Interesting, their use for that is so common I assumed it was a real effect. People who use them that way definitely think it helps. Prescription stimulants are also pretty powerful mood boosters though so I imagine it's very easy to assume you're smarter while on them just because they make you feel great.
Anyway thanks for the info, definitely upends an assumption I'd had for years.
I had the same assumption for a long time, that's why I share the info. Plus, as someone recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult (and yes, things all clicked, plus family history, and for the doubters - it was a 6 hour long testing process), I feel like it's important to have correct information about medication out there.
I was a biology major several decades ago now, which is a major dominated by extremely competitive pre-med students trying to get into Harvard Medical School. Taking speed during finals week was extremely common. I only tried it once personally, and I can't say it helped me concentrate better, because I could already concentrate perfectly fine to begin with. But I could not concentrate for 16-20 hours a day, every day for an entire week. With speed, you can do that.
Yea stimulants probably don't really offer much of a performance boost to an already healthy brain - but if your brain is already defective from fatigue they can keep you going beyond what's humanly possible.
The Germans didn't ply their soldiers with speed in WWII because it improved their reflexes or their tactics - they did it so a soldier could fight when his brain would otherwise be mush from not sleeping in days. Anyone can benefit from just having more usable hours in a day.
Anyway thanks for the info, definitely upends an assumption I'd had for years.