Drugs, tricks, exams and study

[CrONoS]

My question could somewhat be personal, and I understand if people wouldn't want to discuss it.

But I wanted to know if you have tricks for exams; enhancing short term memory, faster reasoning skills, being better in maths, etc.

I never did drug for exams; my friend used Ritalin for studying and during exams (as my sister).

As for myself; I found that drinking Red Bull is a very bad ideas when writing a dissertation; it seems that I have difficulty finding the good word and my short time memory seems to be negatively affected.

I had good results in economics exams with Red Bull, but I try to only drink it at the half of the exams.

I read a articles on Provigil (modafinil) on the economist, and times. And this drug seems to be perfect for exams. Is anyone tried it?

[CrONoS]

I thought about bringing tea for exams, caffeine levels seems to be lower than red bull, but help keeping the concentration on the task.

[Felch]

Adderall did wonders for me. Haven't done Provigil.

[SlowwHand]

First thing, is it a class that's reall relevant? If it's really relevant, anything other than learning it is cheating yourself. Outside sources to make you pass a test is just bull****.

[CrONoS]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
First thing, is it a class that's reall relevant? If it's really relevant, anything other than learning it is cheating yourself. Outside sources to make you pass a test is just bull****.

I agree, partially, with you. Better not to use drugs, than using it. But at the same time, there relatively smooth beverage (Energy drink, coffee, tea, etc) that have an effect on the mental, and I'm curious about the effect on people.

Also if people have tricks to perform better, (I don't care if it's "meditation", "visualization) I would be curious to know.

[Felch]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
First thing, is it a class that's reall relevant? If it's really relevant, anything other than learning it is cheating yourself. Outside sources to make you pass a test is just bull****.

For truly relevant classes, I wouldn't even use a pen. I'd just bite off the tip of my finger and write my answers in blood. After all, you never know when you'll need to fill up a blue notebook full of knowledge and won't have a pen. You always have your fingers though. Unless you bit them off writing essays.

[KrazyHorse]

Many scientists use ritalin, provigil or other, similar substances as performance enhancers.

Personally, I never have, but I know many graduate students who do.

I don't see why it shouldn't be allowed.

[Pekka]

Also writing a dissertation and thus having a lots of experience in exam taking and whatnot, I would say concentration and energy are hte most imrpotant things.

THUS; energy should be enhanced only when very tired. For this purpose, caffeine is just fine, just don't go over the top. Red Bull, coffee... it all works. In a situation where you are only semi tired, I recommend tea.

Before that? good SLEEP, walks, exercize, eating good. They really do work. Try to start writing as soon as possible after waking up, that way your concentration isn't the best possibel yet but you're already working and you'll be peaking while writing. Plus you'll get the fuzzy and warm morning feeling if lucky.

So I don't have a bag of tricks. Just remember to sleep well, eat well, and move your ass. Concentration goes up the roof with it, as it should and as it's meant to be. When tired and in a situation where you really have to just get it done, then caffeine but not too much.

I personally have never even considered using drugs as performance enhancers, but if someone does, it's their thing, I'm not hating on them. Just saying that try jogging and sleeping first.

[Unimatrix11]

I dont mind people using drugs to enhance performance, as long as they dont work. Cause in our competetive society, if some people do better by hurting themselves, soon everyone will have to, or be left behind. Plus, the less compotent might get into the wrong positions.

A trick for studying - well not that i would be the right guy to ask, but i might have one:

Sometimes, you skim a book, searching for something relavant for your work. There is a fast way to read - it only works for me in german, so maybe it has to be your native language. Imagine 4, maybe 5 lines, going vertically through the page. Let your eyes jump from one line to the next. With a little practice, you will actually read the text this way. Jumping back is not allowed - at least try not to do it, when you think you have to the first time. You are actually reading faster then you can process, but it seems like the brain has some kind of cache memory and while your eye already might be on the next line, the brain first skips the ´missing´ part, but eventually will do it, when it has time - or so it seems. Anyway, try it.

Like:

Let your eye | jump from one of | these to the next. | The distance should | be the same and | may cut words. | For me it makes | reading a lot faster |- like DSL compared to | a modem. And I ev|en get the content | of the text.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Felch


For truly relevant classes, I wouldn't even use a pen. I'd just bite off the tip of my finger and write my answers in blood. After all, you never know when you'll need to fill up a blue notebook full of knowledge and won't have a pen. You always have your fingers though. Unless you bit them off writing essays.

You're evidently already on some drug.

[Felch]

Evidently, indeed.

[Dr Strangelove]

Try getting a good night's sleep before the test. I never found that pulling an all nighter the night before helped.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Unimatrix11
I dont mind people using drugs to enhance performance, as long as they dont work. Cause in our competetive society, if some people do better by hurting themselves, soon everyone will have to, or be left behind. Plus, the less compotent might get into the wrong positions.

A trick for studying - well not that i would be the right guy to ask, but i might have one:

Sometimes, you skim a book, searching for something relavant for your work. There is a fast way to read - it only works for me in german, so maybe it has to be your native language. Imagine 4, maybe 5 lines, going vertically through the page. Let your eyes jump from one line to the next. With a little practice, you will actually read the text this way. Jumping back is not allowed - at least try not to do it, when you think you have to the first time. You are actually reading faster then you can process, but it seems like the brain has some kind of cache memory and while your eye already might be on the next line, the brain first skips the ´missing´ part, but eventually will do it, when it has time - or so it seems. Anyway, try it.

Like:

Let your eye | jump from one of | these to the next. | The distance should | be the same and | may cut words. | For me it makes | reading a lot faster |- like DSL compared to | a modem. And I ev|en get the content | of the text.

That's good adivce.

[Traianvs]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
Try getting a good night's sleep before the test. I never found that pulling an all nighter the night before helped.

I beg to differ.

In 6 days time I once had to take 4 exams, of which two were big mommas. I slept for about 20 hours total or something during that period. I had one exam in the afternoon and the next at 8.30 am the day after. I started reading at 6 in the evening and continued reading right until the minute I was allowed to enter the examination room; and still hadn't finished my cursory reading.

Still, had I not done that, I probably would've forgotten a lot of important aspects. Some subjects really require cramming, and if I read the book 3 weeks before the examination in it's often reasonably difficult to remember the ins and outs of some procedures, which I needed to know to interpret the examination questions

No drugs required btw. The knowledge that under no circumstances I was allowed to fail did it for me

[Lazerus]

Water, fruit salad flavoured chewits and jelly babies > drugs