Day 13: Wake up in the morning feeling like P-racetam

4-5 Sep 2010

Seriously, I slept for maybe five hours and had to get up at 9 AM to be on a talk show for an hour and a half. So I just took 2400mg of piracetam and 4000mg choline (with a pinch of black coffee). Boom! Within an hour, I felt more or less the same way that I would at the peak of a good day, and then just a little better than that. I sensed that I was very clear-headed and "prepared", sort of like a heightened state of readiness. There was none of the just-woke-up, trashed-sleep-cycle fog that I would usually be experiencing.

And it was absolutely spectacular! I was a little nervous at first - it's a live show, so there's always some concern about saying something stupid - but I almost immediately got over it and just became immersed in the discussion without any trouble. The whole thing was very easy - conversation, thought, it was all practically seamless and uninterrupted. It actually made me regret that there wasn't more time to further explore the issues and explain additional aspects that would be relevant. It felt like more parts of my brain were immediately available and ready (almost asking) to be used. Notably, there were hardly any difficulties with trying to find the right words for something, which is a frustrating feeling - now, it was mostly gone.

Anyway, I think it was wonderful and it all went really well. We touched on lots of different issues and spoke with some great callers. I'd love to do it again some time. If you missed it, you can download all 86 minutes of it here [MP3] and listen at your convenience. There's no transcript, but here's an index to the show:

• (0:00 - 4:04) TheThinkingAtheist's introduction and discussion of Christopher Hitchens.
• (4:05 - 7:41) TTA introduces me: We talk about the origins of my channel, what it's become, and why do I look like that, anyway?
• (7:42 - 10:55) Reactions from the YouTube community, religion as a source of homophobia, and the importance of coming out.
• (10:56 - 15:39) The role of religion in my life, its influence on developing minds, and coming out atheist.
• (15:40 - 16:49) Feedback from my viewers, positive and negative, and the responses to my style.
• (16:50 - 19:16) The content of my videos, and my inspiration.
• (19:17 - 24:20) The planned mosque in downtown Manhattan, the beliefs of Muslims, and how best to delineate religions.
• (24:21 - 30:07) Caller "Smegmasaurus": Are outspoken atheists "militant"? What are the most effective ways of shifting people towards atheism? And am I the atheist Abbie Hoffman?
• (30:08 - 32:25) Caller Eric: Support for my message, and its global spread.
• (32:26 - 36:34) How does sexual orientation originate: as a result of development, or through conscious choice? Would anyone choose to be gay, and why?
• (36:35 - 40:14) Caller Andy: Do abstract concepts exist, and what does it mean to say they exist? Are "spiritual experiences" real, and in what sense?
• (40:15 - 44:32) Caller Heather: Do homophobia and misogyny originate from religion, or elsewhere? To what degree is religion responsible for perpetuating them? And how are they related?
• (44:33 - 45:54) Caller Travis: Appreciation for my videos.
• (45:55 - 56:27) Caller Dustin: Do gay people feel ashamed of their sexuality? If so, why? Are gay people more accepted, and influential, than commonly thought? And will established majorities always tend to view minorities as a potential threat?
• (56:28 - 58:24) Caller Timothy: Will I make more videos memorializing victims of persecution like Alan Turing and other significant historical figures? I'd love to!
• (58:25 - 1:00:54) Caller Corey: The Bible versus the historical records of ancient civilizations, and the problems of living in a society that predates the "one true religion".
• (1:00:55 - 1:10:50) Caller Shelly: Views on the Nikki Araguz case and Texas marriage law as pertains to transgender people, a crash course in what it means to be trans, and the difficulties of disclosure. I answer whether I'm trans.
• (1:10:51 - 1:16:36) Caller Dustin, again: Is marriage necessarily a religious practice, and what are the implications of religion defining this? Aren't civil unions enough for gay couples? And are they truly equal?
• (1:16:37 - 1:21:44) My experience with religion and the path to open atheism, from nonbelief to disbelief, and how to abandon the fear of hell.
• (1:21:45 - 1:23:36) The existence of God as an intentionally unfalsifiable claim.
• (1:23:37 - ) Conclusion.

So, for those of you who were wondering how well I can do without a prepared script, you can now make an assessment.

I took another 1 piracetam and choline later at 5:00 PM and 1:00 AM, although I'm getting a bit drowsy now. By the way, if you're interested in piracetam, now might be a good time to try it. A major seller of piracetam in the US claims to have received a letter [PDF] from the FDA stating that piracetam is not considered a supplement, but rather a drug, and their sales of it are in violation of various laws. Some have speculated that this is because a pharmaceutical company wishes to market it in the US, although this hasn't been substantiated. It's believed that this FDA action wouldn't affect aniracetam, oxiracetam or pramiracetam, nootropics with similar effects but greater potency.

However, there are some interesting aspects to this event. The same seller has previously posted similar warnings on forums across the internet in May and December of 2009, claiming that piracetam was about to be banned by the FDA. There are currently no records of any warning letters being issued by the FDA pertaining to sales of piracetam. If we assume that they did nevertheless receive warning letters, it would seem that the FDA is only nominally concerned about piracetam and hasn't taken any real action, at least not yet. Personally, I'm not about to start stockpiling kilos of the stuff, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Let's hope the piracetam sellers can outsmart them.