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Thesis Nootropics Review

Thesis has a range of targeted nootropics you can combine to optimize your results. our team will help you decide which ones are right for you..

Daniel is a senior editor and writer at Innerbody Research. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in writing, he attended post-graduate studies at George Mason University and pursued a career in nutritional science.

Dr. Segar is a cardiology fellow at the Texas Heart Institute and a member of Innerbody Research's Medical Review Board.

In this Review

Nootropics in general offer the potential to improve cognitive abilities and regulate mood without the need for a prescription. And while more research is necessary, current data suggests that they consist of ingredients that are generally safe and effective for healthy adults. 35 However, Thesis isn’t the only provider of high-quality nootropics, nor do they offer especially low prices. In this review, we'll compare and contrast Thesis’ six formulas and see how they stack up against a growing field of competitors.

Our Findings

• You can feel most results within an hour
• Products are third-party-tested for purity
• All options available without stimulants
• Outstanding phone support
• Subscriptions include complimentary wellness coaching
• Free shipping on all orders
• Use code INNERBODY for 10% off your first order
• Somewhat more expensive than competitors
• Up to four large pills per dose

Despite the somewhat high price, we recommend Thesis to anyone looking for a nootropic subscription that can be tailored to their specific needs. The formulas from Thesis provide tangible benefits with minimal ingredients, and each formula is available with or without caffeine. Thesis also offers stellar customer service and delivers their product in individually packed doses you can take just about anywhere.

Special Offer: Take 10% OFF with code INNERBODY

Why you should trust us

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles. As nootropics have become more important players in the supplements landscape, we’ve taken a serious look at the key players to see which ones are worthwhile.

Thesis exists in a class of nootropics that combines multiple nootropic ingredients to achieve specific goals. We’ve spent hundreds of hours researching and testing various nootropics, including both individual ingredients and combinations like Thesis offers. In researching Thesis and their competitors, our team has read more than 100 clinical studies examining the efficacy and safety of nootropic ingredients, and we’ve combined all of that knowledge with our experiences to create this review.

If you're curious about our team's experience using Thesis nootropics and wondering how the products will arrive at your door, we made this handy, 5-minute video summarizing those details:

Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.

How we evaluated Thesis

To evaluate Thesis, we examined the extensive research available on each ingredient the company uses and compared them to a growing marketplace of nootropics, many of which our testing team has tried over the past few years. Specifically, we assessed how effectively Thesis' formulas work, as well as their safety, cost, and the convenience of acquiring and taking them.

Ultimately, we found Thesis to be one of the more reliable companies in terms of product quality and customer care, even if they are among the more expensive nootropic brands. For any nootropic, you’re looking to create a noticeable effect in brain performance, and altering anything to do with that sensitive chemistry likely warrants a fair investment. The bargain bin is not typically where you want to shop for mind-enhancing substances.

We’ll get into a more direct comparison between Thesis and their competitors a little later, and you’ll see that the balance between their price and overall value is quite reasonable. For now, let’s look at each criterion in more detail.

Effectiveness

Nootropic companies have a plethora of ingredients at their fingertips when they formulate their products. Some companies take a modern approach, focusing on the latest research into established Western medicines. Others look to the past, where ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic practices employed various botanicals to achieve cognitive effects. The best companies combine these approaches, using potentially beneficial ingredients that science supports.

Thesis takes this combined approach, employing just under three dozen ingredients from amino acids to ancient herbs across their six products. The company scores highly in effectiveness thanks to the ingredients they choose and the doses they offer for each, making it likely that you can notice their combined effects.

Individual results will vary due to everything from sleep patterns to diet, but most people should find benefits in at least one of Thesis' six formulas. Caffeinated formulas generally have more pronounced effects than stimulant-free versions, but the value of Thesis offering every formula with or without stimulants cannot be overstated.

One minor knock against Thesis is that, unlike some of their competitors, Thesis does not have a nootropic blend designed for improved sleep. Better sleep supports cognition and mood, so some companies offer formulas designed specifically for sleep promotion with ingredients like melatonin. That said, some of Thesis’ formulas contain lion’s mane or Zembrin (a branded form of Sceletium tortuosum that’s been shown to reduce anxiety and promote sleep). 2 3 And the amount of Zembrin used in Thesis’ Creativity and Confidence blends is the exact same amount used in these successful studies — 25mg.

Good nootropics are, unfortunately, a bit expensive. You can find less expensive options than Thesis, but their $79 monthly rate is right in the middle of what the market demands. You could also argue that the ingredient quality, customization options, and overall efficacy Thesis offers make it a superior value to many less expensive alternatives. Still, the price remains a sticking point for some.

Let's compare the monthly and per-dose costs with some of Thesis' closest competition. The prices below reflect subscription savings where available.

Three of the seven competitors included in the chart above are more expensive than Thesis, and another three are no more than $15 less expensive, revealing their generally average cost. Focus Factor — consistently our top budget pick among nootropics — costs much less than others in the field and includes many ingredients with associated clinical research. The downside is that increasing the number of ingredients (even when they seem to work) increases the odds of an adverse reaction.

TruBrain is the only company that truly compares to Thesis from a quality and variety standpoint. Other companies offer only one or two formulas, whereas Thesis and TruBrain each offer several more targeted products. TruBrain allows you to spend just $69 on your first jar when you subscribe — $10 less than Thesis — but that price shoots up to $119 every month after that, making Thesis the superior value.

When we consider the safety of any supplement, we look at available research into individual ingredients and compare those dosages with what the supplement offers. Whenever possible, we also test the product ourselves to observe its effects on us. Additionally, we look for safety standards in manufacturing that can provide added peace of mind, like third-party testing and compliance with the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

Thesis manufactures their products in GMP-compliant facilities and has third-party testing performed to assess the purity of each ingredient and formula. And the clinical research involving the lion's share of their ingredients reveals minimal risk profiles with few to no adverse effects reported. That said, ashwagandha isn’t safe for pregnant or breastfeeding individuals, and it can stimulate thyroid activity, so anyone with thyroid concerns (hyper- or hypothyroidism) or on medication to regulate thyroid function should be careful. 36 37

Thesis also limits their formulas to a handful of ingredients, which reduces the likelihood that any one of them would cause an adverse reaction. This is pretty typical of nootropics in Thesis’ class, but less expensive nootropics might try to convince you of their value by stuffing a single blend with several dozen components. That might increase the chances you feel some positive effect, but the side effect risk goes up by the same token.

Convenience

Our convenience rating considers various aspects of a user's experience. It usually starts with the quality of a product's website design and whether or not its pages are easy to navigate. We also consider the presence of subscription systems that make reordering easier and money-back guarantees that protect your investment. A company's customer service is another vital aspect of convenience, especially if you need questions answered. The quality of an FAQ section, the availability of representatives via chat or phone call, and the responsiveness to email inquiries all play a part here.

Our convenience rating is also informed by the steps required to actually take the product. Nootropics often consist of large capsules, and doses can contain anywhere from 1-7 capsules, which is awful for anyone with difficulty taking pills. Smaller capsules, fewer capsules per dose, and simple dosing schedules are ideal. Thesis’ capsule count varies per formula, ranging from 2-4 mid-size capsules you can take 30 minutes before you might want or need their effects.

To summarize some important aspects of nootropic company convenience, let's look at which companies have large capsule counts, good money-back guarantees, and subscription systems.

Thesis also provides a service that few other companies offer: free consultations with in-house nootropic coaches. These experts can help you figure out the best time to take specific Thesis formulas and guide your experience so you can tell whether or not they're working for you. Follow-up consultations are also free as long as you subscribe to the product.

What are nootropics?

Nootropic is a term most people use to refer to any non-prescription supplement that can boost brainpower. 4 The technical definition is a little more nuanced — encompassing prescription medications like Ritalin and Adderall — but the supplement industry has largely co-opted it to categorize the new class of non-prescription products. The word loosely translates from its Greek origins to mean mind-changing, and the majority of ingredients in a given nootropic seek to alter the brain’s cognitive abilities, as well as its governance of mood and energy.

Most nootropic supplements contain botanical ingredients, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that boast at least some clinical research connecting them with improvements in any of the following:

Compared to their prescription cousins, nootropic supplements aren't particularly strong. Still, limited clinical research indicates a tangible benefit to taking them.

What is Thesis?

Thesis is a supplement company with a focus on nootropics. Their founders each had experiences growing up with what would today be considered learning disabilities, and they credit nootropics for changing their lives. They make six distinct nootropic formulas, each with a specific ingredient profile.

Thesis differentiates themselves from their competitors in several critical ways:

• They offer a starter kit containing a personalized combination of four blends.
• You have the option to remove caffeine by request from any formula.
• They provide some of the best phone support we've ever experienced.
• Their targeted formulas conform to changing needs.

By providing you with a mix of formulas, Thesis gives you the ability to enhance the aspects of your cognitive and emotional life that need it the most on any given day. Maybe you know you have low energy levels on Mondays and Wednesdays, so you can take the Energy formula on those days. Maybe you want to devote your weekends to artistic pursuits. You can use the Creativity blend for that. Or you might find that one of their six blends works well for you in any situation. In that case, you can adjust your order to receive only that formula.

Thesis' customer service — particularly over the phone — is outstanding. While many customers might find chat support more convenient, our testers rarely waited more than a minute to speak to someone, and Thesis employs phone operators who are extraordinarily knowledgeable about the product and nootropics in general. Their email support is fine, and their chat support often redirects to an email inquiry. But that phone support is some of the best our testing team has experienced.

Is Thesis safe?

Most of the ingredients that Thesis uses in their nootropics exhibit minimal side effects in clinical research, so there’s a good chance that Thesis' various formulas will be safe for most people. But Thesis has nearly three dozen ingredients in their catalog, and not all of them will be safe for all users, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Of course, the most important thing you can do is talk to your doctor before taking Thesis.

The most common side effects to watch out for when you start taking Thesis nootropics include:

• Loss of appetite
• Digestive issues

Thesis advises discontinuing their nootropics if you experience persistent headaches or an upset stomach.

Some Thesis products may present contraindications with certain prescription medicines. For example, ashwagandha has been shown to normalize thyroid hormone levels in people with hypothyroidism. 5 This has led some to believe that it could conversely cause thyrotoxicity in people with hyperthyroidism, though it’s worth noting that the study in question employed double the highest ashwagandha dose you’ll find in Thesis nootropics — the study used 600mg, and the ashwagandha dose in Thesis’ Creativity is 300mg.

Still, this should make abundantly clear the case for speaking with your doctor prior to taking Thesis. This is especially true considering the lack of research into the specific ingredient combinations you’ll find in Thesis products. There is also very little research looking into the risks of combining nootropic supplements with prescription stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, or Vyvanse.

Some side effects, such as jitteriness, can be attributed to the caffeine in Thesis formulas. The fact that you can elect to remove caffeine from any formula expands the company’s reach to anyone with caffeine sensitivities and those who really don’t want to give up their morning cup of coffee. If you want caffeine in your Thesis formula, we recommend trying it without having had any coffee first, so you can see how it affects you.

Insider Tip: If you’re not sure whether to get your formula with or without caffeine, we recommend getting it with caffeine. Thesis isolates the included caffeine in a single capsule separate from other ingredients. Caffeinated formulas cost the same as uncaffeinated ones, and you can always elect not to take the caffeine capsule (the smallest capsule in any formula, containing a white powder).

What are the ingredients in Thesis?

Thesis uses an impressive set of ingredients, many of which have been part of respectable clinical research. Not all of the effects they hope these ingredients provide have been proven with sufficient statistical significance or over multiple studies in different populations, but what we do know strongly suggests efficacy.

Here's a look at several Thesis ingredients that have encouraging research behind them:

Several studies on mice show that dihydrohonokiol-B (DHH-B) has potent anxiolytic effects. 6 That means it may be able to help combat anxiety. However, we can’t say this for sure since there haven’t been any studies conducted on humans yet, so any potential benefits are speculative at this time. 25 Converting the successful dose used in mice (1mg) to the equivalent human amount (4.86 mg) is about half the amount used in Thesis’ Confidence (10mg). 6

In numerous studies, ashwagandha has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. 32 Thesis uses a branded KSM-66 ashwagandha, which has a high standardized count of withanolides — the component of ashwagandha responsible for its positive effects. 33 This ensures both efficacy and consistency from doses that align with those used in successful studies.

While every formula is different, you'll notice that each contains caffeine and L-theanine. The nootropic properties of caffeine are well established. 19 L-theanine — a non-stimulant derived from green tea — has been shown to smooth out the jittery effects of caffeine. You can easily have caffeine removed from any Thesis formula for no extra cost, which is unique in the nootropic market. The L-theanine will remain, as it has its own set of cognitive benefits in addition to its ability to tame caffeine. 20

Saffron offers multiple benefits, including increased levels of dopamine and glutamate, that are dose-dependent. Human studies have also shown positive effects on depression symptoms. Thesis’ Confidence uses 28mg, which is 2mg less than what was used in many of the studies on saffron’s antidepressant effects. However, one study did find success with as little as 15mg. 7

A review of more than 120 scientific articles looking into the cognitive effects of phosphatidylserine concluded that it “safely slows, halts, or reverses biochemical alterations and structural deterioration in nerve cells.” The study goes on to say that it “supports human cognitive functions, including the formation of short-term memory, the consolidation of long-term memory, the ability to create new memories, the ability to retrieve memories, the ability to learn and recall information, the ability to focus attention and concentrate, the ability to reason and solve problems, language skills, and the ability to communicate.” 34

Derived from a South African plant, Zembrin appears to provide cognitive and anti-anxiety effects as demonstrated in clinical studies on human participants that used the same 25mg dose found in Thesis Creativity and Confidence. 8

Synapsa is a patented form of Bacopa extract, a traditional Ayurvedic memory enhancer. Studies on humans resulted in statistically significant improvements in cognitive tests. The study used 150mg twice daily (300mg total), which is only 20mg less than the 320mg used in Thesis’ Logic. 9

7,8 DHF is a small molecular TrkB agonist that can easily cross the blood-brain barrier. It can increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that improves neuroplasticity, learning, and memory. BDNF deficiencies are connected to numerous cognitive ailments as well. However, no human studies have been conducted. 26 In mice, 7,8 DHF appears to enhance spatial memory. When converting the effective dose for mice to humans, Thesis’ Clarity offers roughly 6mg more (about 24mg compared to Thesis’ 30mg). 27

Choline is a precursor to acetylcholine, a powerful neurotransmitter in the peripheral, autonomic, and enteric nervous systems. 10 One study on older adult human participants found that taking 187-399mg per day of choline reduced the risk of low cognitive functioning by nearly 50% compared to an intake under 187mg per day. 28 The CDP choline content in Thesis’ Energy is 300mg.

A 2010 clinical study on 485 older adult (over 55 years old) subjects found that 900mg per day of DHA improved memory and learning in those with age-related cognitive decline. 11 And another study in healthy adults 18-90 years old found that 580mg per day helped improve memory. 29 Unfortunately, the amounts used in many studies to improve cognitive function are quite a bit more than the 200mg (which is DHA and L-lysine combined) found in Thesis’ Logic.

Like choline, Alpha-GPC acts as an effective acetylcholine precursor. Studies also show that supplementation with Alpha-GPC can stave off exercise-induced reductions in choline levels. The effective amount used in the mentioned study is 200mg, which is less than half of what you’ll find in Thesis’ Clarity (500mg). 12

In addition to being an effective treatment for neuropathic pain, agmatine appears to have potent effects as an antidepressant. A five-year safety case report study concluded that there are no long-term side effect risks. Thesis’ Creativity only contains 250mg, which is well below the amount tolerated by study participants (2.67g per day). 13

Research into epicatechin indicates that it can enhance cerebral blood flow, delivering more oxygen to the brain to ensure it operates at its highest efficiency. The most effective dose for cognitive benefits appears to be over 50mg per day, and Thesis’ Clarity contains 278mg. 14

Lion's mane has been shown to increase nerve growth factor and promote neurite outgrowth of specific neural cells. It's a safe and reliable neurotrophic, but studies have debunked claims of neuroprotective properties. 15 A very small study of only 41 participants found that 1.8g of Lion’s mane may reduce stress and improve cognitive performance. 30 Thesis’ Clarity contains 500mg of Lion’s mane.

Hyperphenylalaninemia, a severe deficiency in phenylalanine, results in reduced dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline levels in the brain. 16 It can also alter cerebral myelin and protein synthesis. Supplementing with phenylalanine may provide neuroprotective benefits.

In a 2020 study, phenylalanine was a large component in a mix of seven amino acids that appeared to improve cognitive, psychological, and social functioning in middle-aged and older adults. Effective doses ranged from 0.85g to 1.7g of phenylalanine. A serving of Thesis’ Motivation contains 500mg, a bit under half of the average amount. 31

Examining the six formulas

Thesis has six nootropic formulas in their lineup (even though you can only choose up to four of them per box). Several other nootropic companies like TruBrain and BrainMD boast targeted lineups, as well, but Thesis is the Goldilocks of the bunch. Where BrainMD’s hyper-specific formulas rely on perhaps too few ingredients to make them worthwhile, many of TruBrain’s complex blends lack real specificity. With Thesis, you get targeted effects from numerous ingredients in moderately complex and reasonably priced combinations.

Each Thesis formula has a blend of ingredients that addresses specific needs. Their names give you a pretty big clue as to what the company intends each to do, but a closer look at their ingredients will help you understand how they achieve this.

Their formulas are:

Interestingly, the company thinks of its formulas as working well in pairs. You don't have to utilize them as such, but it's helpful to know how they view their most effective combinations. The following list details their purported combined benefits.

Enhances focus, eliminates brain fog, and lets thoughts flow naturally

Gets you going, keeps you going, and never crashes

Sparks new ideas, inspires extroversion, and revels in openness

You'll usually only take one formula at a time, but these pairs may act synergistically for specific personality types or cognitive needs.

Note that your first shipment of Thesis will contain six individually packed doses for four of these six formulas. Thesis chooses these formulas for you based on the results of an intake questionnaire, but you can make adjustments to that shipment on the customer dashboard before the shipment leaves their warehouse.

Let's take a closer look at each formula as they would appear with caffeine included.

Thesis Clarity

Thesis Clarity relies on 7,8 DHF (dihydroxyflavone), Alpha GPC (glycerylphosphorylcholine), epicatechin, and lion's mane to increase blood flow to the brain and stimulate the production of acetylcholine, a powerful neurotransmitter associated with learning, memory, and attention. It's particularly adept at cutting through brain fog.

Here's a look at Clarity's full ingredients list:

• Alpha GPC: 500mg
• Lion's Mane Mushroom: 500mg
• Camellia sinensis tea leaf: 278mg
• Dihydroxyflavone: 30mg
• Caffeine: 100mg
• L-Theanine: 200mg

One dose of Clarity consists of four capsules for the caffeinated formula and three capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Thesis Logic

Thesis Logic contains triacetyluridine (TAU), which caters to the health of the entire central nervous system. It also uses phosphatidylserine to help facilitate communication between and protection of brain cells. 17

This is Logic’s complete ingredients list:

• Ginkgo Biloba: 160mg
• Theobromine: 100mg
• Phosphatidylserine: 400mg
• High DHA Algae: 200mg
• Triacetyluridine: 30mg
• Bacopa Monnieri: 320mg

One dose of Logic consists of four capsules for the caffeinated formula and three capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Thesis Energy

Thesis Energy uses cysteine and tyrosine alongside caffeine to deliver a steady energy supply. It also includes TeaCrine, a branded form of theacrine, which partners with caffeine to affect adenosine signaling and prevent fatigue.

Here’s a full list of Energy’s ingredients:

• Citicoline: 300mg
• Mango leaf: 300mg
• Theacrine: 100mg
• N-Acetyl cysteine: 500mg
• Indian trumpet tree: 100mg
• N-Acetyl L-tyrosine: 300mg

One dose of Energy consists of three capsules for the caffeinated formula and two capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Thesis Motivation

Blood flow and cellular function are at the core of Thesis Motivation . It employs artichoke extract, forskolin, and B12 to achieve these goals, with a healthy dose of phenylalanine for added focus and motivation.

Here's Motivation's full ingredients list:

• L-Phenylalanine: 500mg
• Methylliberine: 100mg
• Vitamin B12: 1000mcg
• Forskolin: 250mg
• Artichoke: 450mg

One dose of Motivation consists of three capsules for the caffeinated formula and two capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Thesis Creativity

Thesis Creativity aims to realign you with your inspiration by removing barriers caused by stress, anxiety, and depression. It contains ingredients with powerful anxiolytic properties and 5-HT reuptake inhibition.

Here's a look at Creativity’s ingredients list:

• Alpha GPC: 150mg
• Agmatine sulfate: 250mg
• Panax ginseng: 200mg
• Ashwagandha root: 300mg
• Sceletium tortuosum : 25mg

One dose of Creativity consists of three capsules for the caffeinated formula and two capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Thesis Confidence

Confidence is designed to work hand-in-hand with Creativity, using saffron and DHH-B from magnolia bark to increase dopamine levels and decrease anxiety. One fascinating ingredient in this formula is sage extract, which one 2021 study showed can help with various memory tasks, including name and face recognition. 18 It’s worth noting, though, that this study employed a 600mg dose compared to Thesis’ 333mg dose.

Here is Confidence's complete ingredients list:

• Saffron: 28mg
• Magnesium bisglycinate: 500mg
• Sage: 333mg
• Magnolia Bark: 10mg
• Ashwagandha leaf & root: 120mg

One dose of Confidence consists of three capsules for the caffeinated formula and two capsules for the stimulant-free formula.

Our Thesis testing results

Our testing team has tried every Thesis formula (with and without caffeine) to determine their short- and long-term efficacy, at least at an anecdotal level. Here’s a quick summary of our experiences:

Clarity provided our testers with a combined sense of focus and mental ease, though we mostly found that it worked best from its second day forward. The very first dose is mildly effective, but it served us better as a loading dose. We had no crash from either caffeinated or uncaffeinated formulas.

Our testers found that Logic provided a similar experience as Clarity, increasing focus and mental acuity, but the caffeinated formula caused a crash in two of our testers. By excluding the caffeine, that crash can be avoided, though that comes at the expense of some efficacy.

We were very curious about how this formula would perform without the caffeine. Our testers had a noticeable increase in energy without jitteriness about one hour after taking Energy. The caffeinated version caused the worst crash of all the formulas, but we were pleased to find that the formula without caffeine still provided noticeable energy increases without a crash.

