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Notes -
My initial reaction:
I'd say the difference between the Mood Organ and what we have right now for emotion-hacking is that the Mood Organ is presumably perfectly effective. It just makes the emotion perfectly. In our real world, with our SSRIs, CBD products, and so on, our biology can introduce a surprising amount of error--enzymes can shred antidepressants before they even reach our brain, we can have paradoxical reactions to medicine, some people can't hold their liquor, etc. Another thing is, how reversible is the Mood Organ? Can it simply be de-implanted? By contrast, we think of substances as having to be weaned off of, which takes longer and could be harder, but at least is non-invasive.
As someone who likes to drink those gamer-oriented supplements (GFuel et. al), almost never drinks alcohol, and relies on electronic entertainment for needed stimulation (e.g: If I'm going to write or do some repetitive digital task, I like to put music on in the background, the right music can keep me vibing through the thing), I suppose I could try to cultivate better willpower, but I'm not usually in any situation where I need to get through things without chemical aid. I haven't donated plasma in a while and even though I have a bottle of OTC melatonin on my nightstand, I almost never use it, as I just put in my earbuds instead and cue up some sleep-aid material.
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