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Oh, you again. I forgot. What were you saying that was even remotely involving you in the conversation? I either forgot, or didn't see it anywhere...
Antagonism isn't really helping your case.
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Oh, you again. I forgot. What were you saying that was even remotely involving you in the conversation? I either forgot, or didn't see it anywhere...
Ever read about people without depression or emotive problems experimenting with Paxil?
I don't really see how you can "experiment" with an SSRI, as they take weeks of dosing just to have an effect.
The poll fails to support you. 🙂
-hardly a sample representative of the entire population (especially seeing we pre-meds are among the most likely to use it)
No. I'm saying the opposite. Let's assign arbitrary numbers in terms of concentration disability, 100 being normal, <100 being less concentration.
Person 1: 100
Person 2: 90
Person 3: 40
Person 4: 20
Person 5: 0
With methylphenidate, and assuming that everything EXCEPT concentration ability (assuming due to ADHD) being held constant:
Person 1: 120
Person 2: 120
Person 3: 120
Person 4: 120
Person 5: 0 (no such person exists who would actually benefit from methylphenidate, since a person with no concentration ability is a vegetable 🙂)
The drug works on the same pathways, and brings people to the same level, which is what the studies showed as best as possible. It would be extremely difficult to test whether or not it actually increases grades or not due to the massive amount of variables that would have to be accounted for to make the study anything other than garbage, but it is generally accepted by people who have a lot of experience with this drug and these disorders (...like me...) that this is the general trend with psychostimulants. Variations exist, but mainly due to body weight and other such factors.
But no, a person having ADD or ADHD would not make them more or less sensitive to the drug. Which is why, according to the logic of the opposition, ANYBODY who takes the drug, even with a prescription, is "cheating" because they too would have an "advantage."
brb, let me go consult the offical rulebook of debating so i can craft a proper answer for youAttaboy.
This is where you've been wrong the entire time (and I've been telling you you've been wrong). Really, I'm not sure how you're continually failing to understand this.
Baseline = 100
Premedication
Subject 1 = 120 (s = +1)
Subject 2 = 100 (Mean)
Subject 3 = 80 (ADHD, s = -1)
Postmedication
Subject 1 = 150 (s = +2)
Subject 2 = 125 (s = +1)
Subject 3 = 100 (Mean)
y = mx + b. Parallel progress, as per your citation.
ADHD patient is returned to somewhere around baseline depending on severity of disorder. Those without ADHD become advanced or increasingly advanced.
Hrm.
Here's the problem. I KNOW you're reading too much into it. The problem is that I really don't want to go through and try to explain the whole pharmacological process that is behind Ritalin, so that you can see that the conclusion you're drawing is incorrect. It's obvious to anyone who knows how this drug works. But in order to have any idea of what you're talking about, that's what I'd have to do.
What a predicament. I really don't have time to do that right now. If you'd be kind enough to look it up yourself, great. But I have things to do...
I posed the question to the psychiatry forum to get rid of this unqualified argument you've been putting forward. Unless you claim to have more knowledge of psychopharmacology than a psychiatry attending/resident/fellow/whatever, I think their reply would offer a pretty definitive conclusion. If you're unhappy with how I phrased your stance, let me know and it will be edited.
Got a reply back from the provost of academic affairs. The response boiled down to "it's a matter of nonacademic misconduct and is handled through the Office of Judicial Affairs."
Also - modified some of my posts for using baseline incorrectly.

Got a reply back from the provost of academic affairs. The response boiled down to "it's a matter of nonacademic misconduct and is handled through the Office of Judicial Affairs."
Also - modified some of my posts for using baseline incorrectly.
I think "speed addicts" is taking it a little far.
To me cheating is (or at least should be) defined as an action whereby you find a way to make an exam easier relative to your ability to do whatever it is you're being tested on. If you're tested in school on how well you can retain and regurgitate knowledge, and you find some way to improve your test scores for a given quality of retention/regurgitation, for example by looking on someone else's paper, that's cheating. If you do something that improves your ability to retain or regurgitate the information, like Adderol, that's not cheating.Am I the only one concerned about the lack of morality in this thread? With around 75% of pre-meds and med students saying that it is not cheating (albeit mostly after the "but i would never take it myself" wink wink disclaimer).