Our testers are generally a pretty motivated bunch, so we might not have been the best group to evaluate this particular formula. The testers who felt an uptick in a sense of motivation described it more like a feeling of being able to follow through on tasks with less distraction and completion anxiety.

Creativity, like Clarity, seemed to work better for our testers on its second and third days than on its first. Testers generally described a sensation similar to Motivation but without the feeling of being “on rails,” as one tester put it. It seems to allow for more curiosity and exploration, though not necessarily as much follow-through.

This is Thesis’ newest formula, so fewer of our testers have tried it. Among those who have, one tester with a mild case of social anxiety described feeling a bit more relaxed among groups of people. Testers preferred this formula without caffeine.

Thesis pricing, shipping, and returns

Thesis keeps their price structure decidedly simple. This is refreshing, considering the range of nootropics they offer. You don't have to worry about one formula costing you more than another. However, Thesis doesn't make a non-subscription approach economically feasible.

Every Thesis shipment — including the starter pack — consists of four small boxes, each containing six doses of a single formula. That’s 24 doses/month.

Here's how it works:

• Any one-time purchase of a one-month supply, including the starter kit, costs $119.
• When you subscribe, that monthly cost is only $79.
• You can take an extra 10% off your first order with the coupon code INNERBODY

Subscriptions require an account with Thesis, which gives you access to a well-designed customer dashboard. This is where you can easily make formula adjustments, alter your shipping schedule, or cancel your subscription entirely.

Shipping from Thesis is free in the U.S., and the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. In our testing experience, we attempted a return on a second shipment into the subscription. While it isn’t the company’s policy to do so, they refunded our money and let us keep the product. This is similar to some other “Keep it” guarantees we’ve seen from competitors, and we appreciated it.

Getting started with Thesis Nootropics

Thesis' website is easy to navigate, but it is inconvenient that you must complete the signup questionnaire before accessing formula-specific pages. There are ways around this — like direct searching or just knowing the formula URLs — but we think reviewing formulas should be a little easier when you first get to the site. And you won’t be able to place an order for anything until you complete the questionnaire.

The user interface for managing your subscription is exceptionally intuitive. You can quickly adjust your formula combinations, specifying whether or not you want specific formulas to contain caffeine.

Setting up a subscription with Thesis is a straightforward process. Here are the basic steps:

• Take the Thesis quiz . This will create a starter kit specific to your results. (You can also build a box from scratch if you know which formulas you want to try.)
• Order your starter kit. We recommend going with the kit Thesis creates after your quiz, but if you change your mind, you can use the customer portal after placing your order to make any changes to the formula combination before it ships.
• Set up a coaching consultation. This is an optional step, but we recommend it and encourage you to have your first consultation before your kit arrives.
• Take your nootropics as needed. Most people can experience some of Thesis nootropics' benefits within a few hours of ingestion. Some ingredients and formulas may take a few days to produce results.
• Refine your order. As you near the end of your first month, you can head over to the Thesis website and customize your next order to include the formula or formulas you like most.
• Set up follow-up consultations as needed. These will help you refine your future orders and maximize your results.

When you subscribe to the starter kit, you will continue receiving that kit every month until you customize your order. Thesis divides their boxes into four six-dose supplies, and you can mix and match those supplies to suit your needs. For example, you could boost energy on the weekdays and creativity on the weekends by getting a one-month supply with 18 servings of Energy in three packages and six servings of Creativity in a single package.

Personalized insights and coaching

When you take the quiz on the Thesis website, you'll get personalized insights comparing your results to other quiz-takers and a data set developed from nearly 500 scientific studies. The parameters in your results cover don’t completely line up with their formulas, but they include:

These results inform the system to make recommendations for your starter kit. After you order, you can set up a consultation with a Thesis coach. These consultations are free, and you can have as many follow-up sessions as you like. Other companies have apps or online resources like blogs or courses to help you on your nootropic journey, but Thesis’ personalized coaching offers a unique approach and execution.

Consultation calls last around 15 minutes, though some of our testers had their sessions go longer as their coaches' schedules allowed. We received best practices information about taking nootropics that covered dose timing, formula application, and more. Some of our testers also received diet and exercise advice that coincided with their formulas.

Alternatives to Thesis

There are generally two tiers of products in the nootropics landscape. The lower tier consists of products that cost between $20 and $40. Many of these nootropics contain proprietary blends that obscure the exact quantities of ingredients, presumably so companies can use more of the least expensive components. Some companies in this tier disclose their ingredient quantities but may not source them from the highest quality suppliers or perform third-party testing of any kind.

Top brands in this tier include:

• Onnit Alpha BRAIN
• Moon Juice Brain Dust
• Focus Factor

The second tier — where you'll find Thesis — consists of more expensive nootropics that spell their contents out clearly, use high-quality ingredients, and often perform third-party testing to ensure safety and potency. Top brands in this tier include:

• Qualia Mind

Hunter Focus

We have a comprehensive breakdown of our top nootropics , but here's a concise breakdown of Thesis' most comparable competition.

TruBrain offers one of the widest varieties of nootropics of any company — one of the few catalogs that rivals the variety Thesis offers. They also have some novel and beneficial delivery methods for their nootropic ingredients. Those include energy bars and liquid shots that are outstanding for anyone with difficulty swallowing pills.

TruBrain offers their nootropics in a targeted fashion, not unlike what you get from Thesis. They formerly offered their targeted blends in shot form only, but now you can get any of these targeted blends in capsule or liquid shot form. The shots come in small 1oz pouches that make them easy to take anywhere.

TruBrain's targeted blends include:

This is TruBrain's original blend. It contains seven nootropics, including Noopept, a branded form of N-phenylacetyl-L-prolylglycine ethyl ester. This blend is caffeine-free.

The Strong blend is identical to the Medium formulation in contents and doses, but it also contains 100mg of caffeine.

The Extra Strong formula builds on the Strong blend by adding 150mg of adrafinil (2-(diphenylmethyl)sulfinyl-N-hydroxyacetamide). 21 This wakefulness-promoting substance may also help with weight loss and athletic performance.

TruBrain's Sleep formula contains just four nootropic ingredients: GABA, melatonin, 5-HTP, and a blend that TruBrain calls "functional oils."

Mellow is identical to the medium strength formula, but it adds the functional oil combination used in Sleep.

This formula contains Lion's mane, a mushroom that may promote neural growth , though human studies are necessary to determine if this is true. 22 Its other nootropic ingredients are rhodiola, guayusa, and rosehips.

A 30-day supply of TruBrain nootropic shots costs $89. That's $10 more than the subscription cost for a one-month supply of Thesis. Some of their shots contain caffeine, and others don't. If it already contains caffeine, there's no way to alter a TruBrain formula to be stimulant-free.

The first month of TruBrain capsules costs a bit less, coming in at $69. After your first month, however, the price goes up to $119. That makes Thesis the better value, but if you want the best possible nootropics for sleep support, it might be worth the extra money to check out TruBrain.

Qualia Mind is a brand under the Neurohacker Collective, a company that offers several products to address things like sleep quality, skin health, and vision. They have three nootropics available:

• Qualia Mind Caffeine-Free
• Qualia Mind Focus

Their original blend is comprehensive, consisting of nearly 30 ingredients in high doses. That means it's liable to provide you with noticeable effects. It also means you might not know which of those effects are coming from which ingredients, and some of the less beneficial components in your body may also have side effects you'd rather avoid.

The caffeine-free version is identical to the original formula but leaves the caffeine out. Qualia Focus is a more streamlined offering with only seven nootropic ingredients, including caffeine, L-theanine, and L-ornithine. 23

Initial shipments from Qualia Mind are significantly discounted, but after the first month, the price makes theirs one of the most expensive nootropics we've tested. For example, the first month of a subscription to Qualia Mind costs just $39. After that, it costs $139/month. And a one-time purchase is $159.

One inconvenient aspect of Qualia Mind is that a single dose consists of seven capsules, which can get tiresome even for people who don't have trouble swallowing pills. On the bright side, Qualia's 100-day money-back guarantee allows you to try it for a little over three months to determine if you can handle that kind of daily dosing.

Hunter Focus is one of three supplements in the Hunter stack alongside the company's Test and Burn supplements. The stack is intended for male use — Test is a testosterone supplement — but Focus and Burn are suitable for men and women.

Like Qualia Mind, Focus has a long list of ingredients in generous doses. In fact, one serving of Hunter Focus is like taking all six of Thesis' formulas at once. That said, the serving itself is difficult to swallow, as it consists of six large pills.

Another knock on Hunter is that they don't offer a subscription system. That means you can't get an extra discount, and you must remember to reorder when you're running low (theoretically, a nootropic like this should boost your memory). There's also no money-back guarantee to speak of, only a return policy with a relatively short window that only applies to unopened products.

One bottle of Hunter Focus costs $90, and shipping is $8.95 unless you buy more than one bottle at a time. The company will throw a fourth in for free if you buy three bottles at once. That's the only way to get any savings through Hunter.

Individual nootropic components

Many companies offer combinations of nootropic ingredients to perform specific brain-related tasks or even provide globally positive cognitive benefits. However, the scientific research behind most of these ingredients almost always includes just one rather than a combination. Some people prefer to try one at a time to minimize the potential for side effects and determine if one particular ingredient works for them. A few companies offer single-ingredient nootropic supplements for this specific purpose.

Our favorite company dealing in individual nootropic components is Nootropics Depot. They offer a wide variety of single-ingredient supplements and a few targeted blends. The prices are generally fair, with an average range running from $16-$70. A 30-day money-back guarantee covers every purchase, and you get free shipping on orders over $50.

Nootropics FAQ

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Specific nootropics affect different parts of the brain in their own ways. Some — like caffeine — reduce fatigue by blocking adenosine receptors, while others act to protect neural connections that are already present while possibly contributing to new neural growth. 24 Some also mitigate depression and anxiety, which frees up the brain to perform at its best.

Are nootropics safe?

The safety of a nootropic depends on the specific ingredients involved. Many are perfectly safe in the doses commonly employed by nootropic companies, but some can cause reactions like increased heart rate, gastrointestinal discomfort, headache, and even tremors. The smartest thing to do is to talk to your doctor before introducing any new supplement to your regimen.

Do nootropics really work?

Many nootropic supplements are noticeably effective — caffeine is a great example. Efficacy varies depending on the specific component or combination. Fortunately, a lot of companies offer money-back guarantees, so you can try their products to see if they work for you without much financial risk.

Will nootropics make me smarter?

Nootropics won't necessarily make you smarter, but many can increase your alertness, improve short-term recall, and promote neural growth and protection. That creates a great environment for learning if you apply yourself while using nootropics, and many ingredients can help you with the motivation it takes to do so.

How do you pronounce nootropics?

The 'noo' in nootropics comes from the Greek nous , which philosophers use to mean mind or intelligence. The 'tropic' in nootropic comes from the Greek tropikos , which relates to turning or changing. So, nootropic roughly translates to mind-changing. You pronounce the 'noo' like 'new' and the 'tropic' with a long O sound, like 'toe pick.'

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About Thesis Nootropics

Hands up if you guzzle five coffees a day to stay awake, have tried all the supplements in the book desperate to improve your headspace, and aren’t interested in prescribed medications. Designed to increase focus , Thesis nootropics might be for you. 

Thesis offers a customized blend of ingredients designed to optimize your cognitive function , with personalized details that tackle your specific needs. Nootropics boost brain performance in the same way a stimulant would, without the common negative effects. 

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that nootropics may help improve cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Interested in finding out more about the brand and how it works? Leaf through our Thesis Nootropics review. We’ll be your guide through the company and the process, as well as details on the treatments, highlights from customer reviews, answers to important FAQs, and more, to help you decide if it’s worth the try.

Pros and Cons

• Multiple cognitive benefits: Thesis Nootropics offers a variety of blends that cater to multiple aspects of cognitive function.
• Long-term effects: On top of short term benefits for daily life, Thesis nootropics ingredients are designed to impact the brain in the long-term.
• Personalized recommendations: Thesis Nootropics makes personalized recommendations based on your goals and unique brain chemistry.
• Potential side effects: The most common side effects to watch out for when you start taking Thesis Nootropics include heartburn, headaches, confusion, dizziness, loss of appetite, and digestive issues.
• Need to stop taking if issues arise: If you experience a headache or an upset stomach that won’t go away while taking their nootropics, Thesis recommends that you stop taking them.

What is Thesis Nootropics?

Nootropics are nutrient compounds and substances that are known to improve brain performance , such as caffeine and creatine. They help with issues that affect motivation, creativity, mood, memory, focus, and cognitive processing.

Nootropics are the ideal addition to an already healthy lifestyle that consists of exercise, proper nutrition, and enjoyable activities.  Thesis nootropics are carefully formulated to target specific needs, ranging from energy to creativity. The brand focuses on safety, ensuring that all supplements adhere to FDA guidelines and go through multiple clinical trials. 

How Thesis Nootropics Works

With all that being said, you may be wondering how Thesis provides users with an option that is specific to their needs. Fortunately, the process is simple and hassle free. Here’s how it works:

• Take the Thesis nootropics quiz
• Answer questions about your basic information
• Receive personalized recommendations 
• Get your starter kit for $120 , or $79 monthly when you subscribe 

After that, you’ll select one formula to take each week, taking one day off in between each different option. You’ll also track your results in the daily journal over the month to see how they affect your daily life. 

From there, it operates as a subscription service. Users will be able to optimize their next shipment by telling the brand which formulas worked best.

If you don’t like any of the blends in your box, let the company know and they’ll switch it for something that’s a better fit for your lifestyle, genetics, and goals.

Thesis Nootropics Ingredients

Thesis Nootropics is a brand that offers personalized nootropics designed to enhance cognitive function and overall brain health. Their blends contain a variety of ingredients that are carefully chosen for their cognitive-boosting properties. Here are some of the key ingredients in Thesis Nootropics:

• Cognizin (Citicoline) : Cognizin is a type of choline that is known for its ability to enhance cognitive function, including memory and focus.
• L-Theanine : L-Theanine is an amino acid that is found in green tea, and is known for its ability to promote relaxation and reduce stress and anxiety.
• Lion’s Mane Mushroom : Lion’s Mane Mushroom is a type of medicinal mushroom that is believed to have cognitive-boosting properties, including improved memory and focus.
• Rhodiola Rosea : Rhodiola Rosea is an adaptogenic herb that is known for its ability to reduce stress and fatigue, and improve mental clarity and cognitive function.
• Ashwagandha : Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that is known for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve memory and cognitive function.
• Phosphatidylserine : Phosphatidylserine is a type of phospholipid that is found in high concentrations in the brain, and is believed to support cognitive function, including memory and focus³
• Alpha-GPC : Alpha-GPC is a type of choline that is known for its ability to enhance cognitive function, including memory and focus.
• TAU (uridine): TAU is a blend of uridine, choline, and DHA, which is believed to support brain health and cognitive function.
• Artichoke extract : Artichoke extract is believed to enhance cognitive function by increasing levels of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is important for memory and learning.
• Dynamine : Dynamine is a type of alkaloid that is believed to enhance cognitive function by increasing levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is important for mood and motivation.

Overall, the ingredients in Thesis Nootropics are carefully chosen for their cognitive-boosting properties, and are designed to work together to enhance overall brain health and cognitive function.

Thesis Nootropics Health Benefits

Thesis Nootropics is a brand that offers personalized nootropics designed to enhance cognitive function and overall brain health. Their blends contain a variety of ingredients that are carefully chosen for their cognitive-boosting properties, and offer numerous health benefits. Here are some of the health benefits of Thesis Nootropics:

• Increased cognitive energy : One of the key benefits of Thesis Nootropics is increased cognitive energy, which can help improve productivity, mental alertness, and motivation, as it contains cognizin .
• Enhanced mental clarity : Another benefit of Thesis Nootropics is enhanced mental clarity,given from Lion’s Mane Mushroom which can help reduce brain fog and improve focus.
• Improved memory and learning abilities : Thesis Nootropics contains ingredients that are believed to improve memory and learning abilities, like Phosphatidylserine , which can help users retain information more effectively.
• Elevated mood : Thesis Nootropics may help elevate mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, thanks to ingredients like L-Theanine and Ashwagandha .
• Lowered stress levels : The adaptogenic herbs in Thesis Nootropics, such as Rhodiola Rosea and Ashwagandha , are known for their ability to lower stress levels and promote relaxation.
• Boosted focus : Thesis Nootropics contains ingredients like Alpha-GPC and Artichoke extract , which are believed to boost focus and concentration.

While Thesis Nootropics offers numerous health benefits, it’s important to note that the long-term effects of nootropics are not yet fully understood and more research is needed.

3 Thesis Nootropics Bestsellers

Thesis energy review.

If you’re constantly struggling to keep up with the demands of your busy life, it might be time to try a natural energy booster like Thesis Energy. This powerful nootropic blend is specifically designed to increase energy, overcome fatigue, and build mental stamina.

Thesis Energy is caffeine-free, making it a great option for those who are sensitive to caffeine or looking for a natural alternative to traditional energy drinks. The Energy formulation is designed to help improve focus and mental clarity, increase cognitive energy, and reduce fatigue. Whether you’re facing a busy day at work, recovering after a night of poor sleep, or gearing up for an intense workout, Thesis Energy can help you power through.

Each ingredient in Thesis Energy is carefully chosen for its energy-boosting properties. The specific ingredients can vary depending on your needs, but they work together to help increase energy, improve mental clarity, and reduce fatigue.

To get the most out of Thesis Energy, take it every morning on an empty stomach. You can also take it again after lunch if you need an extra boost. It’s designed to help you tackle busy, hectic days, recover from poor sleep, and power through intense workouts.

If you’re tired of relying on coffee and energy drinks to get through the day, it might be time to give Thesis Energy a try. Check availability and start boosting your energy naturally today!

Thesis Creativity

If you’re someone who struggles with creativity or finds yourself feeling stuck in your creative endeavors, Thesis Creativity may be worth considering. This nootropic supplement is designed to help spark inspiration, enhance verbal fluency, and boost confidence in your own great ideas.

So what’s in Thesis Creativity? The ingredients may vary depending on your specific needs, but these ingredients work together to support stress management, memory function, mood regulation, and energy production.

By supporting stress management, memory function, and mood regulation, Thesis Creativity can help free up mental space for more creative thinking. Additionally, the caffeine and L-theanine combo can provide a boost of energy and focus without the jitters and crash that can come with caffeine alone.

To get the most out of Thesis Creativity, it is recommended to take it every morning on an empty stomach and again after lunch if you need an extra boost. This nootropic blend is particularly helpful for brainstorming and creative thinking, writing and creative projects, and public speaking and social situations.

As with any nootropic supplement, it’s important to note that the long-term effects of Thesis Creativity are not yet fully understood and more research is needed. It’s always a good idea to speak with a healthcare professional before adding any new supplements to your routine.

In summary, if you’re looking for a little extra help in the creativity department, Thesis Creativity may be a valuable addition to your nootropic lineup. Its unique blend of ingredients can help support mental clarity, mood regulation, and energy production, making it a valuable tool for any creative individual.

Thesis Logic

If you’ve been having trouble with your memory lately, such as forgetting what you had for lunch yesterday or struggling to recall common words, then Thesis Logic may be just what you need. This formula is designed to help enhance your processing speed, boost your memory, and deepen your thinking.

Thesis Logic is caffeine-free, making it a great option for those who are sensitive to caffeine. The formula is ideal for use during deep, focused work, complex problem-solving, research projects, and completing tedious tasks.

Taking Thesis Logic is easy – simply take it every morning on an empty stomach, and take it again after lunch if you need an extra boost. By incorporating Thesis Logic into your daily routine, you may notice improvements in your cognitive function and overall mental performance.

Who Is Thesis Nootropics For? 

Thesis nootropics are designed for a number of different specific needs, including anyone who wants to focus better, have more energy, and maintain mental clarity. All in all, the products are specifically formulated to improve day to day life and target your specific needs .

Thesis Nootropics Side Effects

While Thesis nootropics are designed to enhance cognitive performance and provide a range of benefits, it’s important to be aware of the potential side effects that can occur. As with any supplement, individual reactions can vary, and some people may experience side effects while others may not.

Some of the potential side effects of Thesis nootropics include:

• Insomnia : Some nootropics contain caffeine or other stimulants that can disrupt sleep patterns and lead to difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
• Blurry vision : Certain nootropics, such as those containing alpha GPC, have been linked to temporary blurry vision.
• High blood pressure : Stimulant-based nootropics can increase blood pressure, which can be dangerous for people with hypertension or other heart conditions.
• Fast heart rate : Similarly, stimulants can also increase heart rate, leading to palpitations or a rapid pulse.
• Circulation problem s: Certain nootropics, such as vinpocetine, can affect blood flow and circulation, leading to issues like dizziness, nausea, or headaches.
• Addiction : Some nootropics, such as those containing racetams, have been associated with the potential for addiction or dependence if used long-term.

It’s important to remember that not all nootropics will produce these side effects, and the severity of any reactions will depend on individual factors such as dosage, duration of use, and underlying health conditions. However, it’s always wise to discuss any potential risks with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.

Additionally, it’s important to follow dosage instructions carefully and not to exceed recommended amounts, as this can increase the risk of side effects. By being mindful of potential risks and using nootropics responsibly, users can reap the benefits of these supplements without experiencing adverse effects.

Thesis Nootropics Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

At this point in our Thesis nootropics review, it’s time to turn to what customers are saying. So, we sourced testimonials from the brand’s website, Reddit, and ZenMasterWellness. And spoiler alert, the Thesis nootropics reviews we came across have nothing but good things to say.

On takethesis.com , the brand earns 4.4/5 stars out of 7,956 reviews. One patron describes their particular blend as the perfect alternative to prescription meds :

“ I have been off stimulants for months now and these formulas are far superior. My husband and daughter both noticed the change and said I have been more productive, focused, less anxious, and more “thinking outside the box”. I have tried for years to get off stims and nothing would work .”

On Reddit, many reviewers share similar sentiments about how effective the products are. One buyer shares that they tried tons of different nootropics on the market, and Thesis stands out amongst the crowd . 

On ZenMasterWellness, one reviewer states that their blend provided the exact results they were looking for :

“ They offer notable improvements to how well I’m able to focus, stay on task, and grind when it’s time to grind. In practice, this usually looks like a clearer mind and an improved ability to just… chill. With the Clarity and Creativity blends, in particular, I just feel leveled out .”

