From Brain Curtain Analysis

After reading “From Brain Gain: The Underground World of ‘Neuroenhancing’ Drugs” by Margaret Talbot and the T.E.D Talk “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Lee Duckworth, I was intrigued to discover the correlation between neuroenhancing drugs such as adderall and the effects it may have on student grit. Talbot discusses the use of neuroenhancing drugs in colleges and raises question about the possible harmful side effects of an addiction to such “brain-boosting” drugs, and if it is providing students with an unfair academic advantage. With a similar focus on student education, Duckworth claims that in education field the main predictor of success if not how smart a student is, but how gritty, how passionate and how persevering,
they are. I concluded that there had to be a significant contrast between students participating in neuroenhancing drugs and students practicing grit, but that there may also be a correlation between the loss of grit after stopping such drug use. Were students gritter before the started taking neuroenhancing drugs or after the stopped use? As a high school and college student, I am admittedly curious of the effects a commonly used drugs among students holds on an individual's grit for the years after high school and college. My intent is to answer the question: what is the impact of neuroenhancing drugs, specifically adderall, on student grit before and after dependence on such drugs?