Cheating is something that gives you an advantage over someone else given otherwise identical sets of circumstances. If it in any way confers an advantage not given to others, then its cheating. The fact that people take shows that it confers an advantage
How do you think they came up with the term? The term "speed" goes as far back as Hitler's army taking pills to go faster. In the 50's the term gained further importance as amphetamines were prescribed for just about everything under the sun. Long story short, the term "speed" refers to any form of amphetamines, but started because of amphetamine pills. So if someone it relying on these pills they are, in fact, speed addicts.
Alright, put away the Trivial Pursuit.
Speed as far as anyone cares about is a street name for cocaine. And yes, while methylphenidate is pretty much the same thing, there is a big difference between having a physical dependence on the high provided by high-potency cocaine as compared to a 10mg tablet of Ritalin used to help someone stay awake and concentrate for a test the next morning. It's just a cheap shot.
I'm sorry but you are wrong. Speed = amphetamines. Ask anyone who went to college in the 70's like my dad.
EDIT: Here ya go buddy: http://www.drugs.com/speed.html
People refer to speed in either the pill or meth form.
You're right. I got my street names confused. 🙂
Regardless, I still think you're WAY off in terms of deciding that someone can be considered an "addict" because they pop a pill to pull an all-nighter.
Am I the only one concerned about the lack of morality in this thread? With around 75% of pre-meds and med students saying that it is not cheating (albeit mostly after the "but i would never take it myself" wink wink disclaimer).
it's not cheating
the answers aren't in the pill
you still have to study
it's like an illegal form of caffeine
some people use caffeine to study longer. this is along the same premises.
it's substance abuse, but not cheating.
and please don't give me the baseball analogy that steroids are cheating.
steroids help make you big, but you still need to put in the work. it's also illegal and very dangerous. again, substance abuse.
substance abuse needs to be regulated because the well-being of people is more important than what they can achieve with the pills/drugs/whatever.
sure
but really, where's the logic in "studying = cheating"?
cheating is stealing answers during a test
cheating is stealing a test
cheating is copying someone else's paper or having them write one for you
but studying more? come on.
I never said that nor do I think that. You are getting me confused with the person who has the mushroom avatar. However, if someone is relying on adderal, as in cannot go a day without it and will do just about anything to get it, then they are a "speed addict." I jut wanted to point out that adderal is, in fact, speed.
Eh... I'm a little off my game today... I have three tests tomorrow. Forgive me this time? 😉
Honestly, if you want my opinion you are gonna need to read through this thread. I have stated it many times. It comes down to this. Two people of equal intelligence are studying for a test. One takes adderal illegaly and is able to pull in all nighter. The other does not want to break the law and is a able to study most the night but not as much as the other person who did take it. The adderal taker ends up scoring higher.
IMO, it is cheating because the first student was able to obtain an unfair advantage through breaking the rules. That is cheating IMO.
A new point I really haven't brought up...
Say we have your situation, except that one person has three hours to study, and one has ten. Let's pretend that the hours that are available are not due to laziness or some other controllable concept. For instance, the student with less hours has to work, and the student with more hours has his rent and food paid for by daddy.
Now, since we have two people with equal intelligence, but one is unfortunately deprived of the same study time due to uncontrollable variables, we can still consider that fair?
In this case, wouldn't it be more fair if the student without as much study time took a Ritalin and therefore was able to get an equal amount of studying done as the other student who gets off easy due to having a rich family? I mean, technically, having a rich family is pretty similar to popping a Ritalin. Not everyone has access to it. But in this case, it isn't a discussion of morality, but a REAL case of true disadvantage.
That's why this, "It's not fair!" argument is so silly. Life isn't fair. It's never going to be fair. So if you have a student who wants to pop a Ritalin, it's not that this student has an "unfair advantage" over the world. That student may have an advantage over the students who work, party, AND don't take Ritalin, but the pill itself isn't going to give the student an advantage over some guy who can sit at home all day, does 12 hours of college a semester, and have daddy take care of all the finances in the background.
Illegal or not, cheating has to be measured against a standard. And if the standard is the average college student, well, I can say that the methylphenidate isn't particularly high on the list of things we should be looking for ways to balance out...
Why is it so difficult to understand that both conditions must be met? What makes the concept so hard to grasp?
You guys take only one of the conditions and then explain why that condition alone cannot constitute cheating. Either you argue "not everything that's an unfair advantage is cheating" or "not everything that breaks rules is cheating." Yes you're right, unfairness alone can't constitute cheating, but that's not what we're saying.
Because it's wrong. 😉
If you take a very, very basic logic class, then you should see easily why it's wrong. The fact that it SHOULDN'T be wrong is irrelevant.