Backed by clinical trials and real customer experiences, Thesis stands out in the world of nootropics and supplements. The personalized selections prove effective, while the quality ingredients live up to expectations. 

Is Thesis Nootropics Legit?

If you’re wondering if this brand offers products that are too good to be true, this Thesis nootropics review is here to say that it is the real deal .

The brand is backed by numerous clinical trials, which highlight how 86% of customers reported improvements in a wide range of cognitive challenges, while 89% noticed an improvement in their ability to reduce stress and maintain energy.

Is Thesis Nootropics Worth It?

Thesis is an appealing choice in the world of nootropics because it provides a completely customized selection based on your needs and goals. Plus, the ingredients are potent and ensure the best effects—and you only end up paying for the benefits you actually need.

With that in mind, this Thesis nootropics review deems the brand worth the try.

Alternatives

Here are some alternatives to Thesis Nootropics that you might find interesting:

• Mind Lab Pro – This nootropic supplement is designed to improve cognitive function and mental performance. It contains 11 ingredients that work together to enhance memory, focus, and overall brain health.
• Thorne Supplements : If you’re looking for high-quality, science-based supplements, Thorne is a great choice. Their products are designed with the latest research in mind and are rigorously tested for quality and purity. Some of their popular offerings include multivitamins, protein powders, and omega-3 supplements.
• WeAreFeel Supplements : WeAreFeel is a supplement brand that offers a variety of products designed to support different aspects of your health. Their supplements are vegan-friendly and free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Some of their popular offerings include multivitamins, probiotics, and omega-3 supplements.
• Neuro Gum : If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to boost your focus and energy levels, Neuro Gum is a great option. This gum is infused with caffeine and other natural ingredients that can help improve mental clarity and alertness. Plus, it’s sugar-free and comes in a variety of delicious flavors.
• Neuriva Plus : Neuriva Plus is a brain supplement that’s designed to improve memory, focus, and cognitive performance. It contains a blend of natural ingredients, including coffee fruit extract and phosphatidylserine, that have been shown to support brain health. If you’re looking for a natural way to boost your cognitive function, Neuriva Plus is worth considering.

Thesis Nootropics Promotions & Discounts 

There aren’t currently any Thesis promos or discounts available. That being said, if you subscribe for recurring shipments of your recommended products, you’ll save $40 monthly .

Where to Buy Thesis Nootropics

At the time of this Thesis nootropics review, the products are exclusively available on the brand’s website, takethesis.com .

Is Thesis Nootropics vegan?  

Thesis nootropics are made with only vegan ingredients . That being said, while the brand has taken precautions to protect against cross contamination, the products are not certified vegan.

Is Thesis Nootropics gluten-free? 

On top of being vegan, Thesis products are made without gluten, eggs, or nuts . Again, while the brand strives to protect users against cross contamination, the products are not certified gluten free. 

What is Thesis Nootropics’ Shipping Policy?

If you’re anxiously awaiting your order from this Thesis nootropics review, you’ll be happy to hear that the company offers speedy shipping, sending orders out within 1 business day. After that, packages should arrive within only 1-3 business days . Costs are calculated at checkout.

At this time, Thesis is not able to offer international shipping. This Thesis nootropics review recommends following the brand on social media and signing up for the newsletter to stay up to date with shipping policies. 

What is Thesis Nootropics’ Return Policy?

If you find that your Thesis formula isn’t working out, the company requests that you contact them to make changes and adjustments to ensure you are able to receive the proper help.

If you would still like to make a return, follow these simple steps for a refund:

• Submit your refund request
• Ship the items back within 30 days of the original delivery
• Send an email with your tracking number to the brand
• Return any remaining product in their original packaging to: 

Thesis Returns 902 Broadway

6th Floor New York, NY 

Once your return has been received, a refund will be processed and email confirmation will be sent. It’s also important to note that the brand can only refund one month’s supply per customer and return shipping is the customer’s responsibility. 

How to Contact Thesis Nootropics

We hope you enjoyed this Thesis nootropics review! If you have any further questions about the brand or its products, you can contact them using the following methods:

• Call 1 (646) 647-3599
• Email [email protected]

902 Broadway Floor 6 New York, NY 10010

If you’re looking for other ways to boost your productivity via supplements, check out these other brands we’ve reviewed:

Thorne Supplements Review

WeAreFeel Supplements Review

Neuro Gum Review

Neuriva Plus Review

Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the web’s best products. If you purchase through our links, we may receive a commission. Our editorial team is independent.

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The science behind creativity

Psychologists and neuroscientists are exploring where creativity comes from and how to increase your own

Vol. 53 No. 3 Print version: page 40

• Neuropsychology
• Creativity and Innovation

Paul Seli, PhD, is falling asleep. As he nods off, a sleep-tracking glove called Dormio, developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, detects his nascent sleep state and jars him awake. Pulled back from the brink, he jots down the artistic ideas that came to him during those semilucid moments.

Seli is an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and also an artist. He uses Dormio to tap into the world of hypnagogia, the transitional state that exists at the boundary between wakefulness and sleep. In a mini-experiment, he created a series of paintings inspired by ideas plucked from his hypnagogic state and another series from ideas that came to him during waking hours. Then he asked friends to rate how creative the paintings were, without telling them which were which. They judged the hypnagogic paintings as significantly more creative. “In dream states, we seem to be able to link things together that we normally wouldn’t connect,” Seli said. “It’s like there’s an artist in my brain that I get to know through hypnagogia.”

The experiment is one of many novel—and, yes, creative—ways that psychologists are studying the science of creativity. At an individual level, creativity can lead to personal fulfillment and positive academic and professional outcomes, and even be therapeutic. People take pleasure in creative thoughts, research suggests—even if they don’t think of themselves as especially creative. Beyond those individual benefits, creativity is an endeavor with implications for society, said Jonathan Schooler, PhD, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Creativity is at the core of innovation. We rely on innovation for advancing humanity, as well as for pleasure and entertainment,” he said. “Creativity underlies so much of what humans value.”

In 1950, J. P. Guilford, PhD, then president of APA, laid out his vision for the psychological study of creativity ( American Psychologist , Vol. 5, No. 9, 1950). For half a century, researchers added to the scientific understanding of creativity incrementally, said John Kounios, PhD, an experimental psychologist who studies creativity and insight at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Much of that research focused on the personality traits linked to creativity and the cognitive aspects of the creative process.

But in the 21st century, the field has blossomed thanks to new advances in neuroimaging. “It’s become a tsunami of people studying creativity,” Kounios said. Psychologists and neuroscientists are uncovering new details about what it means to be creative and how to nurture that skill. “Creativity is of incredible real-world value,” Kounios said. “The ultimate goal is to figure out how to enhance it in a systematic way.”

Creativity in the brain

What, exactly, is creativity? The standard definition used by researchers characterizes creative ideas as those that are original and effective, as described by psychologist Mark A. Runco, PhD, director of creativity research and programming at Southern Oregon University ( Creativity Research Journal , Vol. 24, No. 1, 2012). But effectiveness, also called utility, is a slippery concept. Is a poem useful? What makes a sculpture effective? “Most researchers use some form of this definition, but most of us are also dissatisfied with it,” Kounios said.

Runco is working on an updated definition and has considered at least a dozen suggestions from colleagues for new components to consider. One frequently suggested feature is authenticity. “Creativity involves an honest expression,” he said.

Meanwhile, scientists are also struggling with the best way to measure the concept. As a marker of creativity, researchers often measure divergent thinking—the ability to generate a lot of possible solutions to a problem or question. The standard test of divergent thinking came from Guilford himself. Known as the alternate-uses test, the task asks participants to come up with novel uses for a common object such as a brick. But measures of divergent thinking haven’t been found to correlate well with real-world creativity. Does coming up with new uses for a brick imply a person will be good at abstract art or composing music or devising new methods for studying the brain? “It strikes me as using way too broad a brush,” Seli said. “I don’t think we measure creativity in the standard way that people think about creativity. As researchers, we need to be very clear about what we mean.”

One way to do that may be to move away from defining creativity based on a person’s creative output and focus instead on what’s going on in the brain, said Adam Green, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist at Georgetown University and founder of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity . “The standard definition, that creativity is novel and useful, is a description of a product,” he noted. “By looking inward, we can see the process in action and start to identify the characteristics of creative thought. Neuroimaging is helping to shift the focus from creative product to creative process.”

That process seems to involve the coupling of disparate brain regions. Specifically, creativity often involves coordination between the cognitive control network, which is involved in executive functions such as planning and problem-solving, and the default mode network, which is most active during mind-wandering or daydreaming (Beaty, R. E., et al., Cerebral Cortex , Vol. 31, No. 10, 2021). The cooperation of those networks may be a unique feature of creativity, Green said. “These two systems are usually antagonistic. They rarely work together, but creativity seems to be one instance where they do.”

Green has also found evidence that an area called the frontopolar cortex, in the brain’s frontal lobes, is associated with creative thinking. And stimulating the area seems to boost creative abilities. He and his colleagues used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate the frontopolar cortex of participants as they tried to come up with novel analogies. Stimulating the area led participants to make analogies that were more semantically distant from one another—in other words, more creative ( Cerebral Cortex , Vol. 27, No. 4, 2017).

Green’s work suggests that targeting specific areas in the brain, either with neuromodulation or cognitive interventions, could enhance creativity. Yet no one is suggesting that a single brain region, or even a single neural network, is responsible for creative thought. “Creativity is not one system but many different mechanisms that, under ideal circumstances, work together in a seamless way,” Kounios said.

In search of the eureka moment

Creativity looks different from person to person. And even within one brain, there are different routes to a creative spark, Kounios explained. One involves what cognitive scientists call “System 1” (also called “Type 1”) processes: quick, unconscious thoughts—aha moments—that burst into consciousness. A second route involves “System 2” processes: thinking that is slow, deliberate, and conscious. “Creativity can use one or the other or a combination of the two,” he said. “You might use Type 1 thinking to generate ideas and Type 2 to critique and refine them.”

Which pathway a person uses might depend, in part, on their expertise. Kounios and his colleagues used electroencephalography (EEG) to examine what was happening in jazz musicians’ brains as they improvised on the piano. Then skilled jazz instructors rated those improvisations for creativity, and the researchers compared each musician’s most creative compositions. They found that for highly experienced musicians, the mechanisms used to generate creative ideas were largely automatic and unconscious, and they came from the left posterior part of the brain. Less-experienced pianists drew on more analytical, deliberative brain processes in the right frontal region to devise creative melodies, as Kounios and colleagues described in a special issue of NeuroImage on the neuroscience of creativity (Vol. 213, 2020). “It seems there are at least two pathways to get from where you are to a creative idea,” he said.

Coming up with an idea is only one part of the creative process. A painter needs to translate their vision to canvas. An inventor has to tinker with their concept to make a prototype that actually works. Still, the aha moment is an undeniably important component of the creative process. And science is beginning to illuminate those “lightbulb moments.”

Kounios examined the relationship between creative insight and the brain’s reward system by asking participants to solve anagrams in the lab. In people who were highly sensitive to rewards, a creative insight led to a burst of brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, the area of the brain that responds to basic pleasures like delicious food or addictive drugs ( NeuroImage , Vol. 214, 2020). That neural reward may explain, from an evolutionary standpoint, why humans seem driven to create, he said. “We seem wired to take pleasure in creative thoughts. There are neural rewards for thinking in a creative fashion, and that may be adaptive for our species.”

The rush you get from an aha moment might also signal that you’re onto something good, Schooler said. He and his colleagues studied these flashes of insight among creative writers and physicists. They surveyed the participants daily for two weeks, asking them to note their creative ideas and when they occurred. Participants reported that about a fifth of the most important ideas of the day happened when they were mind-wandering and not working on a task at hand ( Psychological Science , Vol. 30, No. 3, 2019). “These solutions were more likely to be associated with an aha moment and often overcoming an impasse of some sort,” Schooler said.

Six months later, the participants revisited those ideas and rated them for creative importance. This time, they rated their previous ideas as creative, but less important than they’d initially thought. That suggests that the spark of a eureka moment may not be a reliable clue that an idea has legs. “It seems like the aha experience may be a visceral marker of an important idea. But the aha experience can also inflate the meaningfulness of an idea that doesn’t have merit,” Schooler said. “We have to be careful of false ahas.”

Boosting your creativity

Much of the research in this realm has focused on creativity as a trait. Indeed, some people are naturally more creative than others. Creative individuals are more likely than others to possess the personality trait of openness. “Across different age groups, the best predictor of creativity is openness to new experiences,” said Anna Abraham, PhD, the E. Paul Torrance Professor and director of the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia. “Creative people have the kind of curiosity that draws them toward learning new things and experiencing the world in new ways,” she said.

We can’t all be Thomas Edison or Maya Angelou. But creativity is also a state, and anyone can push themselves to be more creative. “Creativity is human capacity, and there’s always room for growth,” Runco said. A tolerant environment is often a necessary ingredient, he added. “Tolerant societies allow individuals to express themselves and explore new things. And as a parent or a teacher, you can model that creativity is valued and be open-minded when your child gives an answer you didn’t expect.”

One way to let your own creativity flow may be by tapping into your untethered mind. Seli is attempting to do so through his studies on hypnagogia. After pilot testing the idea on himself, he’s now working on a study that uses the sleep-tracking glove to explore creativity in a group of Duke undergrads. “In dream states, there seems to be connectivity between disparate ideas. You tend to link things together you normally wouldn’t, and this should lead to novel outcomes,” he said. “Neurally speaking, the idea is to increase connectivity between different areas of the brain.”

You don’t have to be asleep to forge those creative connections. Mind-wandering can also let the ideas flow. “Letting yourself daydream with a purpose, on a regular basis, might allow brain networks that don’t usually cooperate to literally form stronger connections,” Green said.

However, not all types of daydreams will get you there. Schooler found that people who engage in more personally meaningful daydreams (such as fantasizing about a future vacation or career change) report greater artistic achievement and more daily inspiration. People who are prone to fantastical daydreaming (such as inventing alternate realities or imaginary worlds) produced higher-quality creative writing in the lab and reported more daily creative behavior. But daydreams devoted to planning or problem-solving were not associated with creative behaviors ( Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , Vol. 15, No. 4, 2021).

It’s not just what you think about when you daydream, but where you are when you do it. Some research suggests spending time in nature can enhance creativity. That may be because of the natural world’s ability to restore attention, or perhaps it’s due to the tendency to let your mind wander when you’re in the great outdoors (Williams, K. J. H., et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology , Vol. 59, 2018). “A lot of creative figures go on walks in big, expansive environments. In a large space, your perceptual attention expands and your scope of thought also expands,” Kounios said. “That’s why working in a cubicle is bad for creativity. But working near a window can help.”

Wherever you choose to do it, fostering creativity requires time and effort. “People want the booster shot for creativity. But creativity isn’t something that comes magically. It’s a skill, and as with any new skill, the more you practice, the better you get,” Abraham said. In a not-yet-published study, she found three factors predicted peak originality in teenagers: openness to experience, intelligence, and, importantly, time spent engaged in creative hobbies. That is, taking the time to work on creative pursuits makes a difference. And the same is true for adults, she said. “Carve out time for yourself, figure out the conditions that are conducive to your creativity, and recognize that you need to keep pushing yourself. You won’t get to where you want to go if you don’t try.”

Those efforts can benefit your own sense of creative fulfillment and perhaps lead to rewards on an even grander scale. “I think everyday creativity is the most important kind,” Runco said. “If we can support the creativity of each and every individual, we’ll change the world.”

How to become more creative

1. Put in the work: People often think of creativity as a bolt of inspiration, like a lightbulb clicking on. But being creative in a particular domain—whether in the arts, in your work, or in your day-to-day life—is a skill. Carve out time to learn and practice.

2. Let your mind wander: Experts recommend “daydreaming with purpose.” Make opportunities to let your daydreams flow, while gently nudging them toward the creative challenge at hand. Some research suggests meditation may help people develop the habit of purposeful daydreaming.

3. Practice remote associations: Brainstorm ideas, jotting down whatever thoughts or notions come to you, no matter how wild. You can always edit later.

4. Go outside: Spending time in nature and wide-open spaces can expand your attention, enhance beneficial mind-wandering, and boost creativity.

5. Revisit your creative ideas: Aha moments can give you a high—but that rush might make you overestimate the merit of a creative idea. Don’t be afraid to revisit ideas to critique and tweak them later.

Further reading

Creativity: An introduction Kaufman, J. C., and Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2021

The eureka factor: Aha moments, creative insight, and the brain Kounios, J., & Beeman, M., Random House, 2015

Creativity anxiety: Evidence for anxiety that is specific to creative thinking, from STEM to the arts Daker, R. J., et al., Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 2020

Predictors of creativity in young people: Using frequentist and Bayesian approaches in estimating the importance of individual and contextual factors Asquith, S. L., et al., Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts , 2020

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Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

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Enhancing Thesis Creativity: Top Tools for Writing an Academic Masterpiece

In the realm of academic writing, crafting a compelling thesis is paramount for scholars seeking to make a significant impact in their field. With the right tools and strategies, this daunting task can be transformed into an opportunity for creativity and excellence. Research Rebels presents 'Enhancing Thesis Creativity: Top Tools for Writing an Academic Masterpiece,' a comprehensive guide designed to support students in navigating the complexities of thesis writing with confidence and ingenuity. From developing a unique writing style to optimizing your work for maximum impact, we provide an array of resources to help you create a thesis that stands out in the scholarly community.

Key Takeaways

• Leverage storytelling and humor to infuse personality into your thesis, making it memorable and distinct.
• Utilize online tools like grammar checkers and idea generators to refine your writing and spark creative topic selection.
• Implement time management strategies, such as breaking down the thesis timeline and using procrastination busters, to stay focused and efficient.
• Master essay composition by structuring your thesis effectively, ensuring cohesion, and using visual aids to enhance understanding.
• Optimize your thesis for academic search engines through strategic use of keywords and analytics to maximize your research's reach and impact.

Crafting Your Academic Identity: Tools to Develop a Unique Writing Style

Embracing your inner research rebel.

Hey there, future trailblazer! It's time to ditch the conventional wisdom and embrace your inner research rebel . Boldly question everything you know about academic writing. Why? Because the most groundbreaking theses often come from those who dare to challenge the status quo and think outside the box.

• Ask tough questions
• Push the boundaries of knowledge
• Identify unique research problems

Remember, your thesis is not just a paper; it's a reflection of your academic identity. So, let's shake things up! Use humor, weave in storytelling, and let your personality shine through your words. After all, the goal is to craft a paper that resonates with your academic goals and captivates your audience. And who knows? You might just inspire a new generation of thinkers.

Don't just take our word for it. Research Rebels and other platforms provide a nurturing environment that encourages you to take risks and explore new territories in your field. So go ahead, be audacious, and make your mark as a researcher who's not afraid to be different.

Storytelling and Humor: Making Your Thesis Memorable

Let's face it, your thesis isn't just a collection of facts and figures; it's a story waiting to be told. Injecting a bit of storytelling and humor can transform your academic work from a snooze-fest into a memorable masterpiece. Think about it, when was the last time you remembered a thesis for its dry statistics ? Exactly.

But how do you do it? Start by finding the human element in your research. Maybe it's a quirky historical anecdote or a surprising finding that makes your reader chuckle. Then, weave that element throughout your work to keep your audience engaged. Remember, a little levity goes a long way in making your work relatable and enjoyable.

Here's a quick checklist to ensure your thesis packs a punch:

• Relate your findings to real-world scenarios
• Use metaphors and similes to clarify complex ideas
• Include relevant examples that resonate with your audience

And don't forget, humor is subjective . What makes one person laugh might not tickle another's funny bone. So, know your audience and tailor your wit accordingly. After all, your goal is to make your thesis memorable, not controversial.

From Jargon to Jazz: Writing Techniques That Resonate

You've got the facts down; now it's time to make them dance. Ditch the jargon and let's jazz up your thesis with writing techniques that resonate with your readers. Start by knowing the rules

then break them where it counts. Here's how:

Keep it clear : Your ideas should be as transparent as glass. No one wants to wade through a swamp of complex terms when simple ones will do. Aim for simplicity without losing depth.

Stay concise : Get to the point and chop the fluff. Every word should earn its keep, contributing to the essence of your argument.

Inject personality : Your thesis isn't just a report; it's a piece of you. Let your unique voice shine through, balancing informative content with a touch of eloquence.

Remember, consistency in your writing style is key. Whether you're aiming for formal or conversational, stick with it from start to finish. And don't forget to proofread ! A well-polished thesis is like a well-rehearsed jazz ensemble

• every note, every pause, every flourish works together to create something memorable.

The Research Toolkit: Essential Online Study Tools for Thesis Success

Idea generators: sparking creativity in topic selection.

Ever felt like you're hitting a wall when trying to pick a thesis topic? You're not alone. Idea generators are your secret weapon for breaking through that block. These nifty tools can fast-track your brainstorming process, offering a buffet of ideas that might just contain the gem you're looking for.

• Research Rabbit : A tool that's still flying under the radar for many. It's a treasure trove for topic hunting, and guess what? It's free!
• HubSpot's Blog Ideas Generator : Not just for bloggers, this can kickstart your academic engine with a slew of topic suggestions.
• Custom-Writing's Random Topic Generator : When you're stuck, this generator throws you a lifeline with a variety of samples and writing ideas.

Remember, the best topics are often hidden in plain sight, waiting for a creative mind to uncover them. So, dive into these tools and let the serendipitous discovery of ideas fuel your imagination. And if you're feeling adventurous, why not give AI a whirl? A simple prompt to ChatGPT can unveil unique angles on familiar subjects, perfect for crafting an engaging and original thesis.

Grammar Gurus: Ensuring Linguistic Precision

Let's face it, your thesis is your academic megaphone, and nothing muddles the message like sloppy grammar. Clarity is the cornerstone of an effective writing style, so aim for simplicity without sacrificing depth. Tools like Trinka can be your secret weapon, correcting errors and enhancing language for academic and technical writing.

But remember, while AI tools are great, they're not infallible. Always give your work that human once-over. The runner-up in our toolkit is Hemingway , praised for its ability to improve grammar and readability. It's like having a vigilant grammar guru by your side, ensuring your thesis is not just correct, but also compelling.

