This clip from the 1972 film Future Shock depicts a man of the future starting his day with IQ pills and anti-depressant electrical shocks.
A number of years from now, perhaps when a person gets up in the morning and has to take the drug to bring his IQ up to the appropriate level, slap on the battery pack so that whenever he gets depressed he can press a lever and turn on electrical stimulation which delights him a little bit.
You can find Future Shock on the DVD Yesterday's Tomorrows Today, released by A/V Geeks.
See also:
Future Shock (1972)
What do you think coffee is for?
ReplyDeleteThat picture is so wrong on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteConceptually it's not far off though. One of the most recent treatments for depression (used in Canada, and still being studied in the US) is electromagnetic stimulation of the brain.
ReplyDeleteYup. They zap your brain with an electromagnetic pulse...
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
ReplyDeleteThis one came true with a vengeance.
At least in my circle of geekdom, brain pills are more popular than boner pills at sex parties. Vitamin B-complex, various over-the-counter herbs, and so on, are gobbled every day with every meal.
As for low-level electrical brain stimulation, yes, some of us play with that too. Devices are even available on the market, though the best of them requires a prescription (at least in the US).
Hint: some of that cyberpunk stuff wasn't fiction, it was the authors describing what their friends were actually doing.
Judging by the picture, they seem to have accidentally predicted Borat.
ReplyDeleteReally nice post. Thanks
ReplyDelete