 So we watched Limitless over the weekend, the movie, not the Netflix show, although I've heard that's good too, and, well, it's definitely interesting. The film explores the whole myth that we only use 10% of our brain, much like Lucy, but in a less transcendy kind of way. But we should be mindful that this concept is a little bit misunderstood. We're only really aware of about 10-15% of our brain's use, the rest being locked up in subconscious or unconsciousness, and relating with other biological processes. But either way, the film explores the idea that there's this special pill called NZT that allows you to unlock cognitive awareness over your entire brain. It has a bit of an LSD effect in the sense that it allows you to start seeing the patterns behind everything, recalling information from every bit of data that you ever took in, in full detail, and use all of this knowledge to do basically anything. But what's really going on here, and what can we learn from Eddie Mora's perception of knowledge versus wisdom? I was blind, but now I see. On the surface, there's a bunch of discussions that we could easily be making, such as perhaps the pill being a metaphor for meditation, or maybe other legal drugs like Ritalin or Kratom, or that maybe NZT is based on psychedelics and plant medicine. And there certainly is space for those kinds of discussions. You'll find it by scrolling down. We call it the comment section. But after all that, looking at how NZT operates, it does seem to work in a similar way to psilocybin or DMT, flooding the serotonin receptors and making you perceive patterns in everything. Heck, even the trippy visuals and Microsoft paint-style color schemes are taken from the same page. But metaphors and drugs aside, no one seems to be asking the question, is Eddie Mora really enlightened, or does NZT just make him smarter? We have to really explore the difference here, in the sense that does NZT help him to understand himself and his place in the world, or does it just create the illusion of wisdom by simply elevating the information his ego has access to, enabling him to cheat the system in a way that appears intelligent? Now, this is kind of a philosophical discussion in that how do we define wisdom? Most dictionaries or philosophers tend to share the general idea that wisdom is the ability to make a reasonable judgment in certain aspects of life, or that it's a sense of knowledge or inner knowing of something that's applied in the right ways. Having the illusion of being wise then is like thinking you're making a reasonable decision without considering all of the pieces, kind of like trying to do a jigsaw without the corners. There's plenty of times in the movie where Eddie, while supposedly under the influence of NZT, makes some really bad decisions without considering all of the outcomes. For example, he goes to a loan shark who just looks like a villain for 100 grand because he can't wait just a few more days to make that much on stocks, thereby causing the chain reaction that gets the villain his awakening and ensuring that we get an action-packed ending. Later on, he even gives that same loan shark another batch of pills to get him off his back quickly. You don't need to be a genius to know that that's pretty dumb. Giving the bad guy access to your secret weapon would not be considered very wise in the eyes of an enlightened person. The idea of enlightenment and wisdom seem to go hand in hand in our world today, and in some ways that's definitely true, in that enlightenment comes from a wisdom and knowing of the self. But in contrast, Eddie doesn't seem to be that aware of his sense of self at all. In fact, if we look at his actions on NZT, he's almost not even human. He never seems to make a mistake, at least in his own mind. He manipulates people by putting on different ego masks and personalities to fit the company that he's with, such as becoming an expert in law when talking to the landlord's wife. He becomes an expert in stocks and history at the party, and he becomes a business tycoon when dealing with Fan Lun. While all of this gets him where he needs to be, he apparently isn't learning anything. It's just a concoction of the random information already inside of him. But more than that, it's only when he's on the drug that he seems wise, seemingly showing his failure to integrate the experience properly. I guess until the ending that is, but we'll get there. Throughout the film, the second the effect wears off, all of the illumination disappears, causing him to emotionally shut down and act all groggy, like he's recovering from the worst hangover in history. But think about it, manipulating people, getting ahead at the expense of others and prioritizing money over emotional well-being and compassion? These traits aren't those of someone who has gained wisdom, but of someone whose ego has been inflated by his access to temporary knowledge. If he's gained any sense of wisdom at all, it's a societal intelligence rather than a knowledge of the self. Interestingly, in the Netflix series, there is a strong sense that Eddie is telling Brian that in order for NZT to have the most benefit, he has to let go of his humanity. Which is a nice link in here. Looking to ancient Buddhist concepts of enlightenment, it's worth pointing out that the English word or idea is actually a mix of a few different versions of wisdom. Essentially, meaning to have full comprehension of a situation, our translation of enlightenment, is a mixture of the Buddhist concept of bodhi, meaning to awaken or understand the Four Noble Truths, and sencho and satori