Here's a quick checklist to keep you on track:

• Pay meticulous attention to grammar and punctuation.
• Ensure sentences are clear and ideas are expressed with precision .
• Scan for typos, spelling errors, and formatting inconsistencies during proofreading.

And don't forget, the Research Rebels website is a treasure trove for effective thesis organization and question formulation, all while emphasizing research integrity. So, go ahead, make your thesis not just accurate, but academically awesome!

Time Trackers: Organizing Your Thesis Schedule

Let's face it, your thesis isn't going to write itself, and with everything else on your plate, keeping track of time is crucial. Time trackers are your secret weapon in this battle against the clock. They're not just about counting minutes; they help you see where your time really goes, making it easier to adjust and stay on track.

Consider this: a Forbes article titled ' 7 Free Time Tracking Apps (2024)' recommends Clockify for its overall utility and TimeCamp for remote teams. If you're part of a small team, Toggl Track might be your best bet. Here's a quick rundown of options to get you started:

• Clockify : Best Overall
• TimeCamp: Best for Remote Teams
• Toggl Track: Best for Very Small Teams

But it's not just about the tools. The ' Thesis Action Plan ' can offer you a structured approach to reduce thesis anxiety . And remember, your supervisor is there to guide you. A little preparation can go a long way in making those meetings more productive. So, grab a guide, master the art of interviews , and say goodbye to uncertainty. With the right time trackers and a solid plan, you'll be navigating your thesis journey like a pro.

Navigating the Thesis Voyage: Time Management Strategies for Scholars

Breaking down the thesis timeline.

Let's slice that daunting thesis timeline into bite-sized pieces, shall we? Start by mapping out the major milestones from your proposal to your final defense. Keep your eyes on the prize by setting realistic deadlines for each phase of your work.

• Proposal Submission : Nail down your research question and get your committee's nod of approval.
• Literature Review : Dive into the sea of existing knowledge and emerge with a solid foundation for your study.
• Data Collection : The hands-on phase where your research truly comes to life.
• Analysis : Crunch those numbers or deconstruct those texts to uncover the story they tell.
• Writing : Piece by piece, your thesis takes shape, reflecting your academic identity.
• Revisions : Embrace the feedback loop, refining your work to polished perfection.
• Final Defense : The culmination of your journey, where you showcase your scholarly masterpiece.

Remember, the Academic Project Planner can be your best friend here, helping you transition seamlessly from thesis to project mode with structured planning and stress-free management. And hey, if you ever feel stuck, just think of it as crafting strong thesis statements —clarity, specificity, and a strong connection between your research questions and thesis statements are your guiding stars.

Procrastination Busters: Staying on Course

Let's face it, procrastination can sneak up on you like a ninja in the night, turning your thesis journey into a last-minute scramble. But you're not alone in this battle. ResearchGate studies highlight procrastination as an 'aversive inability to initiate or complete the pursuit of a goal,' which sounds pretty daunting, right? But here's the kicker: you can beat it with the right strategies.

First things first, set clear, achievable goals. Break your thesis into bite-sized tasks and tackle them one at a time. Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And hey, why not make it fun? Embrace your inner Research Rebel and mix up your routine with innovative guides and worksheets that keep the anxiety at bay and the creativity flowing.

To avoid the cramming crisis , reflect on your study habits. Are you a last-minute Larry or a plan-ahead Paula? Adjust your approach accordingly. Here's a simple list to keep you on track:

• Identify your peak productivity times and schedule writing sessions then.
• Use time management apps to block distracting websites during work hours.
• Reward yourself for meeting small milestones – yes, that means treating yourself to that latte!

And remember, the environment you choose can either foster or facilitate procrastination . So, find your zen zone, whether it's a quiet library corner or a bustling coffee shop, and make it your thesis throne.

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Techniques

Hey there, fellow scholar! Let's talk about keeping your cool and staying sharp while you're navigating the thesis maze. Mindfulness and stress reduction techniques are your secret weapons to maintain mental clarity and emotional balance. Think of them as your personal academic zen garden.

First up, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). They're not just buzzwords; they're scientifically backed practices that can help you manage lifestyle behaviors and reduce stress . A systematic review of randomized clinical trials showed that MBIs can be a game-changer for your well-being. And guess what? They're not just for monks in monasteries; they're totally doable in your daily routine.

• Change the Environment : Shake up your surroundings to refresh your mind.
• Freewriting : Let loose with words to unlock new ideas.
• Break Down the Task : Tackle your thesis one bite at a time.
• Embrace Rituals : Create a pre-writing routine to signal 'game on' to your brain.

Remember, it's not just about churning out pages; it's about enjoying the journey. So, take a deep breath, find your focus, and let's make that thesis shine!

The Art of Structure: Mastering Essay Composition

Blueprinting your thesis: from abstract to appendices.

Think of your thesis as a house, and your blueprint is the plan you follow to ensure every room serves its purpose. Start with your abstract , the front porch inviting readers into your academic abode. It should succinctly summarize your study's purpose, methods, and conclusions, giving a clear snapshot of what's to come.

Next, dive into the introduction , where you set the stage with a compelling hook and a strong thesis statement. This is where you make your first impression, so make it count. As you move through the body of your work, allocate content to different sections, ensuring each paragraph supports your thesis statement without unnecessary repetition. Develop each main point in individual paragraphs, incorporating supporting evidence to reinforce your arguments.

When it comes to the conclusion, it's not just about ending on a high note. It's about bringing everything full circle. Revisit your thesis statement, summarize your key points, and leave your readers with something to ponder. And don't forget the appendices and bibliography, the backyard of your thesis where all the resources and additional data live. Ensure these are well-organized and formatted correctly, as they are a testament to the rigorous research you've conducted.

• Abstract: A clear, concise summary of your study
• Introduction: Hook, context, and thesis statement
• Body: Logical progression of ideas, each supported by evidence
• Conclusion: Reiteration of the thesis and summary of main points
• Appendices: Additional data and materials
• Bibliography: Properly formatted list of references

Cohesion and Flow: Crafting a Compelling Narrative

You know that feeling when you're reading something so smooth, it's like sliding down a narrative waterslide? That's the magic of cohesion and flow in writing. Your thesis should be a journey , where each paragraph ushers the reader to the next with grace and purpose. Here's how to keep your readers hooked:

• Start with a clear outline. This roadmap will guide your writing and ensure that each section naturally leads to the next.
• Use transitional phrases to weave your paragraphs together. Think of them as the hand-holding moments that bring your readers along for the ride.
• Keep your voice consistent. Whether you're explaining complex theories or sharing a personal anecdote, your unique voice should echo throughout your thesis.

Remember, a compelling narrative isn't just about the facts you present; it's about how you string them together. By mastering the art of structure, you're not just writing a thesis; you're telling a story that resonates with your audience. And isn't that what every scholar dreams of?

Visual Aids: Enhancing Understanding with Diagrams and Charts

When it comes to making your thesis stand out, never underestimate the power of visual aids. Diagrams and charts can transform your complex data into clear, impactful information. Remember, a well-organized chart or a neatly labeled diagram can speak volumes. It's not just about the aesthetics; it's about enhancing the reader's ability to grasp and remember your key points.

Let's talk about tables. They're not just a way to present data; they're a storytelling tool. Ensure your tables are more than just numbers stacked in rows and columns. They should tell a story, highlighting trends and relationships that support your thesis. Here's a simple table format to keep in mind:

And don't forget, your visuals must be accessible . That means clear labels , sensible color coding, and straightforward explanations. After all, your goal is to communicate, not confuse. So, whether you're using a Literature Navigator to confidently navigate through your sources or incorporating visuals into your writing, clarity is key. Keep it simple, keep it clear, and watch your thesis come to life.

SEO for Scholars: Optimizing Your Thesis for Maximum Impact

Keywords and academia: finding the sweet spot.

You know that feeling when you hit the bullseye? That's what finding the right keywords for your thesis can feel like. Start by pinpointing the primary keyword that resonates with your research. It's like choosing the perfect spice for a dish; it needs to blend in naturally, enhancing the flavor without overpowering it. For instance, if your thesis delves into scientific revolutions , a nod to Kuhn's classic work could be a subtle yet powerful touch.

But it's not just about the main keyword. You'll want to gather a bouquet of related terms to sprinkle throughout your masterpiece. Think of it as creating a keyword ecosystem that supports and enriches your main theme. Here's a quick list to get you started:

• Identify your main keyword and related terms
• Seamlessly integrate them into headings and content
• Use tools like Google Scholar to research how these terms are used in your field

Remember, the goal is to make your thesis not just discoverable, but irresistibly clickable. By targeting the right journals and databases, you're ensuring that your work doesn't just sit in an academic silo but reaches the eyes and minds of those who are genuinely interested. And when you get it right, it's like your thesis is saying, 'Hey, I'm over here, and I'm exactly what you've been looking for!'

Engaging Abstracts: Your Thesis in a Nutshell

Think of your abstract as the elevator pitch of your thesis. It's the first thing that anyone will read, and it could very well be the deciding factor in whether they delve deeper. Your abstract should encapsulate the essence of your research , providing a snapshot of your purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. It's a balancing act between being concise and comprehensive.

Here's a quick checklist to ensure your abstract hits the mark:

• Start with a clear statement of your research question or problem.
• Briefly outline your methodology and approach.
• Highlight your most significant findings.
• Conclude with the implications or applications of your research.

Remember, an abstract is not just a summary; it's a strategic overview that can pique curiosity and showcase the value of your work. As the snippet suggests, it's a " concise summary of an academic paper." Make it count!

Leveraging Analytics: Understanding Reader Engagement

So, you've got your thesis polished to perfection, but how do you know if it's actually making waves in the academic ocean? Enter the world of analytics . Tracking reader engagement isn't just for marketers; it's crucial for you, the scholarly scribe, to understand the impact of your work.

Let's dive into some analytics best practices. First off, you'll want to keep an eye on how many bookmarks or saves your thesis is racking up. This is a solid indicator that your readers find your content valuable enough to return to it. Next, measure the average pages per session to gauge how deeply readers are diving into your thesis. If they're flipping through like it's a hot new novel, you're on the right track!

Here's a quick list to get you started:

• Content libraries : Analyze user behavior and engagement with your articles, whitepapers, and case studies.
• Pages per session : Use tools like Google Analytics to track and improve reader involvement.
• Article metrics : Keep tabs on usage and 'engagement' activity, like how often your work is bookmarked.

Remember, understanding these metrics can help you refine your thesis and ensure it resonates with your audience. So, don't shy away from the data; embrace it to amplify your academic voice!

Embark on a journey to academic excellence with Research Rebels' proven Thesis Action Plan. Transform your thesis writing experience from overwhelming to outstanding. Don't let anxiety and sleepless nights hinder your scholarly success. Visit our website now to claim your special offer and unlock the secrets to optimizing your thesis for maximum impact. Your path to a stress-free, impactful thesis starts here!

Wrapping It Up: Your Thesis, Your Masterpiece

Alright, Research Rebels, we've journeyed through the ins and outs of thesis creativity and the top tools that can transform your academic writing from good to great. Remember, your thesis isn't just a requirement; it's an opportunity to showcase your unique insights and make a mark in your field. With the resources we've shared, from AI writing assistants to brainstorming geniuses, you're now equipped to tackle writer's block, refine your prose, and inject a dose of innovation into your work. So go ahead, give these tools a whirl, and watch as your thesis evolves into an academic masterpiece. Keep pushing boundaries, stay curious, and let's make thesis writing an adventure worth remembering!

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools can help develop a unique academic writing style.

Tools like storytelling and humor can make your thesis memorable, while writing techniques that resonate with readers can transform jargon into engaging content. AI writing tools, brainstorming tools, and emotional tone analysis can also enhance creativity and originality.

How can online study tools contribute to thesis success?

Online study tools can assist with generating topic ideas, ensuring linguistic precision through grammar checks, and managing time effectively with scheduling software. They can also enhance readability and language through editing tools.

What strategies can help manage time during the thesis writing process?

Breaking down the thesis timeline into manageable parts, employing procrastination busting techniques, and practicing mindfulness and stress reduction can all contribute to better time management during the thesis writing process.

How can I ensure my thesis has a strong structure?

To ensure a strong thesis structure, blueprint your work from abstract to appendices, focus on cohesion and flow to craft a compelling narrative, and use visual aids like diagrams and charts to enhance understanding.

What is SEO optimization for a thesis, and why is it important?

SEO optimization for a thesis involves using keywords and writing engaging abstracts to make your work more discoverable and impactful. It can help your research reach a wider audience and increase reader engagement.

Can tools like Wordtune and Sudowrite improve academic writing?

Yes, tools like Wordtune and Sudowrite can refine and enhance written content, making it more engaging and effective. They provide innovative storytelling and creative writing enhancement that can elevate the quality of academic writing.

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The stifling silence around scholarly creativity in doctoral education: experiences of students and supervisors in four disciplines

• Open access
• Published: 08 July 2017
• Volume 75 , pages 655–673, ( 2018 )

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• Eva M. Brodin 1 , 2  

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The demand for developing creativity among doctoral students is found in a number of educational policies all over the world. Yet, earlier studies on Swedish doctoral education suggest that doctoral students’ creativity is not always encouraged. Based on a critical hermeneutic approach and cases in four different disciplines, the aim of this study was therefore (1) to explore different shapes of doctoral students’ creativity in Swedish doctoral education and (2) to reveal and find possible explanations to some of the conditions stifling doctoral students’ scholarly creativity. Interview data was collected from 28 participants, constituting 14 dyads of students and supervisors in four disciplines. Through hermeneutic interpretative analysis of the disciplinary cases, the results show that creativity kept on playing in musical performance, was an unexpected guest in pedagogical work, was captured in frames in philosophy and put on hold in psychiatry. Across the cases, students’ scholarly creativity was essentially encapsulated in silence. This silence seemed to emanate from controlling intellectual, political and economic agendas that enabled stifling conditions of the students’ scholarly creativity, where it was as follows: restricted by scholarly traditions , embodying supervisors’ power and unrequested in practice. Based on these findings, the article ends in suggestions for preventing such conditions, holding that it is important to establish a discourse on scholarly creativity in doctoral education, to view doctoral students as capable creative agents and to actually ask for their scholarly creativity.

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Introduction

Creativity is fundamental to scholarly and societal development through its potential of moving existing knowledge to new dimensions. It is also a central learning outcome at a doctoral level in many countries across the continents (e.g. Association of American Universities 1998 ; Australasian Qualifications Framework Council 2013 ; Cloete et al. 2015 ; League of European Research Universities 2014 ; Swedish Higher Education Ordinance 1993 :100).

While doctoral students’ creativity is stressed in many contexts, the practice of doctoral education differs substantially across nations (Andres et al. 2015 ; Kehm 2009 ; Tonbul 2014 ) and disciplines (Golde 2006 ; Hakkarainen et al. 2016 ) as regards the organisation, curriculum, supervision, funding system and preferred thesis format. Moreover, academia embodies certain tensions between intellectual, political and economic agendas (Enders and de Weert 2009 ), influencing doctoral students’ development in diverse directions (Elmgren et al. 2016 ; Lee and Boud 2009 ). Such variation obviously also affects the conditions for doctoral creativity.

A number of studies exist on doctoral students’ learning conditions in general, and some of these deal with aspects of certain relevance for creativity such as the students’ identity development and sense of agency (McAlpine 2012 ), the supervisor’s ability to meet the students’ dynamic needs for being explorative (Frick et al. 2014 ) or the benefit of integrating diverse forms of cultural knowledge in intercultural supervision (Manathunga 2017 ). However, while allusions to creativity can be found in the literature on learning and pedagogy in doctoral education, only a few empirical studies have focused on creativity itself in this educational context. Among these, some studies suggest that doctoral students’ creativity is not always encouraged (Brodin 2015 , 2016 ). Based on the data from these studies, the present analysis attempts to probe into causes that might impede the development of creativity in Swedish doctoral education.

The scope and originality of this study

Although creativity can be defined in many ways, Baptista et al. ( 2015 , p. 61) hold that doctoral creativity implies seeking for novelty of disciplinary relevance or value . This notion is also underpinned by the fact that faculties often agree about the overall character of scholarly quality, while the understanding of what characterises original and significant dissertations differs between disciplines (Clarke and Lunt 2014 ; Lovitts 2007 ).

Without contesting these preconditions, the scope of this study extends beyond predefined understandings of creativity. From the experiences of doctoral students and their supervisors, attention is instead given to the embodied and embedded shapes of creativity as these appear in the tensions between different power relationships affecting doctoral educational practice. While this particular focus has not been explored to date, some work on creativity nevertheless has relevance to these concerns through its developmental perspective.

Doctoral students’ creativity as process and product

In relation to the four-C model of creativity by Kaufman and Beghetto ( 2009 ), all thesis work seems to involve mini-c and little-c levels of creativity. According to their model, mini-c creativity corresponds to the individual’s own learning process of attaining new and meaningful insights, while little-c creativity is found in individuals who create something new but not very original. Within the context of doctoral education, it can also be added that the concept of independence is frequently associated with doctoral students’ creative process (Brodin 2016 ; Frick 2011 ; Gardner 2008 ; Lovitts 2008 ), and that they need to learn how to engage with the literature to develop their own creative voice (Wisker 2015 ; Wisker and Robinson 2014 ). In sum, the creative process of doctoral students’ implies a journey in which they learn ‘to critically think, act and speak, in individually novel, valuable, feasible and ethically defensible ways that may lead to a dissertation which is assessed to be outstanding by the community of peers’ (Brodin and Avery 2014 , p. 277).

If a product shall be labelled as creative by experts, Kaufman and Beghetto ( 2009 ) suggest that it needs to reach the higher level of professional creativity (Pro-c). Then the creator has developed enough expertise to be both professional and innovative, although without being a legend as Big-c creators are. In doctoral education, such professional creativity seems to be reflected in outstanding dissertations , since senior scholars describe them as particularly ‘creative’ (Mullins and Kiley 2002 ) as well as ‘significant and original’ (Lovitts 2007 ). Nevertheless, according to Lovitts’ ( 2007 ) focus group study with 276 faculty members from ten disciplines, outstanding dissertations are extremely rare. Instead, the faculty members thought that most doctoral students produced very good dissertations which made ‘a modest contribution to the field’ (p. 37) and were ‘less original, less significant, less ambitious, less exciting, and/or less interesting than outstanding dissertations’ (p. 39). In contrast, the acceptable dissertations were ‘not very original, significant, exciting, or interesting’ at all (p. 40).

Conditions for doctoral students’ creativity

Students’ creativity can develop with educational support (Beghetto 2010 ; McWilliam and Dawson 2008 ). Whitelock et al. ( 2008 ) have identified that doctoral students’ creativity is encouraged by a ‘collaborative’ supervision relationship, based on trust, mutual understanding and shared goals rather than on didactic directions. Similarly, Zacher and Johnson ( 2015 ) have discovered a positive correlation between supervisors’ transformational leadership and their doctoral students’ work creativity, while Fenge ( 2012 ) found that students’ creativity was facilitated by peer learning in group supervision. But although formal supervision often has a pivotal role in doctoral students’ development, Bengtsen ( 2017 ) argues that their creativity may be better nurtured in informal settings such as spontaneous and unplanned ‘ad hoc’ supervision or other extra-curricular activities outside the doctoral programme. This conclusion is also supported by Hakala ( 2009 ) who found that doctoral students’ creativity was encouraged when they had the opportunity to share their experiences of attaining new insights with colleagues.

Nevertheless, supportive supervisors, peers and informal settings do not always suffice to cultivate students’ creativity, since contemporary doctoral educational practice is framed by economic, political and intellectual agendas (Lee and Boud 2009 ; Elmgren et al. 2016 ). This is exemplified by the study of Walsh et al. ( 2013 ) with doctoral students and senior staff in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). These participants conceptualised creativity as novelty and problem solving , innovation or resourcefulness (making the most of existing resources), although some of them experienced that there was no enough time, nor sufficient resources to actually be creative.

It should be noted though that the research problem is usually formulated by the supervisors themselves in the STEM fields, which excludes the students from an essential part of creative thinking (e.g. see Marie 2008 ). On the other hand, such educational conditions could be understood as ‘collective creativity’ that may be conducive to the doctoral students’ epistemic socialisation (Hakkarainen et al. 2014 ), enabling them to understand which knowledge contributions would be recognised in their own discipline. The importance of disciplinary understanding for creativity is highlighted by Golde ( 2006 ), and it has also been observed in interdisciplinary doctoral education where the students need to deal with, integrate and prioritise between different disciplinary values (Brodin and Avery 2014 ).

Context and purpose of this study

This study was conducted in Sweden. Swedish doctoral education extends over 4 years, including parallel course work. Since 1998, students can no longer be admitted to doctoral education without complete funding. Most newly admitted doctoral students are therefore employed at the university, and their salaries are usually paid either by the supervisors’ external funding or by the faculty. It is also regulated that the student should have (at least) two supervisors. While monographs still dominate some fields, doctoral theses by publications can nowadays be found in almost any discipline.

Until recently, Sweden had only one kind of doctoral degree regulated at national level, which was comparable with a PhD. Since 2010, there is also a doctoral degree in Fine Arts. Irrespective of form, the demand for doctoral students’ creativity is regulated in the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance. For instance, for a degree of doctor, the student shall do the following:

demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate issues with scholarly precision critically, autonomously and creatively… demonstrate through a dissertation the ability to make a significant contribution to the formation of knowledge through his or her own research… (Swedish Higher Education Ordinance 1993 :100, Annex 2)

These qualifications hold for the artistic context as well, although the student in the fine, applied and performing arts shall ‘demonstrate creative capacity in his or her artistic field’, work with ‘artistic’ issues and tasks and produce a ‘documented artistic research project’ instead of a dissertation.

The current study is part of a larger project on doctoral students’ and their supervisors’ experiences of critical and creative thinking in four disciplines: musical performance, pedagogical work, philosophy and psychiatry. Earlier studies within the project have focused on the general relationship between critical and creative thinking from a doctoral student perspective and showed that the educational demand for critical thinking tended to overshadow the students’ potential scope for scholarly creativity (Brodin 2015 , 2016 ). Against this background, the purpose of the current study was twofold: The first aim was to illuminate different shapes of creativity in doctoral education through the body of four disciplinary cases, while the second aim was to reveal and find possible explanations to some of the conditions stifling doctoral students’ scholarly creativity.

