Does pot make you smarter?

So I was watching this documentary that I was going to take as a joke (Super High Me), but he actually does tests when he's sober contrasted with when he's high. Some of the results showed that he was a lil below average when he was under the influence, but then tests like the SAT he took and the psychic tests he took, showed he was a bit smarter while under the influence.


So could/does pot make you smarter? or more of something? Some artists, writers, etc. use pot for inspiration and it makes their work so much better.

So I ask Southperry! What is your opinion?

Just do it.

So I was watching this documentary that I was going to take as a joke (Super High Me), but he actually does tests when he's sober contrasted with when he's high. Some of the results showed that he was a lil below average when he was under the influence, but then tests like the SAT he took and the psychic tests he took, showed he was a bit smarter while under the influence.


So could/does pot make you smarter? or more of something? Some artists, writers, etc. use pot for inspiration and it makes their work so much better.

So I ask Southperry! What is your opinion?

Well, if you study while high, you'll remember what you studied more easily if you are high (State dependent memory). Works similarly with alcohol and nicotine. Dunno if he tested that particular aspect of pot.

Well, if you study while high, you'll remember what you studied more easily if you are high (State dependent memory). Works similarly with alcohol and nicotine. Dunno if he tested that particular aspect of pot.

He did the following.

- Sperm test
- SAT
- Psychic
- Mini Mental Memory test (Which falls under the category of studying and remembering stuff)
- If he was funnier while high or not (A comedian, Doug Benson, did the whole documentary because he had a medical license)

So yeah.. he did a lil worse with math while high, but his vocab and english surpassed while he was high differed when he was sober.

Since he is taking the SAT and it has a guessing penalty, another possible cause is that pot lowered his inhibitions so that he guessed on more questions that he otherwise would have chosen to skip. (and got them right due to the state dependent memory)


~~~~~


Overall, pot merely makes retrieval easier for the first few times you use it, but after you habituate to it's effects, you'll notice that you're only going to retrieve stored information properly when you use pot. If that happens, then overall, normally (assuming normally is the absence of pot), your retrieval of retained information is slower.

The only way you're going to get smarter is by learning. Pot doesn't provide you with education, it's not going to make you smarter.

Since he is taking the SAT and it has a guessing penalty, another possible cause is that pot lowered his inhibitions so that he guessed on more questions that he otherwise would have chosen to skip. (and got them right due to the state dependent memory)


~~~~~


Overall, pot merely makes retrieval easier for the first few times you use it, but after you habituate to it's effects, you'll notice that you're only going to retrieve stored information properly when you use pot. If that happens, then overall, normally (assuming normally is the absence of pot), your retrieval of retained information is slower.

The only way you're going to get smarter is by learning. Pot doesn't provide you with education, it's not going to make you smarter.

Yeah I kinda worded it wrong. I was aiming towards, does pot maintain your smarts, or does it just make you retarded like everyone thinks it does.

Since he is taking the SAT and it has a guessing penalty, another possible cause is that pot lowered his inhibitions so that he guessed on more questions that he otherwise would have chosen to skip. (and got them right due to the state dependent memory)


~~~~~


Overall, pot merely makes retrieval easier for the first few times you use it, but after you habituate to it's effects, you'll notice that you're only going to retrieve stored information properly when you use pot. If that happens, then overall, normally (assuming normally is the absence of pot), your retrieval of retained information is slower.

The only way you're going to get smarter is by learning. Pot doesn't provide you with education, it's not going to make you smarter.

However, it can make you THINK that you're smarter. That confidence boost may help you perform better on tests.

However, it can make you THINK that you're smarter. That confidence boost may help you perform better on tests.

People do that when they're drunk and want to drive as well. (You can't really compare them though, can you?)

People do that when they're drunk and want to drive as well. (You can't really compare them though, can you?)

Well, to be fair, their reflexes are also dulled, so they may indeed "be" better drivers, but slow reflexes will make even the best/most experienced driver next to useless.

However, it can make you THINK that you're smarter. That confidence boost may help you perform better on tests.

^This. Some people just need to relax on tests. They get too stressed out and they panic. Altering their state of consciousness may help with that. Heck, most testing problems that involve psyching yourself out can be overcome with a slight change in preparation/environment.

But of all the things you could take to improve test scores, I don't think pot is the best choice. Maybe, if a little high, you could make that brilliant analogy, with a connection you wouldn't normally see, and write a better essay. On the other hand, you could just write something that doesn't make sense, or not care enough to put in enough details. I think math would show more negative consequences and few positive ones, especially easier math exams like the SAT, since there is less creativity involved.

I say this having never actually been high, but having been (accidentally, usually) on a variety of prescription drugs that cause drowsiness/"high"s like pot when taking tests... Mixing three "may cause drowsiness" meds at once (including muscle relaxants) FTL. =/

Well... When I was high once with a friend and we recorded our convo. The day after we remembered less than half the stuff we had talked about, but when we listened to the recording it came back fast. Basically our chat was very smart philosophy, like, making connections and analogies that while sober we would've never made. So it's not that it makes you smarter, it boosts some parts of your brain like the subconscious that are not normally put into action when you're sober.

Some of the results showed that he was a lil below average when he was under the influence, but then tests like the SAT he took and the psychic tests he took, showed he was a bit smarter while under the influence.

Define smart. Because you're comparing two different tests here. he was "a lil below average" when he was doing what?

Somebody saing they did better on a test once due to pot is just anecdotal evidence. It would be more convincing if an actual study was done.

If it is, I need to tell my hippie friend this right away.

yeah, that wouldn't happen. it doesn't make you any smarter or dumber. it'll either make you more paranoid or more relaxed depending on how you go into it.