I would say that most tech companies will have at least one person on something.
— Jesper Noehr, a tech-startup executive in San Francisco, who takes nootropics — also known as smart or brain drugs — every day. The drug cocktails are meant to help improve memory, brain function and keep a lot of things on my mind at once, Noehr told the Guardian. They re unregulated but supposedly don t have significant side effects and aren t harmful or addictive.
Noehr mixes his own cocktails, but some startups have ready-made options for those seeking an edge in the jungle that is Silicon Valley. For example, San Francisco-based Nootrobox offers a daily nootropic, as well as a short-term focus agent. Entrepreneur Dave Asprey, who according to CNN takes about 15 pills every morning and says he has spent $300,000 over 15 years on hacking his own biology, sells supplements and his Bulletproof lifestyle. Asprey claims he has raised his IQ by 20 points.
Kevin Roose wrote for Fusion recently that the nootropics community is surprisingly large and involved. There are forums and subreddits, a podcast called Smart Drug Smarts, and more.
Meanwhile, Silicon Valley has its share of users of illicit drugs that are known to be harmful and/or addictive. As Pat May and Heather Somerville wrote for the Mercury News last year, the workaholism that s rampant in the tech industry has led to the use of everything from cocaine and heroin to painkillers like oxycodone and stimulants like Adderall.
Illustration from KRT archives