Methodology

• Critical hermeneutics

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the constrained conditions for creativity in doctoral education, there is a need for a methodology which helps shed light on underlying power relationships. Hence, this study is underpinned by critical hermeneutic philosophy. With reference to Roberge ( 2011 ), critical hermeneutics focuses on the ‘ fine dialectic of meaning, action, and experience’ (p. 6) with the purpose of revealing the ideological constitution of reality. The dialectic aspect points to a reality that is full of tensions and contradictions, but which nonetheless reside in the same world, while ‘anything within meaning, action or experience that prevents the subject’s autonomy from understanding and expressing itself could be argued as fundamentally ideological’ (Roberge 2011 , p. 15).

To date, there are no established methods for using critical hermeneutics in pedagogical empirical studies, but researchers have selected some key concepts from this philosophy that are helpful for the understanding of complex phenomena (Claesson et al. 2011 ). In this context, certain attention is given to the ideal notion of creativity, the experienced demand and scope for creativity and its shape in practice within four disciplinary cases in doctoral education. Altogether, these cases reveal some of the stifling conditions for doctoral students’ creativity, which could be explained by the ruling agendas and their underlying ideology in practice. Since critical hermeneutics also aims at emancipation from restraining power relationships (Leonardo 2003 ; Trede et al. 2008 ), this article contributes with some suggestions to encourage doctoral students’ creativity in practice.

Disciplinary cases and participants

This study involves 28 participants in four disciplinary cases. Altogether, the cases were constituted by 14 dyads of doctoral students (D) and supervisors (S) from the disciplines and faculties of the following: musical performance in the fine, applied and performing arts (dyads: mu 1–4), pedagogical work in education (dyads: pe 1–4), ( theoretical ) philosophy in the humanities (dyads: ph 1–3) and psychiatry in medicine (dyads: ps 1–3). Within each disciplinary case, the students came from at least two universities. In the overall sample, they were located at four universities, whereas their supervisors were placed at six. The students consisted of five men and nine women, while the supervisors comprised ten men and four women.

When data was collected, the students had completed at least half of their doctoral period and most of them were expected to graduate within 1 year. Most students worked almost full time with their dissertation in their departments, while some students had professional duties outside academia in parallel with their doctoral studies. Nine students (from three disciplines) wrote monographs, and five students (from two disciplines) wrote theses by publication. The supervisors’ experience of research supervision ranged from 2 to 30 years, and half of them had at least 10 years’ experience.

Data collection

Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews covering the participants’ experiences of creative thinking in doctoral education. In accordance with the methodological approach of this study, no interview questions were based on current theoretical definitions of creativity (e.g. by asking for novelty or relevance). Instead, the participants were invited to capture creative thinking in their own words, for example, in relation to what this phenomenon meant to them, how it was needed when conducting doctoral work and how it was valued in their educational practice according to their experiences. Since most participants did not make a distinction between ‘creative thinking’ and ‘creativity’, and since the latter notion encompasses the former, the notion of ‘creativity’ will be used in results and discussion. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and validated by the participants before analysis.

Data was collected and analysed by the author who has a PhD in education and extensive experience of conducting faculty-wide research and developmental work on doctoral education. Interpretative analysis based on lifeworld hermeneutics was used for analysing data. According to Dahlberg et al. ( 2008 ), there are no predefined procedures for conducting such analyses, but the goal is to ‘understand and explain structures and patterns that are not fully overt’ (p. 282) in certain contexts. Predefined notions or theories (e.g. of creativity) should thus be avoided as hermeneutic analyses aim at seeing the otherness in data and hence widening one’s current understanding through the integration of new meanings. Therefore ‘many hermeneutics not only search for meaning, they also ask why this meaning transpire[s]’ (p. 280), while data is interpreted through the analyst’s dialogue with the text by moving from the whole to the parts and back again.

Initial attention was directed towards why the demands for doctoral students’ creativity were experienced differently among the participants. This led to the further questions of what ideal creativity meant to them, what it meant in practice—and how these entities were aligned.

In the first step of the analysis, the collective ideal notion of creativity was outlined in each disciplinary case by detecting keywords and meanings that recurred in the participants’ descriptions of genuine creativity—as it would be recognised in their educational context. An interpretative summary was then made of these keywords and meanings.

Subsequently, this ideal construct was used as a reference point to grasp the underlying meanings of the participants’ experienced demands and educational opportunities for doctoral students’ creativity. This latter interpretative analysis was based on interpretative readings of the sections that treated these topics, which enabled metaphorical abstractions of the overall shape of creativity in each case.

Finally, focus was directed towards identifying conditions that limited doctoral students’ creativity as they appeared across the cases. This last analysis firstly implied interpretation of the most significant theme that captured the conditional core meaning of creativity and occurred in all cases. Thereafter, the different conditions for creativity were identified and explained in relation to this core and its underlying ideology by asking when and why these conditions appeared in the text (including at least three cases for each condition).

The manuscript was sent to the participants for consent before publication, and all quotations are translated from Swedish to English in the results.

At its most general level, the students’ doctoral work was associated with scholarly creativity in one way or another in all the disciplinary cases. However, the shape and scope of the students’ creativity varied from one context to the other.

Creativity keeps on playing: the case of musical performance

Ideal notion of creativity in doctoral education.

In the case of musical performance, the creative aspects of doctoral work were connected to the students’ art rather than their scholarship. This could be explained by the fact that the students’ own musical creations constituted the very object of their doctoral studies, premised on artistic creativity. With this circumstance in mind, ideal creativity implied that the student was a self-expressive and adventurous musician who created new and personal art, dared to take risks in music, and thereby was able to affect the audience.

Experienced demand and scope for creativity

Since the students were well-established professional artists, they were supposed to be creative right from the beginning of their doctoral studies. Accordingly, the most explicit demand for creativity in doctoral education was associated with the admission phase, and thereafter, it was taken for granted that the students would continue to be musically creative. Nevertheless, it was not always easy to combine artistic creativity with critical scholarship, and sometimes the latter took the upper hand:

Interviewer: Do you experience demands that you should express your creative thinking in doctoral education? Dmu2: Yes, that’s a part of it, for sure. I’ve been so focused on scholarly writing and critical thinking, so when I handed in my research plan two years ago, the director of doctoral education said: “How can you bring in the creative aspect?” And then it was like: Whoops, I’ve missed that part . I was so focused on the other part [being critical of historical sources and describing the historical context of the music]. It’s come up in supervision and at seminars as well, that I should bring in my music a little bit more.

Even though the experienced demand for creativity was primarily related to the students’ artistic practice, the issue of scholarly creativity was also brought up in the interviews. In connection with artistic research, this basically implied that the students had to make new interpretations of their musical practice by means of relevant literature and feasible theories from other disciplinary fields, since their own scholarly field had not (yet) developed such tools. Thus it was a matter of ‘testing one’s creativity in a new zone’ as Dmu1 expressed it, and the supervisor of this student further explained that as follows:

The theoretical work, if you hard-draw the terminology slightly, is very closely associated with the creative work, to create. A researcher from here can pick up philosophical thoughts quite eclectically under the condition that these thoughts are important for this person’s creative activity. They’re not forced to motivate why this thought is important: What other thoughts have existed that are at least as important? And why don’t you care about them? You don’t have to do that in this discipline. There’s another relationship to the sources. I think it has to do with creativity and the creative process in that way, and that it also has an impact on creativity and the artistic results. (Smu1)

Also, all supervisors more or less explicitly associated scholarly creativity with the students’ task of transferring and formulating their artistic processes into words and hence of making their art of creation visible and relevant to others. Even if this could be a true creative challenge, the written reflections of the dissertations were seldom spontaneously described as ‘creative’ as such. Instead, the students’ creativity was a silent phenomenon in relation to both the scholarly and artistic parts of the doctoral work:

Interviewer: When you discuss artistic dissertations in this discipline – do you ever say that this is a creative thesis? Smu1: No you don’t. I haven’t really heard that, no. I mean, artists themselves don’t use the concept of creativity all that often. Someone might say “that’s a creative person”, but you don’t use the concept very often.

Shape of creativity in practice

In this case, creativity had its very origin and end in the students’ artistic practice. Accordingly, the shape of doctoral creativity appeared to be that it keeps on playing in the music.

Creativity as an unexpected guest: the case of pedagogical work

In the case of pedagogical work, ideal creativity was connected to accomplishing an original and masterly research craft, expressed in telling texts. The more original results, the better, as long as the student had a deep theoretical understanding and mastered the methodological tools.

In this case, Dpe4 was the only student who experienced a demand for scholarly creativity—although not in a wider sense, as it mainly implied analysing and ‘writing about your data in accordance with the existing traditions’. The supervisor (Spe4) of this student agreed that there was some demand for creative thinking in doctoral education, although for another reason. According to Spe4, the students were encouraged to broaden their methodological skills in, for example, courses where they were instructed to try other methods and theories than those already used in relation to their thesis work.

In contrast to these conceptions, creativity was rather considered as a ‘bonus’ in Dpe3’s view, and Dpe2 admired those scholars who managed to be creative:

Interviewer: Do you experience demands that you should express your creative thinking in doctoral education? Dpe2: No, maybe way too little. Interviewer: So you haven’t noticed a demand for creative thinking? Dpe2: If you mean that it’s still expressed in the demand for originality and coming up with something new – it shouldn’t only be repetition, but it should contribute with new knowledge – and if you can produce new knowledge, then I find it extremely creative… but it isn’t easy to come up with something madly new.

Since the issue of creative thinking was generally not emphasised in the students’ environment, the meaning of scholarly creativity was sometimes shrouded in total mystery. This was the case for Dpe1, who had no difficulties describing teachers’ creativity, but initially found it very hard to grasp what scholarly creativity might entail, asking ‘I wonder what I have to do with creativity?’ An explanation to this uncertainty appeared later in the interview when Dpe1 explained that ‘no one asks for creative thinking’. The silence around the students’ creativity was confirmed in the supervisor interview:

I think all people are aware of and talk about critical thinking. When it comes to creative thinking, maybe we’re not quite as clear in making it explicit. At the same time I hope it’s there, that doctoral students are expected to come up with their own ideas and should be allowed to develop them. (Spe1)

The silent conversation about scholarly creativity was also indirectly confirmed by another supervisor, Spe3, who was located at a different university and thought that as follows:

Most dissertations aren’t particularly creative, or particularly original. They’ll pass anyway. I’ve never heard about anything that’s been – failed as such is unusual – but even questioned because of a lack of creativity. (Spe3)

Instead of being creative, the students in pedagogical work were directed towards becoming compliant scholars:

I think that the demands are really the opposite [of creative thinking]. Doctoral students need to show their adaptability and ability to follow scholarly rules. If you do it with a creative drive, then you may have a dissertation a little bit out of the ordinary. However, first and foremost I think that people aren’t encouraged to be creative and to create in doctoral education. Instead it’s a matter of understanding the meaning of scholarly concepts and what they mean for instance, and to be able follow them, rather than being creative and thinking differently. But I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing, but I do think it’s good that you get a deep understanding of what stringent research looks like and what isn’t such good research. (Spe2)

In the case of pedagogical work, the students’ creativity was not explicitly requested in practice, and they were primarily supposed to comply with current scholarly traditions. At the same time, one supervisor (Spe1) expressed ‘hope’ for doctoral students’ creativity. The shape of creativity was in this case therefore interpreted as an unexpected guest .

Creativity captured in frames: the case of philosophy

In the context of philosophy, ideal creativity implied autonomously making critical turns with new and appreciated insights when dealing with a problem. This entailed that the creative student critically identified new and interesting problems, discovered rational and novel solutions or interpretations in relation to these problems and created a coherent string of ingenious arguments that constructively handled opposite views. Altogether, these processes made it possible for the student to convince peers of the value of the reasoning as a whole.

With the all-embracing ideal notion in mind, supervisors and students alike experienced an ‘implicit’ but nevertheless palpable demand for creativity in doctoral education. However, especially the students (but also some supervisors) stressed that doctoral students were not encouraged to go beyond the traditional frames:

In one way there are quite high demands of creativity as you need to create something out of nothing [without having empirical data]. There is a demand for creativity, although within very firm frames, so you have to accept a lot of things that are not self-evident at all. And you may not be creative with those things, but within this framework you must be creative. (Dph1)

Against this background, both the supervisors and students pointed out that the criticism towards doctoral students’ thesis work could be very harsh in philosophy. For instance, when a student had not complied with the environment’s overall scholarly traditions, then it could be a matter of ‘very much fault-finding and pointing out deficiencies, not only in a detail or an argument, but rather that the whole idea was completely wrong from the beginning’ (Dph3). Several participants could also tell stories about doctoral students who had collapsed after they had presented their thesis work at seminars. Thus, the most inhibiting condition for the students’ creativity appeared to be overcritical environments. At the same time, none of the participants expressed support for such practices. Moreover, due to the last educational reform which implied restricted time frames in doctoral education, nit-picking was no longer considered an option:

There is a culture clash here since the system for doctoral students has changed. In former times, people could write their dissertation for ten years or so. But now we only have these four years, so you can’t run the doctoral student’s own idea down, you have to try to take care of it and give response in a better way than you probably did before, because seminars in philosophy used to be extremely critical. (Sph1)

While the decreased study time could facilitate the conditions for students’ creativity in the sense pointed to by Sph1, supervisor Sph2 was concerned that 4 years might not be enough for doctoral students to become creative and ‘fairly mature’ scholars. According to Sph2, the development of scholarly matureness was a slow process that progressed gradually with the students’ independent thesis work. This implied that doctoral students needed time to learn from their own mistakes and find new ways to proceed without too many directions and too much steering from their supervisor. However, Sph2 remarked that ‘the strange thing with today’s fixed-term doctoral studies is that the set-up is actually constructed with the assumption that you’ll succeed with your experiments and get your articles published – and that’s not always the case’. Combined with cases where students carried out their doctoral studies within the supervisor’s externally funded project, Sph2 felt that the power of creative thinking nowadays tended to be displaced from the students to their supervisors. As a consequence, the demand for doctoral students’ creativity was also less noticeable:

I can’t recall right now that I've seen the demand for creative thinking, or heard it being discussed so often. Actually, I think it’s discussed less and less. I mean, a couple of years ago we might have had such discussions and they would be seen to be valuable. But to hard-draw it, I think that you more frequently see doctoral students who’re employed in a project in order to execute a specific task – then this can be both good and bad for creativity. But I think that in somebody else’s project it’s more likely to be detrimental than good for creativity. (Sph2)

With the exception of Sph2, all the philosophers certainly experienced a demand for creativity in doctoral education as long as the students embraced the preferable philosophical frameworks. Nevertheless, the shape of the students’ creativity appeared to be captured in frames .

Creativity put on hold: the case of psychiatry

In the case of psychiatry, ideal creativity was primarily associated with being independent and having full agency when producing new knowledge that others would find reliable and interesting. In order to be really creative, the student had to be involved in the whole research process, from formulating new hypotheses and designing experiments to publishing the results.

Among the students in psychiatry, Dps2 was the only one who felt a clear demand for being creative in doctoral education, which implied creating new and interesting results. Dps2 was also the only student who had autonomously chosen both research problem and methods for his/her doctoral work. In contrast, the other two students expressed that they only experienced some demand for creative thinking as the research ideas had emanated from their supervisors. Hence Dps3 chiefly construed the thesis work as a ‘job’ in a creative environment, rather than a creative process in itself—and the demand for creativity was limited to ‘deliver a dissertation [as] you can’t come with old knowledge’. However, scholarly creativity had a wider meaning for the supervisors, who also expressed that the demand instead appeared after doctoral education:

To be really creative in a scholarly sense – for us, it implies that you find a question, that you design an experiment: that you’re involved all the way. Not just that you take the results as Dps1 has done – that’s only half of the creative process. On the other hand, you don’t become independent as a doctoral student either, as that’s the next step. Later on, when you work as a post doc, then it’s more important that you’re independent. (Sps1)

Furthermore, Sps1 also thought that doctoral students needed to firstly learn the craftsmanship of doing research (e.g. how to do experiments) before they could be creative. This view was challenged by supervisor Sps2, who criticised contemporary research conditions in general:

The university, or at least the faculty of medicine, is increasingly more fearful as I can see. You’re terrified of anything unusual and terrified of cheating, of disqualification, of someone coming and saying that you haven’t done all the things you should have. But you aren’t very scared of lacking new thinking and creativity. Rather the opposite is true; it’s a bit scary if you happen to be creative and innovative… I think it’s sad, especially for those doctoral students who bring their own topic with them and have a strong a commitment for that. Then it can be a bit harder. (Sps2)

However, doctoral students’ creativity was not only opposed by the academic community, but by the funding stakeholders as well—especially when the research results contested their interests. This was the case in dyad ps3, where the supervisor informed that as follows:

We’ve worked with a substance that belongs to a pharmaceutical company, and we haven’t been allowed to publish the research results without their permission. Since they’re a profit-making company, they’re not as interested as we are in publishing things that don’t serve them economically, I mean negative data. We are willing to publish negative data as we think it gives a complete picture, but they have been more selective in what they want to have published. And that hasn’t been okay with our thoughts on integrity, so instead we’ve ended up not publishing that set of data. (Sps3)

Nevertheless, according to Sps3, the real constraint to doctoral students’ creativity was found in the current admission system:

If you compare with about twenty years ago, I think the doctoral student’s possibilities for creativity have decreased. You’re much more directed today, because the supervisor applies for a doctoral student project and then you have to define what the project will contain in broad outline. And then the vacancy is advertised so prospective students can apply for the position. You don’t want people who come in to the lab and work with their undergraduate thesis and then become doctoral students straight away [like it used to be], rather, you want the competition so you can get the very best. And maybe this is positive, I don’t know. I don’t see it as being so positive for the development of creativity. (Sps3)

While ideal creativity implied full agency throughout the research process, the current systems of funding and admission to doctoral education often deprived the psychiatry students of this opportunity. Therefore, the shape of their creativity in this case appeared to be put on hold .

The stifling conditions for scholarly creativity

An overview of the disciplinary cases is given in Table 1 , where creativity kept on playing in musical performance was an unexpected guest in pedagogical work, was captured in frames in philosophy and put on hold in psychiatry.

In those cases where the participants either experienced non-existing or only low demands for creativity, there was a gap between the ideal notion of students’ creativity and the experienced educational possibilities to realise this ideal. This circumstance could no doubt be explained by a range of inhibitory factors (e.g. limited time frames and controlling funders). The most striking insight from these cases, however, is that the students’ scholarly creativity was constantly encapsulated in silence . In the case of musical performance, this silence could be noticed in the emphasis on students’ artistic creativity rather than scholarly creativity. Otherwise the silence showed itself in that the students’ creativity was ‘implicitly’ requested in philosophy, unexpected in pedagogical work and frequently impossible in psychiatry. These findings suggest that an explicit discourse on scholarly creativity was frequently missing in the studied cases, which led to stifling conditions, where creativity was restricted by scholarly traditions , embodying supervisors’ power and unrequested in practice . These conditions are outlined in Fig. 1 in relation to the ruling systems in doctoral education, with a tension between the intellectual agendas on the one hand and the political and economic agendas on the other hand.

Stifling conditions for doctoral students’ scholarly creativity

An orientation towards intellectual agendas in Fig. 1 does not rule out the supervisor’s power. Likewise, an orientation towards political and economic agendas does not exclude traditional scholarly frames. Rather, the figure shows that the latter orientation tends to weaken the doctoral students’ own creativity. For instance, most doctoral studies in this direction are externally funded within the supervisor’s project. Regardless of orientation, doctoral students’ creativity was seldom requested in practice.

Scholarly creativity encapsulated in stifling silence

At first sight, the silence around the students’ scholarly creativity could be excused by the economic, political and intellectual agendas that frame contemporary doctoral educational practice (Lee and Boud 2009 ; Elmgren et al. 2016 ). The constraints from these agendas were confirmed in the interviews, since tensions between the funding system, stakeholders’ interests, limited time frames and disciplinary traditions were frequently mentioned as inhibitory factors to doctoral students’ creativity. Such constraints have also been observed in other empirical studies (Brodin 2016 ; Brodin and Avery 2014 ; Walsh et al. 2013 ). Yet, if one asks what these agendas represent, the silence around doctoral creativity comes into a different light.

Even though there is a tension between the intellectual agendas versus the political and economic agendas, these poles nevertheless appear to share the same underlying ideology: to keep control . In practice, this ideology shapes doctoral students’ scholarly creativity into three forms, in which creativity may be restricted by scholarly traditions , embodying supervisors’ power and paradoxically also unrequested in practice . All these stifling conditions of creativity thrive in silence.

Restricted by scholarly traditions

The students’ creativity tended to be restricted by scholarly traditions. The musicians were the only exception, since artistic research is eclectic and their discipline still lacked such traditions. Otherwise, the grip of scholarly traditions appeared clearly in philosophy, where the students were certainly encouraged to think creatively, although not beyond the norms in their environment. It was also manifested in pedagogical work and psychiatry, where compliant apprenticeship was more important than developing creativity.

Against this background, it appears that most students’ creativity was generally kept back at mini-c and little-c levels, which implies individual learning and creation of something new but not particularly original (Kaufman and Beghetto 2009 ). Such knowledge development may, in Lovitts’ ( 2007 ) terms, lead to a very good dissertation that is well-written although not significant in relation to the research field. However, it should be noted that limited originality is not unique for doctoral education, as most research contributions in academia correspond to cumulative knowledge development (Bennich-Björkman 1997 ; Kuhn 1962 ). Kuhn ( 1962 ) calls this normal science , which ‘is directed to the articulation of those phenomena and theories that the paradigm already supplies’ (p. 24). However, considering the students’ restricted scope of creativity, so-called normal science could instead be interpreted as internally controlled scholarship .

Embodying supervisors’ power

Lee and Boud ( 2009 ) emphasise that doctoral students have become embedded in complex social practices which involve many significant people beyond the supervisor. As a consequence of the Bologna process, they also point to a shift from ‘research’ to ‘training’ in doctoral education. For instance, this is evident in Jones’ ( 2013 ) study of published articles on doctoral education between the years of 1971 and 2012, where most articles focused on doctoral programme design.

