The new film Limitless starring Bradley Cooper presents this possibility which could be intriguing to many people, especially college students. In this film, Cooper’s character, Eddie, stumbles into a dealer who gives him an unknown substance in pill form called NZ-48. As a struggling writer whose life is in shambles, Eddie, is looking for something- anything- that will help him get his career and life in order. NZ-48 suddenly presents itself as his salvation. The dealer tells him that this pill will make his brain utilize 100% of its capacity, as opposed to the 20% that humans normally use. Eddie is skeptic for a bit, yet his temptation takes over him. Eddie takes the pill and quickly realizes that the dealer’s assertion is true; he is smarter; he has more energy; he can solve problems that nobody else can; in short, he is better in every way while on NZ-48.
The pill, however, is not exactly a miracle. It eventually brings him more problems than benefits. Eddie’s health eventually deteriorates. He even finds out that most people who have taken NZ-48 died soon afterward. The pill also leads him to trouble: a potential murder, physical fights, and even encounters with criminals who want to kill him. The pill ends up being more of a course than anything else. Eddie eventually gets his life together in the movie.
However, this film intrigued me. I started wondering if people would be willing to take a substance like NZ-48 in real life if this meant they would have a competitive advantage over the rest. The answer was clear. Many already do this. A perfect example is athletes who use steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to be better.
Still, I guess we all have to hope that most people choose to not cheat and do things the right way. Some may cheat and do anything to outperform others, but this should ideally serve as exceptions, not the rules.
I really liked this movie because it shows how much smarter a person can be if we are able to use more than the small percent of our brain that we use. The brain is full of information, yet we don't have access to it all. I'm sure you have tried to remember something for a test or a memory of some incident but are unable to. This makes me so upset sometimes when I try so hard to think of something, yet it just doesn't come to my head. I wonder if it is actually possible to really come up with something that will allow people to use more of their brain? That would be nuts. Imagine how much smarter everyone would be if this was the case.
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