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Jul 26, 2026
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6 min read
Our contemporary bias for empirical evidence gives relief to thousands of years of superstition and its abuses. But today, those of us capable of having two different kinds of thoughts at once can keep the baby's empirical evidence while (metaphorically) throwing out the swampy tropical ayurvedic bathwater bacopa monnieri grew from.
Jul 19, 2026
7 min read
Can a tough little flower from a tough climate make you tougher for the next ordeal in your hero's journey? A rosea by any other name is still an adaptogen, and adaptogenic complexity shoehorned in to marketing simplicity can be misleading. Let's set the record straight.
Jul 12, 2026
The Cognitive Enhancements Deep Dives series continues with #9 in the top ten list. We all know the human brain is like no other. But how did cooking meat in fire hundreds of thousands of years ago, and ever since, make it that way? And what does that have to do with ALCAR aka Acetyl-L-Carnitine? 100% organically-generated content.
Jul 5, 2026
10 min read
Ginseng's medicinal roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sometimes belies the story of a very American nootropic. Also, my first nootropic, thanks to a Capitola CA neighbor-grocer. But what was Daniel Boone's role in American ginseng's history?
Jun 28, 2026
Ashwagandha's use in medicinal practices predates western medicine by thousands of years. But until the COVID pandemic, few knew of it. Why has it become nearly ubiquitous, seemingly over-produced, and definitely over-marketed since then? What does it do? Should we take it or leave it?