Reasonably, extended networks and a raised awareness around educational issues should be conducive to doctoral students’ creative development. However, political and economic agendas sometimes work in the other direction in doctoral education (e.g. see Marie 2008 ). In the current investigation, this was especially palpable among the psychiatry students who executed their supervisors’ ideas in externally funded projects. Such procedures were nevertheless questioned by the supervisors themselves, recalling when the admission system allowed students to choose their own research problem and hence be more creative. Thus, political and economic agendas actually legitimise supervisors’ suppression of doctoral students’ creativity. Yet in this study, it appeared to be against the supervisors’ will, as they experienced the negative aspects of externally controlled scholarship .

With respect to the cases of pedagogical work and philosophy, where external funding was not predominant to the same extent, the students’ creativity still embodied traces of the supervisors’ power, since the supervisors ultimately functioned as disciplinary gatekeepers. And once again, the students in musical performance were comparatively protected from control, as their supervisors did not direct their art.

Unrequested in practice

The results indicate that scholarly creativity was not always requested in doctoral educational practice. In musical performance, the request for scholarly creativity was subordinated to the request for musical creativity. In other terms, art was still the ruling agenda. However, this did not necessarily restrict the artistic students’ scope of scholarly creativity as they did not have to submit themselves to certain scholarly traditions or embody the supervisors’ power. In other cases, the admission system often required an original proposal from the applicants, although once the students were admitted, they were supposed to comply with the scholarly traditions. In the case of pedagogical work, this also implied fewer expectations on the students’ creativity and therefore it was not requested in practice. In contrast, the psychiatry students tended to be strictly controlled by their supervisors’ directions throughout the research process; hence, their creativity was commonly not requested at all. For the same reason, one supervisor in philosophy was concerned that recent political and economic agendas tended to push students’ creativity away from the ideal in their environment towards embodying the supervisors’ power—with no more requirements for doctoral students’ creativity.

Even though external factors can certainly confine the scope for students’ creativity, the findings from this study point to a need for stronger educational leadership and doctoral supervision pedagogy in some places. With reference to Macfarlane ( 2012 ), this includes ‘students being allowed or empowered to make their own decisions about their study environment and being unshackled from assumptions about their level of maturity’ (p. 731). Although Macfarlane directs his attention to critical thinking in undergraduate education, this statement is equally true as regards scholarly creativity in doctoral education. If one actually believes in doctoral students’ creative capability and, in so doing, empowers them in their aspiration to realise their potential, this can become the next ruling intellectual agenda. Then their scholarly creativity will find a voice, breaking through the silence in doctoral education.

Limitations of this study

This is a small-scale study based on the voices from 14 doctoral students and their supervisors in four disciplinary cases in Swedish doctoral education. Hence, generalisations of the findings should be avoided and too much emphasis cannot be placed on the disciplinary foundations in this study.

To the extent that the specific discipline matters for doctoral students’ future ‘stewardship’ and ways to create knowledge (Golde 2006 ), it could be claimed that the results in this study were possible to detect because of their disciplinary contexts. Nevertheless, doctoral students’ creativity may well be shaped in similar ways in other disciplines than those included here. Also, each discipline may involve more than one shape of creativity, since its shapes are dependent on the specific doctoral pedagogy and institutional context. Moreover, it should be recalled that this study focused on some of the impeding conditions for doctoral students’ scholarly creativity in the studied contexts, which meant that details concerning supportive conditions in these contexts were not close examined.

Conclusion and suggestions for practice

The most significant result from this study was the silence surrounding the doctoral students’ scholarly creativity. This silence enabled ruling systems that controlled the students and restricted their creative scope by not requesting their creativity in practice. In order to prevent such stifling conditions for doctoral students’ scholarly creativity, three measures are suggested for those educational practices where this might be needed. Firstly, to establish a discourse on scholarly creativity in doctoral education that permits constructive shapes of doctoral students’ creativity and secondly, to view doctoral students as capable creative agents . Although it certainly requires an ample amount of disciplinary knowledge to reach the audience in a specific context, the contribution of supervisors and other senior scholars would be more fruitful if, instead of being gatekeepers, they were to function as valuable intellectual resources in this regard. Finally, considering that individuals tend to behave in accordance with social expectations (Bandura 1997 ), a third measure could be to actually ask for scholarly creativity in doctoral education.

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Brodin, E.M. The stifling silence around scholarly creativity in doctoral education: experiences of students and supervisors in four disciplines. High Educ 75 , 655–673 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0168-3

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• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

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BA Major Thesis Overview

The thesis—typically in the form of a collection of short stories, poems, essays, or a novel excerpt—is a significant, polished, original creative work; the culmination of your study at the University of Chicago; and an opportunity to deepen your understanding of writing craft. Over the course of four quarters, in consultation with a faculty advisor and a writing and research advisor (WARA), students produce work informed by aesthetic, literary, and critical influences, as well as engage in coursework, sustained readings, and research.

Students work on their BA theses/projects throughout their fourth year. In Spring Quarter of the third year, students will be assigned a WARA who will mentor student reading and research throughout the thesis process. Students, in conversation with their WARAs, will complete a preliminary project proposal during the Spring Quarter of their third year. The preliminary proposal will then be submitted to the Student Affairs Administrator.

During the following Summer Quarter, students will craft a reading journal centered on a field list of readings. Chosen texts will be based upon work, conversations, etc., that students have begun with their WARAs. In Autumn Quarter of their fourth year, students and WARAs will work together to adapt the reading journal into an annotated bibliography, a focus reading list, and a reading and research summary (a summary of student writing plan and goals for the BA thesis/project).

In Winter Quarter, students will continue meeting with their WARA and must also enroll in the appropriate Thesis/Major Projects Workshop in their primary genre ( CRWR 29200  Thesis/Major Projects: Fiction,  CRWR 29300  Thesis/Major Projects: Poetry,  CRWR 29400  Thesis/Major Projects: Nonfiction, or CRWR 29500 Thesis/Major Projects: Fiction/Nonfiction). The Thesis/Major Projects Workshop is mandatory and only offered during Winter Quarter.

The instructor for the Thesis/Major Projects Workshop will also serve as the faculty advisor for the BA thesis. Students should be aware that because of very high demand, students will not necessarily get their first choice of faculty advisor. 

Students will work closely with their faculty advisor and peers in their Thesis/Major Projects Workshop and will receive course credit, as well as a final grade for the course. In consultation with their faculty advisor and WARA, students will revise and submit a near-final draft of the BA thesis by the end of the second week of Spring Quarter. Students will submit the final version of their BA thesis to their WARA, faculty advisor, Student Affairs Administrator, and the Director of Undergraduate Studies by the beginning of the fifth week of Spring Quarter. 

All creative writing majors are encouraged to take the thesis workshop and write a BA thesis. Students following the original Major in Creative Writing are required to complete both the thesis workshop and the BA thesis to graduate with the major. For students following the 2023-24 updated requirements the thesis and thesis workshop are encouraged but optional, although the thesis workshop and thesis are required for consideration for the designation of honors. To opt out of the thesis process please email the Director of Undergraduate studies.

Creative Writing BA Thesis Timeline 2023-24

THE YEAR AT A GLANCE

**If you plan to graduate early, please contact the Student Affairs Administrator or DUS as soon as possible**

Spring (Rising Majors): Setting Up Summer Reading

• Week 5: WARA group meeting to discuss the preliminary BA proposal and general strategies for drawing up a summer reading list. This required information session will take place the same day as the group discussion with UChicago Library's  bibliographer for Literatures of Europe & the Americas  
• Friday, Week 7: Preliminary BA proposals are due to the Student Affairs Administrator
• Friday, Week 8: WARA groups will be finalized and confirmed. Your WARA will reach out to set up an individual meeting to discuss summer reading and research plans.
• Weeks 8 and 9: Individual meetings with WARAs to finalize summer reading and research plans (specifically field and focus reading lists)

Autumn: Reading, Research, Planning

• Week 0: Individual WARA and student check-ins regarding summer reading and research
• Week 1 or 2: WARA group meetings
• Week 4: Required Info Session for BA thesis writers
• Deadline to apply to the Thesis/Major Projects Workshop
• Submit annotated bibliography (composed of your field and focus reading lists ) to WARA
• Friday, Week 9: Submit completed BA reading & research summary form to WARA

Winter: Writing & Editorial Process (continue reading and research)

• Weeks 1-10: Work on projects in Thesis/Major Projects Workshops and continue supported reading; research with WARA groups
• Weeks 1-10: Submit Research Background Electives Petition
• Week 9/10: Submit Winter Thesis/Major Projects Workshop final to both your thesis advisor and WARA

Spring: Revising

• Friday, Week 2: Submit a second full (semi-final) draft of thesis to WARA and faculty advisor
• Monday, Week 5: Submit final draft of thesis to faculty advisors, WARA, and the Student Affairs Administrator
• Family & friends welcome
• Week 9: Students notified about Honors decisions

Program Honors and Eligibility

College Catalog on Program Honors: The faculty in the program will award program honors based on their assessment of BA theses and the assessment of WARAs. Students must complete all assignments set by WARAs to be considered for honors. To be eligible, students must have a major GPA of at least 3.6 and an overall GPA of at least 3.25. Honors will be awarded only to exceptional projects from a given cohort. 

Program Honors Criteria

1. GPA:  writer must have at least 3.6 major GPA & 3.25 cumulative GPA

2. Conception:  the BA project has emotional and intellectual resonance, and fulfills many of its artistic goals 

3.   Execution:  the BA project demonstrates strong technical knowledge, from its formal decisions to its execution of the fundamental mechanics of the genre:

            -BA project is developed through active writerly commitment

4. Revision:  writer is diligent throughout the revision process

5. Program Citizenship/Engagement:  the writer put in strong effort throughout the entirety of the BA writing and research process and worked well with both their faculty advisor and WARA:

-Submitted all BA assignments by their deadlines to WARAs

-Checked in with WARAs per pre-determined schedule

-Conscientious colleague in and out of the Thesis Workshop

6. Risk and ambition:  the BA project shows an impressive level of risk and ambition, whether through formal innovation or content

Assignment Checklist

• Preliminary BA Project Proposal  
• Summer Reading Journal (based on field reading list)  
• Annotated Bibliography  
• Focus Reading List  
• Reading and Research Summary

Forms and Guidelines

• Attention and Focus Energy Memory Mood

Thesis: The Personalized, Just for You Nootropics Experience

Wondering if Thesis is right for you? Let’s take a deep dive into the Thesis process and formulas so you can decide for yourself whether Thesis is the nootropics solution for you.

From the minute you take the short quiz that generates a personalized formula to the moment you receive the starter pack of nootropic goodies, Thesis provides you a custom experience unlike any nootropic or supplement you’ve ever tried before.

What makes Thesis unique is that they do all the legwork for you. With coaching support, they’ll narrow down what will likely work best for you, then you have the opportunity to experiment with over thirty high-quality ingredients in a systematic way that yields real results.

Thesis will help you find a blend that’s tailored to your goals, lifestyle, and genetics — for a custom, made just for you nootropic experience.

How Thesis Works

Whether you’re a seasoned fan of Thesis nootropics or just wondering how Thesis personalized formulas can fire up your brainpower, here are all the details you need.

Take the quick and easy quiz to find the right formula for you. You’ll just have to answer a few simple questions about your lifestyle and goals…and then swoosh the system generates a shiny new set of nootropic recommendations just for you. How is Thesis able to determine exactly what’s likely to help you the most? Well, their formulas are rooted in cutting-edge science and then melded with data collected from over 30K customers.

The result is spot-on, ridiculously accurate recommendations every time.

Thesis will send you a four-week starter pack. This is where the fun begins. You’ll experience the magic of nootropics. Feel the difference as your neurotransmitters begin to fire differently. And get to know how your formula makes you feel.

Step Three:

Now, it’s time to tweak. Maybe once your brain fog clears, you realize you need a little more energy in the mornings. Or you thought your mood was your main concern but turns out you really need a bit of a boost in the focus and memory department, too. The best part? You d

on’t have to figure all of this out on your own. Thesis’ expert coaches will help you figure out how to best maximize your supplements and find your brain bliss.

What To Expect From Thesis

Thesis formulas are designed to help you accomplish your goals. Thesis is crafted from the highest-quality, U.S.-sourced ingredients and their formulas are manufactured in FDA-certified facilities. They’re also third-party verified for purity and quality. In short, you can trust every one of their ingredients to bring you the brain boost you want and the peace of mind you need — you can rest easy knowing Thesis products are safely created and sourced.

Receiving Your First Shipment

If you were to explore this process on your own, it would cost over $800, take six months to complete, and would likely not provide the same results.

When you get your first shipment of Thesis, it’s kind of like the first day of the rest of your life. After you do a happy dance and open your package, you’ll find all of the details and instructions you need to make sure you get the most of your specific formula.

As a general rule, it’s recommended to:

• Take your Thesis early in the day (or about thirty minutes before an important task)
• Take your Thesis on an empty stomach
• Keep a log of your Thesis journey. Taking notes regarding your mood, focus, and energy levels can help you realize how far you’ve come…and figure out what else you need to feel your absolute best
• When in doubt, reach out. You can book a consult with a nootropics expert at any time on the Thesis website, or reach out via email, phone, or text.

How Thesis Makes You Feel

Don’t be surprised if you feel something pretty quickly. Thesis formulas are designed to give you totally crash-free improvements in mood, focus, and energy right off the bat.

You’ll also notice that your results compound over time. You’ll be able to tell after a month or so that your brain is stronger than it was before.

But everyone’s brain is different, and nootropics are not a one-size-fits-all solution.

Which is why Thesis offers you the flexibility to tinker with your formula as much as you need to… to get to the other side of optimization. The other side is a pretty sweet place to be, too. It feels like banishing brain fog, finding your motivation , ditching procrastination, and generally getting unstuck from those pesky neurotransmitter imbalances that are holding you back from living your best life.

Some folks require a bit of an adjustment period, and it takes them a bit longer to feel the effects of their Thesis stack. If that’s you, don’t worry. If you stick with it and commit to finding your perfect blend, you’ll find the benefits you’re after.

Long Term Benefits Of Taking Thesis

One of the things we love about nootropics is that their benefits compound over time. Which means the longer you stick with your Thesis regimen, the better your brain will respond.

What Happens If You Don’t Love Your Nootropic Stack?

You don’t have to commit to a formula or an ingredient that you don’t love. With Thesis, you can adjust your stack infinitely until you find the one that works best for you.

Which Thesis Formula Should I Take?

Which Thesis formula you choose is based entirely on your goals, genetics, and lifestyle.

But if you have an idea of what you’d like to enhance in your brain, here’s an outline of the basic blends and some of the key ingredients they include.

This formula helps get those creative juices flowing. For those times where you feel stuck, frustrated, and unable to move past your blocks.

Our Clarity formula is kind of like a chill pill. It helps you become a calm, focused zen master — no matter how stressful your situation may be.

Motivation you can access at will, plus the self-discipline and focus to make things happen? That’s the kind of procrastination buster Motivation is.

If your energy’s low, it’s hard to accomplish much. Which is where our energy formula comes in. This crash-free formulation is our most stimulating, which means it gives you the get-up and go you need to get stuff done. It also means that you may no longer find the need for coffee in the morning.

Logic is the formula to turn to when you need to tackle a big project. It’s kind of like a real-life thinking cap.

Feel The Thesis Difference For Yourself

Pop on over and take the short quiz . It will only take a few minutes, promise! Within days, you’ll be able to check out your starter pack and be well on your way to optimizing your brainpower.

Click here to take the quiz and get started.

References [ + ]

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THE big ideas: why does art matter?

Five Theses on Creativity

It permeates life, and, like love, it can break your heart.

By Eric Kaplan

Mr. Kaplan is a television producer and writer.

This essay is part of The Big Ideas , a special section of The Times’s philosophy series, The Stone , in which more than a dozen artists, writers and thinkers answer the question, “Why does art matter?” The entire series can be found here .

The word “art” can seem pretentious: When people hear it, they worry someone will force them to read a novel, or go to a museum, or see a movie without any explosions in it.

To me, art simply refers to those aspects of our lives that can be suffused and transformed by creativity. And having creativity in our lives is important. Without it we’re just going through the motions, stuck in the past. With it we feel alive, even joyous.

But if I say that art is simply life imbued with creativity, isn’t that just a case of obscurum per obscurius — of explaining the murky with the even murkier? After all, what exactly is creativity?

To help unravel this puzzle, here are five theses on creativity:

Thesis No. 1: Creativity makes something new. A different way of talking can suddenly make our world seem new. Here’s an example: In the Middle Ages, a road was something people walked on, the ocean a terrifying expanse of blue. But when the anonymous author of the Old English epic poem “Beowulf” called the ocean a “whale-road,” he made his readers experience the ocean afresh. The ocean may be an obstacle for us land-bound humans, but for whales it’s a road.

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Curious About Brain Optimization? Thesis Nootropics May Be Your In

Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may earn a commission through links on our site. 

Ever feel like you have the ability but not the willpower or inspiration to excel at your job? Or maybe you’re stuck in a creative rut and are struggling to get yourself out. Thesis , a nootropics company, wants you to stop being so hard on yourself.

Nootropics are the buzzy brain-boosting substances of the moment, and Thesis attempts to match people to different nootropic blends designed for certain needs—creativity, confidence, energy, clarity, logic, and so on. But can you really summon the powers of creativity on demand from a pill? Myself, and fellow Edge writer Rebekah Harding, tried Thesis for three months to find out. Here’s what you need to know. 

Why You Should Trust Us

Hone Health is a team of health-obsessed journalists, editors, fitness junkies, medical reviewers, and product testers. The two authors of this review, Rebekah Harding and Will Price, spent months taking Thesis’ nootropics blends and logging how we felt. We’ve reported on the ingredients Thesis incorporates in its nootropic blends extensively, such as  ashwagandha ,  Alpha-GPC ,  Lion’s mane , and more.

For this review, we opted to review the product and service independently, as nootropics do not all affect people in the same way. Here’s what we found. 

Thesis Nootropics

Personalized recommendations.

• High quality ingredients, third-party tested

Excellent customer service

Not for everybody, what is thesis.

Thesis’s thesis (sorry, I had to) is that you are capable of more. But as co-founder and CEO Dan Freed says on the back of the box the pills come in, “…people thought I was lazy, stupid, or unmotivated. I knew there was more in me.” Freed and his brand propose that the solution to this conundrum many of us face may be nootropics, which are substances that aim to improve cognitive performance. 

New users are funneled through a quiz that determines the best nootropic blends for them—each named for the feeling they’re meant to evoke, e.g. confidence, clarity, creativity. Boxes come with four blends, each of which should last one week, with auto-renewing deliveries shipping at $79 a month. (Note: you can buy Thesis for just one month, but it will cost $119). 

You’re meant to take notes on how each blend makes you feel and, after you’ve completed your first box, adjust which blends you receive going forward.

What are nootropics?

Nootropics are medicinal substances (some pharmaceutical, some natural) that take aim at improving brain performance—memory, creativity, motivation, mood, as well as anxiety reduction and sleep improvement.

While most have heard of popular nootropics like caffeine , creatine , or nicotine , most over-the-counter nootropic supplements—like Thesis—are formulated largely with herbs, vitamins, minerals, and other natural compounds that are known to benefit the brain.

Thesis ingredients

Each Thesis blend contains different ingredients, many of which are supported by solid research. Here are a handful. 

Lion’s mane: Mushrooms that contain hericenones and erinacines, which can stimulate nerve growth and may offer potential cognitive benefits ( 1 ). In addition to thinking capacity, these mushrooms may lower the risk of age-related brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease ( 2 ).

Alpha-GPC: May increase your levels of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine, which facilitates memory and learning, and plays an important role in cognitive function ( 3 ). 

L-Theanine: An amino acid that can positively affect mood. Studies have found L-theanine may be a beneficial nootropic for mood and mental health. It may also help ease anxiety and stress levels ( 4 ).  

Ashwagandha: An ancient herb taken for thousands of years, ashwagandha is an adaptogen that has been found to reduce cortisol —stress—levels in humans, which can have a number of powerful knock-on effects on the brain ( 5 ). 

DHA (Omega-3): This omega-3 fatty acid plays a role in supporting cognitive function and promoting growth and maintenance of brain cells . Research suggests that DHA may improve memory, learning, and overall cognitive performance ( 6 ). 

Synapsa: This patented extract of Water Hyssop boasts nootropic benefits such as enhanced memory and cognitive function ( 7 ). Research shows that taking Synapsa regularly may improve your information processing speed, increase your attention span and enhance your memory ( 8 ).

Ginkgo Biloba: Ginkgo Biloba has antioxidant properties, which are associated with cerebral blood flow and neuroprotection ( 9 ). Studies suggest that this nootropic may boost memory, mental clarity, and overall cognitive function ( 10 ).

Theacrine: This natural plant compound acts as a mild stimulant, without the tolerance build-up and jitters associated with caffeine ( 11 ). Theacrine may boost energy, mental clarity, and focus.

What’s Good About Thesis Nootropics?

There are a lot of folks interested in nootropics. Google reports something like 100,000 monthly searches for the term each month. The issue many have is simple: nootropics aren’t easy. 

It’s not easy to know what companies are selling legitimate products and which are pushing low-grade stuff. It’s not easy to get a handle on what the many, many different nootropics are meant to do. Sometimes it’s not easy to know if the good week you just had was thanks to a nootropic you just took, or the absence of some stressor you forgot about. Then there’s dosage, doctors, and the way in which these substances play off each other to worry about. 

Getting your foot in the door with nootropics is a challenging task. Thesis’s approach is designed to simplify this, and it largely works.

The personalization is somewhat limited, in that the blends themselves cannot be changed, but the blends you receive can. Interested customers are prompted to complete a simple questionnaire that asks about physical traits as well as your goals in taking nootropics. You’re then given a “Starter Kit” that includes four different blends suited to what you’re after. 

High-quality ingredients

The more you delve into nootropics, the more you realize there are, broadly, two classes of company: the legit class and the not-so-legit class. Thesis, by our account, is the former. The company’s products are products in FDA-approved cGMP facilities, which ensures the manufacturing of the product is sound. More importantly, though, and this will sound humorous if you’ve never shopped for nootropics, Thesis actually tells you what’s in its blends. 

Thesis is not the only company selling nootropic blends as a shortcut for people not interested in doing months of research. There are a great many companies that don’t specify ingredients (“focus blend”) or, more commonly, aren’t clear on dosage of each individual nootropic.

Thesis’s nutrition label is crystal clear on what’s inside each serving of its nootropic blend.

