Comment by Harold on Not for the Sake of Happiness (Alone) · 2007-11-22T06:51:30.000Z · LW · GW

I don't think a 'joy of scientific achievement' pill is possible. One could be made that would bathe you in it for a while, but your mental tongue would probe for your accomplishment and find nothing. Maybe the pill could just turn your attention away and carry you along, but I doubt it. Vilayanur Ramachandran gave a TED talk about the cause of people's phantom limbs - your brain detects an inconsistency and gets confused and induces pain. Something similar might prevent an 'achievement' pill from having the intended effect.

Comment by Harold on Truly Part Of You · 2007-11-21T06:48:05.000Z · LW · GW

@Sharper: There's actually a school that teaches math (and other things) that way, St John's College in the US (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John's_College%2C_U.S). Fascinating place.