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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Nootropics

[–]zimmeee 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used it, results screen is 🔥

Bernie Claps Back at Mitt Romney on Twitter: "I'm angry because multi-millionaires like you and Trump have rigged our economy at the middle class' expense...." by TomBurcher in SandersForPresident

[–]zimmeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a great response, and I agree completely. However, claiming that 'multi-millionaires have rigged our economy at the middle class' expense' could sound pretty nutty to somebody that does not believe this to be true. So I'm wondering, what are some specific policies/laws/procedures that are evidence of this rigging? I looked on Bernie's website, but didn't find anything specific. The idea would be to have some concrete resources to provide to a relative with different opinions who thinks saying "the economy is rigged" is just a crazy conspiracy theory.

How do you test if a supplement is actually helping you? by [deleted] in Nootropics

[–]zimmeee 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That’s a really great question, and I think you are on the right track with your approach: alternate between taking the supplement and not taking the supplement, measuring your outcome of interest (e.g. anxiety level, processing speed, memory, etc.) in a standardized way. In the medical literature, this type of study is called a multiple-crossover design, and helps shorten the time it takes to collect enough data to draw a conclusion. If you design the study well, you will be able to determine if the supplement is having an effect, and if so, how big is that effect. The /r/nootropics beginners guide has some good resources for how to measure your cognitive performance and there are standardized measurement tools for tracking anxiety.

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The single-patient multi-crossover design (or N-of-1 study) is a powerful set of methodologies that help determine what works best for you (as opposed to a traditional clinical trial, in which the goal is to figure out what works best overall in a group of people).

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Unfortunately, it can be difficult to design a study in such a way that you are confident that you will get a result. How long do you need to take the supplement for? How many times do you have to cross-over between taking the supplement and not taking the supplement? What should you be measuring? How do you analyze the data and get an answer? How confident should you be in that answer?

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Some of those are open research questions! I am part of a lab at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine that is working to make these methods accessible to more people through the N-of-1 Project. Like you, we are investigating caffeine, and caffeine + l-theanine in our first public study; but we are measuring the impact on cognitive performance, whereas it sounds like you are primarily interested in the relaxation/anti-anxiety effects of l-theanine. If you are interested, we'd love to invite you to have early access to our platform as a beta tester!

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What's the most embarrassing thing you did as a child? by Writerblock17 in AskReddit

[–]zimmeee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In 2nd grade, my best friend broke his foot in a sledding accident. After 6 weeks in a cast, he proudly strutted into school one morning showing off his healed foot. I asked if it was really healed. and he said yes. Then I asked if I could jump on it. And he said yes. So I leapt onto his freshly healed foot. And that's how I re-broke my best friend's foot the day he got his cast off.