Participants in the Singularity Summit 2011 workshops held on October 17-18 brainstormed a list of cognitive enhancement methods they would like to see tested — some of them for the first time, many of them more thoroughly than has been done so far. Here is that list:
- rationality instruction
- potassium and nutrients/micronutrients in general
- modafinil and its class
- racetam class, adderall, riatlin
- paleo and other popular diets
- multigenerational embryo selection
- particular TMS interventions
- doing math or logic problems every day
- amount of sleep
- neurofeedback; EEG, etc.
- physical health, specific types of exercise, yoga
- more red blood cells
- certain types of electrical stimulation
- spaced repetition
- practicing visualization
- practicing chess and Go
- dual n-back training
- prolonged sensory deprivation
- experience manipulating physical objects (craftsmanship and engineering)
- listening to music actively (and engaging with other art forms actively)
- using specific visual languages for specific tasks
- happiness in general (gratitude, etc.)
- changing the oxygen content of what you're breathing
- gene expression levels
- operant conditioning
- irradiation or administration of other toxins
- lucid dreaming
- GHB
- intermittent fasting
- creatine
- nicotine, caffeine
- arterial glucose drip to get more sugar to the brain
- Ekman training
- steroids
I recall that one popular reality check method (i.e. a reliable way of telling whether you're dreaming or IRL) is to check the time on your watch, look away, then check again. So you can see why any activity that involves having to write stuff down and have it remain unchanged while your attention is elsewhere might not be the best LD activity.
If you're remembering the time on the watch well enough to know whether it's changed, won't you remember it well enough for it to be the same?
Other reality checks include counting your fingers (you'll have more in lucid dreams) or flipping a light switch (the lights will flicker). Clearly, what determines whether a check works is whether you believe it works.
Also, see the quotes I posted above. With practice you can focus on things as well as when you're awake. I agree that you shouldn't do things that absolutely require you to write stuff down for future reference, like evaluating integrals, because if you really can't remember them then your written records won't persist.