Uh... yes it is. At the end of the day, you're saying it's unfair because you aren't willing to break the law in order to get an advantage that in itself is not cheating.
Not to say that one should break the law, but if they are, they aren't doing so in a way that can be constituted as cheating. The fact that you aren't breaking a law to even the score doesn't mean a thing so long as it's not THE law.
The problem is that this issue is a little more complex and regulation-bound than you're willing to go. But if someone who used Adderall was accused of cheating and dismissed from the college for academic honest, I would be very, very surprised if they lost when they sued the college.
The college can punish them for possession, but not cheating. Regardless of whether or not it SHOULD be considered cheating, at this time, nobody in academia seems to think it is.
The college can punish them for possession, but not cheating. Regardless of whether or not it SHOULD be considered cheating, at this time, nobody in academia seems to think it is.
Just to be clear, we are arguing whether or not it SHOULD be considered cheating, correct?http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=670314
The answer to this changes everything; I've spent the past 7 pages arguing whether (as it stands) taking Adderall constitutes cheating, not whether it should constitute cheating. Not only that, this has been a very black/white debate when, in actuality, cheating should be defined along a spectrum. If it should be considered cheating, then I would have to place such activity on the low end of the spectrum, given that there are much more egregious ways to go about gaining an advantage on a test than staying awake longer and concentrating better.

it's not cheating
the answers aren't in the pill
you still have to study
it's like an illegal form of caffeine
some people use caffeine to study longer. this is along the same premises.
it's substance abuse, but not cheating.
and please don't give me the baseball analogy that steroids are cheating.
...
really? lol.
having an illegal substance != cheating
having an illegal substance = having an illegal substance
If the MCAT were the sole determining factor for entrance to medical school:
Billy gets a 30 (without adderall), Bobby gets a 32. Bobby gets in.
vs.
Billy gets a 33 (with illegal adderall), Bobby gets a 32. Billy gets in.
How is this not cheating?
Perhaps you should consider why is using steroids considered cheating. It is because they give you an unfair advantage. Everyone has to go to the gym (read your text book) and practice (study), but when on steroids (adderall), you get more out for the same work in, and in turn are able to reach levels you wouldn't have been able to reach otherwise.
there's only a limited amount of information you need to memorize for a test. adderall takers aren't becoming geniuses. they're just saturating their brains with a given set of information more efficiently. it's not giving them superhuman brain ability to hold more information than they would not be able to normally.
There is no rational reason to feel morally bound by the law for its own sake, particularly when it is arbitrary.
I agree with this statement in that just because a law is in place doesn't mean it is an inherent moral guideline; however, you'd be hard pressed to find many people breaking drug laws for the sake of "making a statement." However, you strike at the heart at why I wanted to do away with the legal argument earlier in the debate.
So according to the psychopharm forum posts, it seems that those with ADHD will have a great increase in focus whereas those without will have a comparatively smaller increase (and with increasing dosage may experience deterioration). So I could see how this sort of supports Tin Man's claim since it suggests there wouldn't be a huge discrepancy between the focus levels of someone with ADHD and someone without. However, placing it in clear cut numbers and saying they both reach the EXACT same level is impossible with the info available. It could be something like:
ADHD: 80 + stim = 120
Norm: 100 + stim = 120
but it could also be more like:
ADHD: 80 + stim = 100
Norm: 100 + stim = 110
or even:
ADHD: 80 + stim = 90
Norm: 100 + stim = 105
Any of those would mesh with the information the pharm guys posted. Pretty inconclusive as far as comparative results. It's simply ADHD + stimulant = big boost; normal + stimulant = small boost. We can't read more into it than that without taking liberties.
The magnitude of effect is different, but the end result of the effect is debatable. They probably can't do a quantified comparison (such as administering the same study materials and test to a patient and a control) since the results would be affected by the variables of the subject's other mental abilities (memory and understanding).
So no point awarded to either side here.
The legal aspect is essential to defining cheating. We agreed that unfair advantage alone is not sufficient. In an extreme example, holding a gun to the grader's head and asking for an A, doesn't break any written university policy, and conveniently dispenses with social morality --> not cheating right?
I'm on an iPod and it's a pain to go back and forth between threads. However, I will say that the answers given by the psych guys would be different depending on whether we were judging from a non-existent baseline for the drug. For instancE, I could have been wrong in the way that an ADHD patient would have a MASSIVE boost in concentration when compared to a normal person, which would mean that the normal people would be "cheating" on a far lesser scale than prescribed users of methylphenidate. 😀
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