in Zen Buddhism, meaning to see and understand nature and our own natural essence. Looking to Eddie, I guess we could say he's enlightened in the sense of how our society understands it, in that he certainly does have a full comprehension of a situation. The situation being the world that he lives in, our human world, and the way it currently works in hierarchical society, meaning that he's in the perfect position to exploit the cheat codes in the matrix to get ahead. Interestingly, his first steps went on NZT, and in a pseudo-higher state of being, reveals a lot about how he perceives wisdom, which is where we can really learn something. The first thing he does, after seducing the landlord's wife, of course, is he steps inside of his apartment and is like, wow, who lives here? No one can live here, it's a dump! And then about five seconds later, he realizes, oh wait, it's me! Which is basically my reaction when I leave my dishes unwashed overnight. So he spends the next few hours cleaning up his home, removing the draining energies from his life that distract him and detract from his higher purpose. His first act when operating at this supposed higher frequency is to fix his immediate personal environment to match. Once he's done that, he moves on by taking care of his physical body. He begins to eat healthy, exercise, and buy tailored suits to match his inner image or perception of himself. He fixes everything he thinks is wrong with his body. Finally, he goes out into the world, having conquered his home and body, and begins changing the rest of the world in his own way, until of course he runs for Senate at the end and can pretty much change anything he wants. Well, sorry, spoiler alert. This whole process is filled with lessons we can learn, don't you think? In a nutshell, before Eddie can change the world, he changes himself and finds a sense of peace and order in his personal inner world. Everyone always wants to change the world, but forgets that before you can truly help someone else, you have to help yourself become the best version of yourself that you possibly can be. The problem with NZT is that while it may seem to do this, Eddie makes no real profound change in his inner self. The drug simply heightens everything that he already is. The brother-in-law at the beginning even says this, that stuff's amazing, works better if you're already smart. It doesn't give you wisdom, it simply allows you to organize and direct every thought and idea that's already inside you. But going back to our original question, is this actually true wisdom? In a way, you could argue that it is, as wisdom is sometimes seen as the correct application of knowledge. The whole, it's not what you know, but how you use it, idea. But in thinking and believing, mostly through negative reinforcement, that he's actually enlightened, Eddie misses the truest form of wisdom, knowing that actually we know nothing in the grand scheme of things. He believes so strongly that he's perfect and unique, but misses the idea completely that something's true beauty and uniqueness lies in its imperfections. Maybe true wisdom, a wisdom of knowing the self, comes from knowing and accepting that it's okay that we are not perfect beings yet, and that he has a lot more to learn. In a way, Eddie's attitude while on NZT is like a toddler. He's never satisfied, always wanting more. It's even a subtle joke in his name. Eddie Mora. Get it? More, ah! Who wrote this? He even says that while he's on it. He can't stay still or stagnant. He's always got to keep moving and expanding, otherwise he feels like he's failing. While growth and development and motivation are beautiful things, he also misses out on the cherishing beauty of peace, stillness and calm, which could have led to some truly transcendent revelations while on NZT. So let's bring this all together by answering our original question. Does NZT really grant true wisdom or just the illusion of it? Honestly, it depends how we define wisdom and intelligence. NZT certainly makes you more capable of applying your knowledge, but does it make you truly understand concepts or just how you apply them? I wonder what would happen if a sage or another truly enlightened individual took the pill and how it would affect them? Let us know what you think in the comments below. A tablet a day and what I could do with my day was limitless. What NZT does really well though, is that it shows us what our perception of wisdom in society is. Many people who watch the movie want to be like Bradley Cooper. They want NZT because to us, its effects are what we think intelligence looks like. But the truth is, the wisdom shown in limitless is a kind that is the product of its environment, not one that comes from our inner world providing a true understanding of nature and of the self. In much the same way as other psychedelics, set and setting appear to have as big of an effect on how the drug affects you as does the drug itself. In a nutshell, while NZT may grant intelligence, it doesn't grant heart-centered wisdom. With that, I'd love to share with you that we actually have our own transformational pill, that's not a pill on the market now. So if you're interested in activating and transcending your own limitations and becoming limitless in your own unique way, come and check out the 7-day transformation. Over the course of just one week, experience your life completely transform in epic ways. It's basically a digital form of NZT, but also completely legal, no swallowing required. Click the link above or below to jump in, and we'll see you there. Thanks for watching!