First, the movie.  Bradley Cooper was funny in The Hangover, or rather the movie was funny around him.  He just did his pretty-boy thang, but at least he was prepared to send himself up a little.  Then comes The A-Team, with more pretty-boy antics, too much Cooper and not enough Sharlto Copley, and the sweet cologne of typecasting lingering in every frame.

In Limitless, Copper raises his game.  Apparently, he can act after all.  The transformations between him without the pill and on the pill are impressive, backed up by sharp dialogue and the mere presence of Bobby De Niro on set.  More fundamentally, I can’t think of a film that shares a similar premise (except possibly The Lawnmower Man).  I deeply appreciate this fact – most of the movies I’ve seen recently seem ripoffs or hybrids of other movies ’til I want to scream.

Next, the idea.  Is it possible to radically increase your brainpower in the way the film shows?

Apart from dubious ‘brain training’ type activities, there are three advanced ways to enhance human nature: genetic engineering, neural implants, or performance enhancing drugs.  The drugs aren’t just limited to the physical realm.  When applied to mental capacities – like memory, motivation, and attention – they are known as nootropics.
The net is already alive with debate about whether Limitless provides a glimpse of our future.  Some pharmaceutical companies seem to be using the film to raise awareness of products they already have on offer.  While some offer ethical or scientific objections to this scenario, my questions are practical.

OK, so suppose you can boost some dude’s IQ from average to genius.  Fact – that won’t make him successful.

As Malcolm Gladwell shows in Outliers, someone – Chris Langan to be exact – can possess an IQ off the charts but still not have the breaks/and or inter-personal skills to climb the greasy ladder of success.  EQ trumps IQ as a success factor every time, once IQ has reached a mildly-above-average 120.  And EQ can be raised; IQ is stagnant.

Again, suppose you can give a dude a ‘photographic memory’.  Is that an advantage?

Again, not really.  Properly called ‘eidetic memory‘, a photographic memory may be linked to conditions like autism and synesthesia.  Famous sufferers – like Solomon Shereshevsky – have found it more of a curse than a blessing.  It might help you pass fact-based exams or remember people’s names; it will not help you interpret those facts or get on well with those people.

So the drugs don’t work, even if they did exist.  If you want to become limitless, to really grow your mind, to increase the synaptic connections within your brain, here are my suggestions:

Become a dedicated and deliberate lifelong learner.

Open yourself to new ideas, place yourself in new situations, learn new skills, meet new people, attend new courses, read new books.   You get the idea.

Speaking of books, if you really want to expand your mind, join a book club, or try reading:

• Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Mindfulness by Ellen Langer
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink
• Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

And no, you can’t borrow mine.  Get your own stash.

Image credit: kroszka.

I’ve taught lots of courses at Queen’s University Belfast in the field of Personal Development. These workshops have ranged from Memory Improvement to Body Language, from Emotional Intelligence to Influencing Skills. They were all very well attended. But at a highly conservative estimate, the ratio of females to males in each class was about 5:2.

Last year I had four more scheduled: Decision Making, Thinking Skills, and Personal Power were the first three. A great number of students signed up for each one. I had about 20 per class. But the fourth one? It was on Masculinity. And the interest rate? Zero. Well, that’s not exactly true. Two brave guys signed up for it, but this wasn’t enough to allow the class to go ahead.

Now I know what you’re thinking. ‘Masculinity’ sounds more like a medical procedure than a course you might be interested in attending.

Here’s how I pitched it in the university brochure.

It’s a one day workshop. And a snip at £23. So why no interest? Well, that’s not entirely true either. A journalist showed some interest.

She said she would love to sit in as an observer.

I told her we first needed something to observe.

If you want more on this theme, read my blogs Why Are Men Such Fat, Stupid Wasters? #1 & #2

As a training consultant and business owner, I’m used to making the link between customers and learners. For me, they are one and the same. When I say that I treat the learners in our workshops as ‘customers’, I am stating the facts. This is not to denigrate; it is to describe.

I suppose it counts as controversial in some circles, but I’m glad about the new link between universities and business, and the new perspective of a university as a business. Why?

For one thing, it allows professional training organisations like Sensei to apply our skills within the academic realm. It’s good to mix it up a little. At present we are one of the training providers for The Queen’s University of Belfast in Lifelong Learning and Continuing Professional Development within the School of Education. So I’m biased, I’ll admit it.

But here are two more good reasons.

Number one – it makes academics think about the real world. You know, the one that the poor students have to go out into and make a living in, once the learning is complete. It’s OK for Philosophy departments to teach theories that are hundreds of years old, but when it’s the Business or IT departments, then there’s trouble ahead.

Number two – it makes academics think about the quality and standard of their teaching. Right now, did you know that university lecturers don’t have to take any qualifications in adult education? The result – an extremely mixed bag of teaching standards. But then, most lecturers are more interested in research than teaching anyway. Students are such a nuisance…

Not anymore. Money talks. Deficient university = broke university.

That’s one equation I like.