell Manning was. Well, we still do, but De Niro's name sells the film.
I don't know much about AD whatever but it sounds like it was a label created and applied in the States. I think the sociology of that is very interesting. Doctors start applying the label and before you know it you have largely socially created condition. And then the drugs are ingested...
re the concept of the film we'll certainly all be modding our minds and bodies in the new few hundred years if you believe the futurists. Will that make people less stupid? I'd like to think so.
Psychologic>> ^dag:
Some ADDers take offense at this popular view. They see ADD and ADHD as very specific set of symptoms that you either have or don't have - but would agree that many people have been misdiagnosed with the disorder.
I share your view however.
>> ^blankfist:
utilizing
ADD and ADHD are euphemisms for strong-willed and creative, possibly. Maybe these people are bored with the humdrum of institutionalized education or the repetitiveness of their job, and these little pills help them "fit in" and be the cog instead of the new voice or innovator.
I suppose I'll jump in here since I have been diagnosed with ADD (not the hyperactive type).
I don't think it is a well-defined condition, so it could just be a catch-all for several unrelated conditions. It's an issue that seems so simple when viewed through the lense of "common sense", but the further I've dug into the research behind it the murkier it has become.
Symptoms? Just to pick one... you know when you're thinking or reading about something and in the middle of it it reminds you of something else? How is that handled internally? How easy is it for you to quickly and consistently downgrade the importance of that sudden reference and maintain focus on the main idea of the original thought?
Imagine the mechanism(s) for controlling the importance of that new cognitive direction isn't working correctly for whatever reason, and the new direction becomes the primary direction almost instantly, unnoticeably, and in a way that completely destroys the original line of thought. Now imagine that happening two or three times per sentence while reading.
That's a state I was in for a while (to varying degrees). I wish it were something that could be overcome with effort, because I've never put more effort into anything in my life.
Causes? I have no idea. Maybe genetic, maybe environmental, maybe developmental, maybe something else? My guess is that it is largely developmental (a structural result of experience/habit), though with a smaller level of genetic and environmental influence. It's definitely affected by nutrition, sleep, exercise, meditation (etc), but those affect nearly any mental state.
All I can speak for is myself. Whatever I have/had (ADD or something else) had very real effects, and I certainly wouldn't say it stemmed from any form of "boredom". I love reading and science and math, but it's nice to be able to study something I love without suddenly realizing I'm thinking about how many screws are in a toaster and that I have no idea what I read over the past three paragraphs.
As far as whether or not ADD is a "disease" (perhaps disorder is more appropriate), I think that generally depends on how many people fit the symptoms. Is it a disorder if it affects 30% of people? What about 90%? ADD medication improves the mental performance of lots of people, but it also tends to decrease the performance of the top performers. It's a fascinating subject.
dotdudeEditorial Cartoon on "Limitless" from 3/22/11:
http://blog.nola.com/stevekelley/2011/03/22_march_2011.html
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