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Pleasure is inherently addictive. Any activity, chemical or sensorial input that induces the production of endorphin and / or dopamine (the main pleasure hormones synthesized by the human metabolism) would therefore become highly desirable. Examples include eating, sex, and exercising (increased blood flow induces the production of endorphin to counter the potential fatigue and / or pain caused by the physical exertion). In the case of smoking, alcohol or drug addiction, an additional factor of chemical dependance comes into play, necessitating the body to receive regular intakes of a foreign agent such as caffeine, nicotine, ethanol or amphetamines. However, both forms of addiction bring about a similar psychological state of euphoria. Pleasure induces stasis, a state of existence where the significance of outside interaction (excepting the interaction which directly causes the pleasure in question) becomes minimal. This would serve to create the impression that the direct cause of the pleasure is extremely important within the individual's universe, since the momentary vision of the universe excludes most other factors that would help contextualize said cause. An irrational, unbalanced view of one's environment is the natural result, and although one may attempt to modify one's conception of the addiction in order to come to terms with this problem, seeking refuge in the nonjudgmental euphoria induced by the addiction may well appear to be a preferable, or in the least a more practical, alternative.

Food seems to be an especially fascinating case in point since it appears within the context of emotional as well as chemical addiction. The emotional bond formed between the mother and the child through mother's milk creates the basis of the child's conception of social life. Taste is a universally significant sense, unlike vision, for instance, which seems to be a lot more effective for males than for females. Nourishment, being both functionally essential and emotionally rewarding, has therefore constituted a critical role within human culture. The appeal of food is not limited to these two factors, though, since there further exists a category-defying group of chemicals called smart nutrients.

For all intents and purposes, they are nutrients - that is, they denote substances which the body utilizes to facilitate or energize certain metabolic activities. However, in the case of smart nutrients, said activities tend to cluster around the cerebral region, with most substances helping the formation of neurotransmitters. Within this context, the definition of food turns into an extremely fuzzy concept. In the previous discussion, food was defined as a concept which may achieve the status of an addiction through creating a state of mind indirectly induced by the effects of such natural hormones as endorphin. When the food in question actively interferes with a region which it is supposed to affect only indirectly, however, the definition may well have to be reevaluated. Although nootropics are generally acknowledged to be unusual drugs (whether one can ever define the category of usual drugs is matter for an entirely different discussion) in that they do not attempt to originate an addiction through creating a superficial need for foreign agents within the metabolism, I would hold that an addiction to smart nutrients would be much stronger than the desire either for food or for drugs. An intake of smart nutrients is analogous to a glimpse of paradise lost; and the excitement created by the prospect of attaining a state of incredible focus and intelligence can only shattered by the realization that said state can only be maintained temporarily.

This last sentence may sound highly hypertextual, indeed it holds a clue to the connection.

Come to think of it, so does Derrida's pharmakon.