When launching oneself into a health category one doesn’t know much about, having a friend can be helpful and reassuring. Thesis’s customer support service—available via email or phone—is the weird science friend you need. 

I pestered them numerous times and each issue was responded to and resolved within 24 hours every time. The first time I called. Is there a way to remove the caffeine from the blends (there’s 100mg, or a cup of coffee’s worth in each pack)? You can request non-caffeinated blends on your next order, but for the time being simply don’t take the white pill in the daily dose packet. My email questions were answered with similar speed as well. 

There’s also Thesis’s coaching feature, which is effectively customer service for questions about your specific blends, how the blends make you feel, and so on. When I called into it I mentioned that some of the blends made me slightly antsy, some made me feel great, and others seemed to have no effect at all. Not only is this common, it’s expected: these substances do not affect us all in the same way, so there is a necessary trial period to get through. 

Having a source of reassurance when trying something new to improve our health makes the process more comfortable. 

MENTAL WORKOUT

What’s not good about thesis nootropics.

As previously mentioned, not all blends will work for you. Several reviews online suggest there are people for which none of them will work. My fellow reviewer and I each found one or two blends that worked especially well, some blends that didn’t seem to have any effect at all, and others that caused some minor anxiety. 

This is sort of the rub with nootropics. Different people will be hit different by different nootropics ; and even then there is the matter of dosage and duration, as most research suggests there is bedding-in period associated with nootropic effectiveness ( 12 ).

So is this a con for Thesis or for nootropic supplementation more generally? It’s a little of both, but more so a hurdle with the wider world of nootropics.

If you’re already waist deep in nootropics as a hobby or interest area, you can likely build your own nootropic stacks for cheaper than what Thesis offers.

Thesis costs $79 a month, or $3.29 per serving, once you’ve set up your account for automatic renewal. This is, unsurprisingly, on the middle-higher end of the nootropic blend market. 

Budget brands like Focus Factor come in at less than a dollar per serving. Mind Lab Pro , a brand closer to Thesis’s efficacy and quality, goes for about $2.10 per serving. The popular NooCube blend is also about $2.15 per serving. 

It should be said that I’m obviously comparing apples to oranges here. Each of these blends are made of up different stuff. Each of these companies is selling to a different customer. It could be argued that Thesis’s hyper responsive customer service and task-focused personalization model makes the $79 a month bill a fair deal. That said, the price doesn’t pull you in quite like the promise the rest of the product provides. 

What It’s Like to Take Thesis Nootropics

Tester #1 info : Female, 23 years old Reason for taking : diagnosed ADHD, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, anxiety Blends taken : Confidence, Motivation, Energy, Clarity

When I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2016, everything clicked. I’ve struggled with brain fog, task paralysis, and extreme difficulty concentrating for as long as I can remember. But all I have to show for my diagnosis is a raging caffeine addiction, two failed tries at taking prescription stimulant medication, and an ever-changing-never-working supplement stack.

As a neurodivergent person, the idea of nootropics—supplements that may improve cognitive performance—is intriguing to me. The idea of spending hours researching different blends and stand alone supplements, however, is not. That’s where Thesis comes in. 

To order your four-blend starter kit, Thesis kicks things off with a quick 25-question quiz. The questions were quick and multiple choice, and didn’t take more than a couple of minutes. (As a company that markets to ADHD-ers, I have to say they know their audience.) The quiz covers questions like how much sleep you clock in each night, your typical mood, and your procrastination habits—and a memory test at the end that I won’t spoil. At the end, you plug in an email and receive a customized recommendation based on your goals and struggles. 

I’m ultra-productive, but I have extreme anxiety and frequent brain fog depending on the state of my hormones. Thesis recommended four blends—Confidence, Motivation, Energy, and Clarity—to boost my mental health, promote relaxation, and fight off brain fog. 

I took each blend for six days each—as directed—with one day in between to reset.

Week one I opted for Confidence—a blend that includes saffron, ashwagandha, sage, and magnesium—which oddly produced the opposite of its intended effect. Two days in, I ditched the separate, white caffeine pill in the packet, but that only alleviated my anxiety slightly. Week two, I took Motivation—which contains artichoke extract, vitamin B12, methylliberine, and L-theanine. I enjoyed this blend the most, and felt like my mood and concentration got a decent boost. Weeks 3 and 4 I took Energy (mango leaf extract, theacrine, citicoline, and more) and Clarity (Lion’s Mane, L-theanine, and more) respectively. I noticed no changes these weeks.

Overall, I think Thesis is worth a shot for the nootropic-curious. Especially if you don’t have the time or patience to research these trendy supplements. However, I don’t think I’ll be stocking up on any of their blends any time soon.

BRAIN GAMES

Tester #2 info : Male, 30 years old Reason for taking : brain fog, unfocused, spark creativity Blends taken : Clarity, Logic, Creativity, Energy

I’ve not been evaluated for or diagnosed with any neurological or neurodevelopmental matters, but I have struggled to train my mind’s gaze on one thing for long periods of time for as long as I can remember. Call it brain fog or something else, it’s been a persistent issue of mine going back to my high school and college years, where I’d substitute just about any distraction available to me instead of something that would require real attention.

A Thesis ad on Instagram suggested this issue may not be my own failing (a source of great personal anxiety), but perhaps something that could be fixed with nootropics. I’m willing to believe most anything that suggests my failings are not my failings, so I ordered my personalized starter kit. 

My kit came with the Clarity, Logic, Creativity, and Energy blends. I quickly eliminated Clarity and Logic from the rotation, and both seemed to trigger a mix of uncomfortable headaches and anxiety (a quick browse of the internet suggests this isn’t an uncommon reaction to these specific blends). Energy, while effective, wasn’t the most useful to me, someone who doesn’t struggle as much with alertness. 

Creativity was different, though. During the second month of testing, once I’d taken Creativity for a few weeks straight (remember there is a bedding-in period!), things started to click. I started to feel the gears turning a bit more in brainstorm meetings at work, and I could think more deeply about how I could build a workout plan for a friend.

That’s how I would describe the feeling: a noticeable but slight improvement in my ability to untangle a problem of some kind. It wasn’t as though the shackles of my brand were removed and I launched a Fortune 500 company which, thankfully, Thesis does not suggest in any of its marketing materials. 

I’ve taken the Creativity tablets for a few months now and find them to be good value for the money, for me. For those curious about nootropics, I think of Thesis as the ideal first stop. Once you figure out what works for your brain and needs, you might seek out other solutions. 

The Bottom Line

Thesis nootropics are probably the best way to get into nootropics without having to do loads of research. The brand isn’t the cheapest out there, but the product is quality and the customer service is excellent.

• Lai, Puei-Lene et al (2013) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24266378/
• Skubel Tomasz et al (2022) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/363300485_Therapeutic_potential_of_Lion
• Ham, Juhee et al (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5645066/
• Williams, Jackson L. et al (2019) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31758301/
• Lopresti, Adrian L. et al (2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6750292/
• Yurko-Mauro, Karin et al (2015) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4364972/
• Downey, Luke A. et al (2012) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23281132/
• Kumar, Navneet et al (2016) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075615/
• Mashayekhu, Ameneh et al (2012) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3163160/
• Ge, Wei et al (2021) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8014356/
• Bello, Marissa L. et al (2019) https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-019-0287-6
• Malik, Matej et al (2022) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9415189/

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Thesis Review | I Tested this Nootropic for 4 Weeks, Did It Work?

In this Thesis review, we’ll take a long look to this nootropic company that offers combinations of various nootropic blends that are tailored to best suit your individual needs.

Those brain supplements comprise of the following blends.

If you have been struggling with anxiety, stress, productivity or energy, you might have certainly looked at brain supplements. These are usually generic blends of natural herbs and mushrooms with positive effects in various areas and processes in your brain.

Table of Contents

Thesis Review at a Glance

Approach to This Thesis Nootropics Review

As I alluded to, Thesis presents a questionnaire so to individualize your box. It takes around five minutes to complete, and asks questions that are quantifiable, yes/no or degree based. Everything from your weight, age and sleep quality to how often you exercise, which unhealthy habits you indulge in and how much you procrastinate will all be on the table.

I’ll be taking four of the six blends for six day intervals and documenting my results. So by the time you’re reading this, I’ll have tried Thesis for the better part of the last month.

Thesis Nootropic Ingredients

The combined effects of caffeine and l-theanine in a 1:2 ratio have been proven to be optimal for cognitive performance and mood; which means that Thesis has a good base.

30-Day Thesis Nootropic Test and Results

As pictured above, I have the starter kit.

A quick bit about me: large male, mostly sedentary with some high activity days, no chemical vices, mostly liquid diet as of late.

I’ll be taking each dose with food as recommended, likely with one our recommended meal replacement shakes such as Soylent, Huel , Ka’Chava or Rootana .

Week 1 – Thesis Clarity Review

Early on, the effects were pretty noticeable . I did feel more energized when performing physical activity. Also, I did feel more “locked in” when I had to focus, in particular with games that require high execution and fast reactions.

On the flipside, days when I didn’t have much going, I didn’t notice much of a difference. I didn’t feel need to do more, and without something to intently focus on, they may as well be water pills.

Week 2 – Thesis Motivation Review

Only three pills in this blend, so a bit easier to take.

Motivation is designed for task completion and focuses on reducing procrastination and stress. I did manage to stay focused on my current diet, though I feel that would have happened with or without these pills.

Week 3 – Thesis Creativity Review

Back to four pills with this one. The highlights of this blend focus on learning, memory and cognition.

At times I felt scattered, like I had to be doing something, which can be detrimental if you need to focus on a set of tasks. But I can see if I needed to innovate something, how this can help, being able to cycle through thoughts and ideas quickly.

Week 4 – Thesis Confidence Review

Three pills, with two of them dark. Reminds me of hamster pellets. Moving on….

Of all the blends, I felt the effects of this one the fastest, usually within about 30 minutes, as opposed to an hour or so like the others.

It worth noting that this could also be to the accrual effect of having taking nootropics for the past 30 days. Most of the best nootropics take a while to showcase all their positive effects, as there’s a build up period.

Who Wrote the Thesis

“As long as I can remember, people thought I was stupid, lazy, or unmotivated. I started to believe it. In school, I would read the same page over and over again, without absorbing anything. At 16, I dropped out of high school and went to work at a sandwich shop. Fast-forward ten years — I scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT and earned Master’s degrees from Yale and INSEAD. Nootropics turned everything around for me and helped me form the positive habits that I built my success on. Once I balanced my brain chemistry, I could perform like never before. Dan Freed

Price and Shipping

Thesis supplement can be purchased as a single box, or part of an ongoing subscription. You choose which blends you prefer and they are shipped to you monthly.

Shipping is only within the US, and is free via USPS First Class Mail.

Are Thesis Personalized Nootropics Worth It?

Regarding the price, Thesis offers a very competitive offering when compared to the best Nootropics like Hunter Focus .

Thesis makes this easier, which is already a big plus, and you could see bigger benefits than with other competitors.

Taken that into consideration, I believe that Thesis nootropics are worth it for those considering regular use to improve cognitive function and long-term mental health.

Customer Thesis Nootropics Reviews

That said, reviews on their site are overwhelmingly positive. Not all products seem as effective, as discussed in our tests, and Creativity and Clarity seem to be the least liked. On the other hand users liked Motivation and Confidence the most, unlike me.

I’m going to be honest with you, I was skeptical but I started a new job so I thought maybe it could help.Within a half hour of the first time taking it I saw immediate results.I’m more alert and focused than I’ve been in years.I’m so happy I found Thesis as it has been life changing for me so far. Elliot S, 5-star

I have been off stimulants for months now and these formulas are far superior. My husband and daughter both noticed the change and said I have been more productive, focused, less anxious, and more “thinking outside the box”. I have tried for years to get off stims and nothing would work. Thank you for making such an amazing product. Debbie M, 5-star

If you’re new to nootropics, we can guide you to the blends we believe will work best for you based on your lifestyle and goals. You can make adjustments to these blends based on what works best for you.

Our Starter Kit is designed so that you can try multiple formulations to identify which nootropics work best with your unique brain chemistry. Each week you will sample one of your recommended blends, and record how you respond. Things to note would include increased productivity, decreased procrastination, enhanced focus and any changes in your routine At the end of the first month, you should have a good idea as to which blends work most effectively for you. These will be the blends you will continue with in your next month.

We offer the most advanced nootropic system available, to find the exact compliment for your specific brain chemistry and desired areas of focus. Our innovative Starter Kit allows you to experience multiple formulations, and determine what works best. Our process is complex because we’ve found that it yields the best results in the shortest amount of time. If we could formulate one pill that would work for everyone, we would! Because the human brain is deeply complex, that is just not possible.

Depending on your genetics and experience with nootropics, the effects can be felt in as little as 30 minutes after taking each blend. Nootropics have the most impact when taken on an empty stomach, just after waking from a normal night of rest. Some people may need a few days of consecutive use to feel the effects of the nutrients.

Verdict: Thesis Nootropic Review – 4 Weeks with Noticeable Effects

I find the approach that Thesis is taking to be a sound one. While some may be annoyed or turned off by the initial quiz, it’s certainly a necessary step in the overall process of finding which blends work for you, and which you should avoid. Also, without it, it would be a one size fits all product, and there are plenty of those already on the market.

Personally, I thought that Clarity and Creativity did the most for me . They each had noticeable effects that were largely in line with what was expected. Motivation and Confidence I wouldn’t have again, as Motivation seemed to to correspond with poor sleep and Confidence just didn’t provide enough of a benefit for me.

Bottom Line – If serious about adding nootropics to your routine, Thesis offers a great way to find what’s best for you.

Thesis Nootropics

Ingredients, effectiveness, nootropic blend.

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Thesis Nootropics Helped Me Ditch My 3-Coffee-A-Day Habit

Here's what to know about the personalized supplement brand.

As someone who pours herself a tall glass of iced coffee three times a day — and sometimes even more, oops — I figured it wouldn’t hurt to look into other ways to boost my energy and focus. Of course, I also try to get enough sleep, water, and exercise, too. But I was also down to try a few supplements from Thesis, a nootropics company that aims to make you feel more productive with its plant-based blends.

If you’re not familiar, nootropics are similar to adaptogens in that they’re a class of functional plants that are buzzy in the wellness world. But nootropics — which include ingredients like ashwagandha , L-theanine , choline , and functional mushrooms — are more focused on activating different parts of your brain to support motivation, mood, memory, and cognitive processing . That’s why they’re sometimes called smart drugs or cognitive enhancers — and thus have a different role to play than everyday vitamins.

At Thesis, you’re hooked up with a kit of personalized vitamins , adaptogens , and nootropics that are meant to help support you in accomplishing your goals and feeling more energized and productive. I tried them out for a month and I have some thoughts. Here’s what it was like to try Thesis, in case you’re also a coffee fiend who could use a little more focus and energy.

• Price: $79/monthly subscription
• Best for: Energy, focus
• My rating: 4/5
• What we like: Personalized supplements, supportive coaches
• What we don't like: Can seem pricey, you have to be ready for some trial and error

What Is Thesis?

To get started, you’ll first take a quiz on the Thesis website that asks you about how you feel on a day-to-day basis, how much coffee you drink, what your energy levels are like, and how much you sleep (among other lifestyle questions) so that it can determine the best supplements for you. It’ll then send you a starter kit with six different supplement blends targeted for each issue you might be experiencing. From there, it’s up to you to decide which ones you want to continue using. It works like a process of elimination — you experiment by taking each supplement for six days to see whether or not it feels effective.

The Thesis line features eight different supplement blends: Creativity, Focus, Motivation, Clarity, Energy, Motivation, Confidence, and Logic. Though the brand notes it would love to formulate one pill that works for everyone, brain chemistry is so complex, so it decided it’s better to take the long route and have customers try multiple supplements in order to find the best fit for their noggin. That’s why Thesis also puts you in contact with a wellness coach, so you can chat and ask questions with an expert along the way.

How Do Nootropics Work?

Nootropics are meant to allow your brain to do its thing, only faster and with more efficiency. So, instead of slogging away at your desk with brain fog , you might notice that you feel perkier, extra organized, and more on-point than you normally do as you continue taking the supplements.

Some of the blends contain the nootropic acetylcholine , which is a neurotransmitter from the essential nutrient choline known for memory, learning, and healthy brain function . There are also plenty of amino acids, vitamins, and plant-based adaptogens in each packet to fight off fatigue and stress while protecting your brain from toxins so it’s easier to take in info — and actually remember what you learned. Other staple nootropics include ginkgo biloba , certain kinds of mushrooms, and caffeine, each of which plays a unique function in your cognitive function.

My Experience

When I took the Thesis quiz , I said that I wanted to improve my energy, focus, and mood. A few days later, I received my starter kit, which contained Clarity , Confidence , Motivation , and Logic all laid out in cute little boxes. You’re supposed to pick one — each box contains six sachets full of pills — and take a packet a day for six days. I was immediately drawn to Clarity, a supplement combo that’s supposed to help with high-pressure situations, concentration, and tasks that require focus and attention. It has Lion’s Mane extract (a mushroom), caffeine, L-theanine , and a few other ingredients meant to support a calm, focused flow. The idea is to take the supplements in the morning so they kick in before you start your day, and most of the effects are said to last from four to six hours.

I’d been taking Clarity for a few days when I had a phone call with Cindy Yan , a Thesis wellness coach and nootropics expert. We chatted about my usual routine, how I’d been feeling, and any questions I had about the process. When I said I felt a slight uptick in focus, but nothing too dramatic, Yan told me the first couple days are called the “loading phase” which is when the nutrients work their way into your body. If you don’t feel anything after that point, it’s a sign the supplement isn’t necessary or right for your neurochemistry. If you do like how you feel, it’s a keeper.

As we chatted about my routine, Yan realized I’d benefit from Creativity, an ashwagandha-based supplement meant for brainstorming and public speaking, so that I could feel like a rockstar at work. I also told her that I tend to crave a nap around 3 p.m., so she suggested the Energy supplement made with choline and mango leaf extract , which you can take every day or on extra-busy days, before a workout , or whenever you want to feel alert.

Talking to a coach as I tested the supplements was a true perk. While the quiz got me started with some great options, having access to Yan helped me hone in on what I truly needed.

Yan suggested I log how I felt every day as I took each supplement so I could keep track of any noticeable differences. A week in, I looked at the scribbles in my notebook and noticed that I did seem more productive during the six days I took Clarity. I wasn’t launching rockets to the moon, but I was getting through my emails and typing away like a woman on fire.

The next supplement on my agenda was Energy, a blend meant for busy days, intense workouts, and staying alert thanks to its mango leaf, theacrine , caffeine, and n-acetyl cysteine — and this is the one that gave me the most benefit. Yan was right on the money. She said I could take it in the morning and/or right after lunch to nip my afternoon slump in the bud, and it truly worked — no fourth mid-day coffee for me.

The more I took Energy, the less I felt like I needed to unhinge my jaw and dump as much cold brew into my face as possible. I found myself drinking a sensible cup or two in the morning, and that was that. Thesis says you can feel the effects of the supplements in as little as 30 minutes or it can take up to five days for all the benefits to sink in as your body and brain adjust. For me, though, Energy kicked in pretty quickly.

The Bottom Line

Typically, Thesis users land on two or three supplements for their regimen. After the month-long trial phase, you can order just the ones you want and forget about the rest. Personally, I’m sold on Energy and can see myself hanging onto Clarity, too.

Thesis seems to have figured things out in the nootropic supplement realm. While the boxes seem pricey, it isn’t so bad when you think about buying each supplement on your own individually — and the fact that you get a wellness coach, too.

TL;DR: I’d recommend it for anyone who feels fatigued, unproductive, or unfocused, or for folks who rely on caffeine to get through the day, like me. You might just find that there’s a better way.

Studies referenced:

Baba, Y. (2021). Effects of l-Theanine on Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Subjects: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study. J Med Food. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2020.4803. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Coqueiro, AY. (2019). Glutamine as an Anti-Fatigue Amino Acid in Sports Nutrition. Nutrients. doi: 10.3390/nu11040863.

Gelabert-Rebato, M. (2019). A Single Dose of The Mango Leaf Extract Zynamite ® in Combination with Quercetin Enhances Peak Power Output During Repeated Sprint Exercise in Men and Women. Nutrients. 2019 Oct 28;11(11):2592. doi: 10.3390/nu11112592.

Lai, PL. (2013). Neurotrophic properties of the Lion's mane medicinal mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) from Malaysia. Int J Med Mushrooms. doi: 10.1615/intjmedmushr.v15.i6.30.

Malík, M, Tlustoš P. Nootropics as Cognitive Enhancers: Types, Dosage and Side Effects of Smart Drugs. Nutrients. 2022 Aug 17;14(16):3367. doi: 10.3390/nu14163367. PMID: 36014874; PMCID: PMC9415189.

Mokhtari, V. (2017). A Review on Various Uses of N-Acetyl Cysteine. Cell J. doi: 10.22074/cellj.2016.4872.

Penry, JT. (2008). Choline: an important micronutrient for maximal endurance-exercise performance? Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.18.2.191.

Sam, C. (2022). Physiology, Acetylcholine. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–. PMID: 32491757.

Silberstein, R. B. (2010). Examining Brain-Cognition Effects of Ginkgo Biloba Extract: Brain Activation in the Left Temporal and Left Prefrontal Cortex in an Object Working Memory Task. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine : ECAM , 2011 . https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/164139

Suliman, NA. (2016). Establishing Natural Nootropics: Recent Molecular Enhancement Influenced by Natural Nootropic. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. doi: 10.1155/2016/4391375.

Todorova, V. (2021). Plant Adaptogens-History and Future Perspectives. Nutrients. doi: 10.3390/nu13082861.

Wiedeman, AM. (2018). Dietary Choline Intake: Current State of Knowledge Across the Life Cycle. Nutrients. doi: 10.3390/nu10101513.

The Best Nootropics Supplements Personalized to Your Brain?

Updated: 01/25/2024

Outliyr is is editorially independent. We may get a small commission if you buy through our links (at no cost to you). Thanks for your support!

Your brain is a primary difference between winning a Nobel prize and living a life of mediocrity.

How well it functions isn’t solely a matter of genetics.

Neuroscience research, and overwhelming anecdotal experience, show that we can dramatically upgrade our:

• Mental clarity
• Productivity
• Access to the flow state
• Information processing speed

Welcome to the world of “neurohacking”. Using special ingredients and lifestyle practices to optimize the brains and increase our overall quality of life.

