PEDs in Academia

I thought this article in The New York Times, titled Brain Enhancement Is Wrong, Right?, was quite interesting and likely relevant to a lot of readers here. The issue it raises is whether or not the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in academia is ethical. This was interesting timing for me, as this concept was recently raised in an episode of NPR: Intelligence Squared on the use of steroid in professional sports.

One of the key differences, discussed in the article, is the fact that there is a core difference between sports and academia - sports is first and foremost about the competition while academia is (theoretically, at least) primarily about advancing knowledge for the betterment of all. Of course, as it becomes more and more challenging to get a faculty position and then achieve tenure, one has to wonder if the competitive side of academia might be understated...

Anyway, it's an interesting issue that I suspect will receive more and more attention as research starts to paint a picture of how common it is for faculty to use prescription drugs to help them succeed. Sitting in a coffee shop this morning, I think I'll just stick to caffeine as a PED.