Modafinil improved performances by 15 percent, methylphenidate by 13 percent, and caffeine by around 9 percent.”
“Dr. Lieb said that the researchers went into the study with the expectation that the stimulants would not show much benefit. “We primarily thought that it is not possible to enhance high cognitive tasks and were astonished to find such results,” he said.”
Actually, as a tournament player I feel I can help explain the slowness:
The article suggests that this isn’t due to increased computational speed or focus, but I think that’s wrong. Playing slowly doesn’t imply thinking slowly. In a chess game, you have a certain amount of time overall, and often when the position is very complicated players will spend half an hour delving into variations and sub-variations. If it’s hard to concentrate, they may just rely on low-calc alternatives, and play faster.
Modafinil improved performances by 15 percent, methylphenidate by 13 percent, and caffeine by around 9 percent.”
“Dr. Lieb said that the researchers went into the study with the expectation that the stimulants would not show much benefit. “We primarily thought that it is not possible to enhance high cognitive tasks and were astonished to find such results,” he said.”
I’m not surprised. But I also don’t see much utility from this study; most people already believe that coffee helps them focus.
Don’t you think there’s some value of doing a more controlled study of it?
Something about “makes play better but slower” feels especially persuasive to me.
Actually, as a tournament player I feel I can help explain the slowness:
The article suggests that this isn’t due to increased computational speed or focus, but I think that’s wrong. Playing slowly doesn’t imply thinking slowly. In a chess game, you have a certain amount of time overall, and often when the position is very complicated players will spend half an hour delving into variations and sub-variations. If it’s hard to concentrate, they may just rely on low-calc alternatives, and play faster.
Agreed.