But there’s one glaring issue…

Companies making the best brain-boosting supplements recognize this and customize their formulas to your unique lifestyle.

One such nootropic experience is a “newcomer” (you’ll learn why this isn’t exactly true) called Thesis. You take a short brain assessment, they send you a starter kit, and their complimentary coach helps you hone the perfect brain supplements — customized to you!

This post will thoroughly review of TakeThesis, how it compares to other nootropics companies, and whether this is the last brain supplement you’ll need.

In a hurry?

Use the exclusive Thesis code URBAN to save 10%

Quick & Dirty Intro to Nootropics

These are different from the off-label use of prescription pharmaceuticals like Adderall.

Essentially, nootropics are a special class of ingredients that satisfy ALL the following criteria:

• Safe and non-toxic
• Enhance learning and memory
• Protect against injury
• Boost natural cognitive ability (memory, logic, creativity, focus, etc)

There’s something that makes them even better…

Nootropics upgrade your baseline performance even after you stop taking them . They cause long-term changes to brain structure and function. Almost like training you how to operate at a higher level and forming positive habits.

At the same time, the good ones provide a quick and noticeable pick-me-up. You don’t wonder if they’re working.

The right formulas help you reach your full potential faster and more effectively.

What is Take Thesis Nootropics?

Thesis is the masterpiece of expert brain supplement formulators Dan Freed and Adam Greenfield. This duo began researching nootropics out of personal need. Both struggled with poor cognitive performance. They learned how to balance brain chemistry to maximize performance.

Now they’re sharing their discoveries with the world.

After great success with their original product, Find My Formula (which I reviewed here), they revamped their formulations and process.

While each of us has unique neurochemistries, after working with enough people, they began to spot patterns in which ingredients, the forms of those ingredients, and doses work best. Over the span of years, they’ve amassed a huge dataset:

• 30,000+ users
• 550,000 recommendations made
• 127 ingredients tested

Resulting in 86% of users reporting higher energy levels, better mood, more reliable memory, and greater motivation.

Unsurprisingly, Thesis has garnered a stellar 96% customer satisfaction.

The company also has soul. By donating a portion of each sale to both the Covenant House and The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), they’re evolving the future of brain enhancement and also making it more accessible to the world.

Thesis Nootropics Ingredients

When evaluating any nootropic, you must consider how they source and test ingredients.

The sad truth is that most of the products on the market are WORSE than useless. Contaminated with heavy metals, mycotoxins, pathogens, even adulterated with banned (dangerous) substances.

Thesis puts each ingredient through a rigorous, multi-step ethical, medical, and legal evaluation. Before acquiring and testing the ingredients for safety and purity, every ingredient must be supported as safe and effective by clinical trials.

This team keeps up with the ever-changing regulations.

Since the days of Find My Formula, a lot has changed. Each of their blends has undergone a major overhaul.

One of the common gripes with naturals is that you don’t feel anything.

How Thesis Works

Thesis isn’t your run-of-the-mill supplement company.

They’ve streamlined a process resulting in 86 percent of users finding their neurochemically tuned formulations in less than one month.

This is how to best use Thesis:

• Assess your unique brain
• Establish your baseline
• Begin your Starter Kit
• Notice what works for you and what doesn’t
• Tweak and optimize with complimentary coaching

Your Thesis journey begins with a short survey to understand your basic lifestyle, how your brain functions, and your goals for using nootropics. The entire “quiz” takes just a few minutes. When you finish, their AI finds your “digital twin” to determine which formulations are most likely to work for you.

A few days later, you’ll receive the Thesis Starter Kit in the mail, with the four separate blends best matched to your brain.

I suggest jotting down the way you feel, your challenges, and goals. That way you’ll have something to reference after several weeks of testing. Bonus points for including audio/video in your log.

You’ll follow the directions, testing each product for six days in a row. Then take a break over the weekend, allowing your body to reset. Though you don’t need two days off, I notice better effects when I give my body the extra rest day.

If you’re sensitive, I suggest taking these capsules first thing in the morning.

At any point, you can schedule a call with one of the resident Thesis Nootropics Experts. They’ll help coach you to ensuring the best possible experience and tweak your kit as necessary. Definitely take advantage of the experts, as they’re a key bonus of Thesis !

By the end of the month, you’ll have discovered your favorite blends and the ones that you don’t like. It’s perfectly normal to not like some of them, and your future orders will only include the products you love most.

The Thesis Nootropic Blends for Every Goal

Note that I’ve written about five blends below, but your Starter Kit will only contain four. Once you’ve gone through the Starter Kit, you’ve demoed the blends.

Hopefully, you’ve discovered the ones that work great for you.

For every subsequent order, you get four slots to customize however you prefer. My favorite combo is:

• (2) Clarity

But if I really loved a particular blend, for example, I could just do:

• (4) Creativity

You can request any of the formulations in either of two versions: caffeinated or caffeine-free.

Don’t pay much attention to the names of each. They’re merely general suggestions of the most often reported benefits. It’s entirely possible that you’ll get more clarity from Creativity, or better logical reasoning from Energy.

Let’s examine each of the different blends.

Thesis Energy

I reach for Energy when I get less than 7 hours of sleep, or when I need extra energy to crush a workout and power through a long Monday. It’s also useful for travel days, or when I know I’ll wind up in energy-depleting situations. Others use it to reinforce new healthy habits.

Thesis Energy blend ingredients include:

• Zynamite® – 300mg
• TeaCrine® – 100mg
• Sabroxy® – 100mg
• CDP Choline – 300mg
• N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine – 300mg
• N-Acetyl Cysteine – 500mg
• Optional: Caffeine – 100mg
• Optional: L-Theanine – 200mg

Sabroxy is an ancient Ayurvedic extract that comes from the bark of the Indian trumpet tree. Research suggests it enhances memory, focus, immunomodulation, mood, and even skin health.

From previous experience, I know that I respond well to Zynamite and TeaCrine. The former is an extract of mango leaf, and the latter is a molecular cousin of caffeine that comes from a tea plant, is non-habit forming, and with fewer side effects. Both noticeably increase energy, as expected. As a bonus, I find that these two also lift my mood.

Compared to the previous Energy formula, this iteration is smoother and more refined. Each sachet contains three capsules, and I start feeling effects 15 minutes after swallowing them.

I’ve been a big fan of all the Energy blends I’ve tested so far. It’s constantly ranked in my top 2 favorites due to the pronounced effects. It feels like a more full-body caffeine without the jitters or crash.

Thesis Clarity

As the package insert describes, Clarity supports a calm, focused flow and is great for optimal performance during high-stakes days. Good for presentations, content creation, and non-stimulating concentration.

I’ve found this description to be spot on. The formula has undergone a complete overhaul, featuring two ingredients I haven’t found in other nootropics.

Thesis Clarity blend ingredients include:

• 7,8 Dihydroxyflavone – 30mg
• Camellia Sinesis Extract – 250mg
• Alpha GPC – 250mg
• Epicatechin – 250mg
• Lion’s Mane 8:1 Extract – 500mg

7, 8 Dihydroxyflavone is a man-made flavonoid that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and mimic the effects of BDNF (dubbed “MiracleGro for the brain”). Camellia Sinesis is the ingredient that earned tea’s reputation as a health drink. It’s a potent source of the relaxing compound l-Theanine. Epicatechin also comes from tea, and it promotes optimal blood flow, mood, and neuroprotection.

A dose of Clarity takes three capsules, and I couldn’t pinpoint the exact time I started feeling it. The effects became more pronounced after approximately one hour.

Don’t expect a huge boost in energy or racing thoughts from this one. Once I released that expectation, I noticed that I felt clear, calm yet alert, steady, and mentally sharp . All without overstimulation. I flowed through my work, easily focusing on each task through completion.

To my surprise, Clarity went from among my least favorite Find My Formula blends, to my Thesis top pick.

I’m confident that this is one of the only nootropics that I can take in the afternoon (or even evening) and still sleep great.

Thesis Creativity

Creativity helps you generate new ideas, think abstractly, and finally bring your dream projects to fruition. It works by quieting overthinking and helping integrate both hemispheres of the brain.

The stack of powerful adaptogenic herbs also makes it an excellent choice for stressful situations, or to relax in social events.

You can rest assured that it contains some of the most researched and scientifically proven herbs on the planet. Ashwagandha and Panax Ginseng are staples in Ayurvedic (Indian) and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Thousands of studies back their use.

Thesis Creativity blend ingredients include:

• KSM-66 Ashwagandha – 300mg
• GS15-4 Panax Ginseng – 200mg
• Zembrin® – 25mg
• Agmatine Sulfate – 250mg
• Alpha GPC – 150mg

The Thesis formulators did a great job here, handpicking the strongest, cleanest, and most bioavailable forms of each ingredient.

Zembrin is one I hadn’t heard of, but am impressed by what I’ve learned. It’s a plant extract known to boost mood, improve workout focus, alleviate nervousness, and enhance complex problem-solving.

Approximately 45 minutes after my three-capsule dose, I noticed myself feeling slightly less reactive to urgent emails and other daily stressors. I could also more easily discern wisdom from my intuition. Each time I followed my instinct, I made the right choice.

I do already regularly take Ashwagandha and Ginseng in my own supplement regimen (which I stopped for this experiment), so it’s likely that my reaction is milder than most.

Thesis Logic

The name summarizes it well. Logic supports rational thinking. Making a popular choice among lawyers, bankers, programmers, scientists, academics, and those looking to boost their analytical abilities.

Though I didn’t get it selected for my Starter Kit, I reached out to their customer service to have it swapped in. As a Data Scientist, I knew that this would fit me well.

I was right. My first experience with the original Find My Formula Logic blend quickly took silver (only behind their original Energy). It hit the sweet spot between energetic stimulation and effortless focus. I went from spec sheet to finished product 35 percent faster than normal.

Thesis Logic blend ingredients include:

• Triacetyluridine – 30mg
• Vegan Omega-3 Lysine complex (EPA + DHA) – 200mg
• Phosphatidylserine – 200mg
• Theobromine – 100mg
• Gingko Biloba – 160mg
• Synapsa® (Bacopa monnieri extract) – 320mg

As its name suggests, Triacetyluridine is a more potent version of the nootropic uridine. It’s known to improve learning, memory, energy, mood, and reduce neuroinflammation.

Theobromine is a mild stimulant related to caffeine naturally occurring in cacao. It increases blood flow, and improves focus.

Those interested in memory enhancement may know Bacopa — one of the greatest ancient memory-enhancing herbs. Gingko is another notable natural herb, known to improve alertness, concentration, focus, and memory.

Phosphatidylserine comes from sunflowers. It gently alleviates stress without drowsiness, improves memory, and increases alertness.

Indeed, the Logic formulation improves working memory, offsets stress, and accelerates learning. On days I reluctantly approached tedious work, the two capsule dose of Logic took the edge off within about 20 minutes.

I’m still experimenting with the latest Logic blend, but so far it stacks up with the original. The new Logic feels slightly weaker, but I greatly prefer the new ingredients.

Thesis Motivation

Motivation comes in a lime-green sachet. It’s Thesis’ take on the classic and original CILTEP nootropic stack.

Motivation bills itself as best for:

• Crushing your TODO list
• Building healthy habits
• Increasing discipline and drive

It’s one of the blends that’s most polarizing. You either love it, or you hate it.

I’ve tested this exact formulation produced by several different companies (including NaturalStacks and Find My Formula), and I’ve had bad experiences every single time.

The predominant effect I notice is a headache (which I never get). I also feel slightly spacey. This time I came prepared and used Semax to pull me out of my CILTEP fog.

But just as many people rave about their Motivation.

Thesis Motivation blend ingredients include:

• Forskolin – 250mg
• Methylcobalamin – 1000mcg
• Dynamine – 100mg
• L-Phenylalanine – 500mg
• Artichoke Extract – 450mg

It’s safe to say that after two days of use, you’ll know which Motivation camp you fall into.

Thesis Confidence

Confidence is a newer Thesis blend that came out in mid-2022 after heavy internal research and development. I’ve been using it for the last few weeks and it’s certainly one of my favorites. Perhaps my top non-stimulating Thesis Formula.

Typical use cases for Confidence include:

• Important situations
• Doing uncomfortable or new things
• Times of leadership
• Stopping overwhelm

My experience with Thesis Confidence has been overwhelmingly positive. Within about 30 minutes, I felt a smooth and definite mood boost. The day seemed to flow easily. I didn’t feel jitters or nervousness before overwise stressful no-agenda meetings.

This one is great for social situations. I’m noticing that I feel more comfortable and bold as a newbie Bachata dancer.

Although it’s not very stimulating, I noticed a slight rush kind of like the effect of finishing a good workout. Increased blood flow and slight flushing paired with relaxation (but certainly not any sedation).

Thesis Confidence blend ingredients include:

• Saffron extract (affron®) – 28mg
• Ashwagandha extract (Shoden®) – 120mg
• Sage extract – 333mg
• Magnesium threonate – 50mg
• Magnolia bark extract (DHH-B) – 10mg

This is an excellent formula. I love the synergy between the ingredients. Plus, many of these (like Saffron) are expensive and commonly faked in supplements. By using the patented versions, we’re assuredly getting the real thing.

How to Use Thesis

When the shipment finally arrives in the mail, you might feel overwhelmed.

Here’s what to expect…

Inside the large box, you’ll find four smaller boxes. Each box contains five sachets. Monday through Saturday mornings, you take one full sachet (2-3 capsules).

I suggest you take notes beforehand on what you wish to get out of the experience. Some popular examples include:

• Spending less time distracted on social media
• Output at your main job
• Progress toward hobbies, projects, or other work
• Starting a new skill, language, or health habit
• Finish work faster

Then, at the end of each day, spend 15-seconds jotting down notes in the provided instruction manual. Trust me, this makes a huge difference. After completing week four, you’ll probably forget which blends you loved, the effects they had, and which ones didn’t work for you.

Some of the ingredients last slightly longer in your system, so I take the entire weekend off to allow my neurochemistry to reset. This also ensures you get the most bang for your buck.

After repeating this process for all four boxes, you’ll have discovered your favorite blends. A Thesis coach can help you customize future orders so you’ll only receive the ones you want!

Tips to Get the Most Out of Thesis Nootropics

Nootropics aren’t cheap.

You can skip this entire section, but these tips will help ensure that you get the most out of your experience.

Caffeine-free . If you’re new to nootropics, start with the non-caffeinated versions. I drink coffee most days. Sometimes two cups. But I always get my nootropics caffeine-free. For several reasons. First, nootropics potentiate caffeine. One coffee can feel like 3. If you’re not used to the combo, going caff-free gives you more control. Caff-free also means that I can take nootropics later in the day. Also, the health benefits of coffee don’t come from caffeine but from the polyphenols, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals. Plus, I just like the taste of coffee.

If you like this kind of thing, join my FREE nootropics mini-course where you’ll learn:

• How professionals choose products
• Tips to feel stronger effects and get more out of your supplements
• Money-saving hacks
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• Latest neuroscience-backed strategies to upgrade your brain

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Thesis Nootropics Questions & Answers

Should i take thesis with caffeine.

I recommend taking Thesis without caffeine to start. Caffeine greatly increases the effects of certain nootropics. For some, this can be too much and lead to panic, headaches, and unease. You can always add coffee and more easily control your caffeine dosage later.

What’s the difference between Thesis and Find My Formula nootropics?

Thesis is the latest generation of Find My Formula nootropics. They’ve refined, upgraded, and revamped every single one of their formulas according to the latest neuroscience research. Find My Formula products are no longer available.

Which Thesis blend is best?

Your ideal Thesis stack depends on your neurochemistry, lifestyle, and goals. People either love or hate their Motivation blend. My favorites (in order) are Clarity, Energy, and then Logic.

How much do Thesis nootropics cost?

Thesis offers two different buying options: one-time, and subscription. One-time purchases cost $119.00 and subscriptions cost $79.00 per month. Use code URBAN and save an extra 15 percent! Thesis backs all purchases with a full 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

Thesis Nootropics Review: Boosting Your Brain With Precision Formulas

Ignore those that say you’re stuck with a less-than-optimal brain.

According to the latest neuroscience (and countless personal examples), that’s demonstrably false.

That is if you use the right products.

The most popular nootropics today are:

I’m constantly trying the latest nootropic formulas.

I take most of them for a month and see little benefit.

Thesis is one exception, featuring an impressive array of the highest-quality forms of well-researched ingredients. Drawing from their millions of data points, they’ve come up with unique formulas that give you both a quick boost and long-term benefits .

So that one day, should you choose, you can completely stop supplementing and continue enjoying all the fruits of an upgraded brain.

I personally prefer their Clarity, Energy, and Logic. Each serves a role specific to the type of day I have ahead.

Since the original Find My Formula blends, I’m impressed with their improvements. They’ve moved away from some of the man-made ingredients and embraced natural (but effective) bioharmonizing compounds.

As of January 2022, Thesis has amassed a 4.5+ star rating on 7,411 ratings.

Try it yourself with the exclusive Outliyr discount:

Thesis nootropics code URBAN saves you 10%

To the long-term Formula users — what do you think of the update? Have you enjoyed the new Thesis blends?

Let’s have a discussion in the comments below!

Post Tags: Brain & Cognition , Lifestyle , Nootropics , Review , Supplements

12 thoughts on “The Best Nootropics Supplements Personalized to Your Brain?”

Unfortunately, I can not use any of the samples sent by Thesis. Each packet contained the caffeine equal to a cup of coffee.

What a bummer!

I’m not sure how you do with caffeine, but it also includes l-theanine which is a natural amino acid that really smoothes out the negative effects of caffeine (I won’t use any form of caffeine without it). You might want to reach out to their team about this, but last I heard, one of the pills in each sachet is exclusively caffeine/theanine. I’ve received a few caffeinated boxes, and just threw away the smallest white caffeine/theanine pill.

Or you can reach out to them and they will likely make it right.

Hey, I had the same issue. Fortunately, the caffeine portion comes in its own separate capsule (the white capsule in each packet), so you can choose to leave it out!

Correct. It’s the smaller white one if there are multiple white capsules.

I’ll be honest. I think this is a scam, like snake oil.

Hi Andrew. Not sure what you mean. Have you ever used nootropics? Or botanicals/herbals? What makes you think this is a scam?

This is my first time visiting the website although I’m no stranger to nootropics. I don’t remember where or how I discovered acetyl choline—AGP?—but it was a game changer for me. I’d been taking phosphatidylserine for memory enhancement for at least 2 decades, L-Tyrosine to boost dopamine, PEA, for the same reason. All on my own initiative, as a result of my own independent research. What disturbs me about Thesis is: 1). I suffer from a congenital disease for which there is no cure—Lipedema—and this is allegedly at the root of the fatigue which has blighted my entire life and which I have been attempting to overcome for most of it. The disease afflicts about 10% of women and as one doctor blithely informed me, “you;d be better off with cancer. At least there’s a chance you might recover.” As a result of the quiz I took, Thesis informed me I was in the bottom 4% of applicants and never investigated further. Well, Hello. 2). Quiz had questions about exercise but nothing about diet or meditation, Since I follow functional and integrative Medicine, these gaps disappointed me. I still haven’t made up my mind about becoming a member, but I am grateful to Andrew Huberman for drawing my attention to this range of products.

Hi Jacqueline, sorry about the super slow response here! Glad you’ve found things that work for you. That’s strange. When I took the quiz, they didn’t show percentiles. I agree, diet and meditation are essential. Impossible to overlook really, especially when we’re discussing nutraceuticals. I’ll let them know when I talk to them next.

Update on “the ingredients are not evenly distributed throughout the pills.” I spoke to a Thesis rep this week, and after a detailed conversation regarding the caffeine pills (the small white pill in each caffeine line of products), she clarified that the other pills (not the 100mg of caffeine + 200 mg of L-Theanine small white pill) have the remaining blend evenly distributed between the pills.

Loved your article, how you spelt it out, and agree strongly with the feelings on Clarity being “clear, calm yet alert, steady, and mentally sharp. All without overstimulation.”

Good correction! The caffeine/theanine pill is easy enough to spot.

Thanks for the feedback. Which are your favorite(s)?

Nick, this is an awesome intro to nootropics and Thesis, thank you for breaking this down! I was a Formula customer for years and my favorite blends were Clarity and Creativity. With the new Thesis formulations Energy has been added into my routine! I feel like I have tools at my disposal for any occasion… Creativity is great for social situations or other experiences that would otherwise leave me mentally fatigued, Clarity is great when I have a ton I want to accomplish without interruption, Energy is great when I haven’t had great sleep or need to do more physical stuff. I don’t use it every day, but it’s there when I need a lift. Great read, thanks for the knowledge!

Thanks! How often do you use Thesis? Do you combine it with anything else?

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Nick Urban  is the Founder of Outliyr, an expert Biohacker with 12+ years of experience, a Data Scientist, a Certified CHEK Practitioner, Host of the Mind Body Peak Performance Podcast, and a High-Performance Coach. Click  here  to read how Nick went from struggling pre-diabetic, to collegiate rugby national champion. To send Nick a message, visit his  Contact Page .

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Graduate Research Hub

• Preparing my thesis
• Thesis with creative works

With approval from your advisory committee your thesis may include a creative work or non-traditional research output (NTRO) component alongside a dissertation to fulfil the requirements of the degree. This is more common in some degrees and disciplines than others.

Durable record of all components of thesis

A durable record refers to a permanent file or archive that ensures the preservation and accessibility of all components of the thesis. This record typically includes any multimedia material (streaming or downloading), content on web links, or data sets that are integral to the thesis.

Both the dissertation and creative work must be passed, and a final version including a durable record of all components of your thesis must be submitted to the University’s digital repository, in order for you to be awarded the degree.

All theses must be presented as a unified whole and address a significant research question.

The creative work may take a variety of forms including:

• a performance,
• an exhibition,
• writing (poetry, fiction, script or other written literary forms),
• musical composition,
• e-portfolio or website,
• multimedia, or
• other new media technologies and modes of presentation.

If the creative work is not in writing it must be comprehensively documented. The work itself, or the documentation must be submitted with the dissertation through the Thesis Examination System (TES).

The dissertation and documentation of the work  (where needed) must adhere to the Preparation of Graduate Research Theses Rules .  You must include a description of the form and presentation of the creative work in the Abstract and in your Preface, note the relative weighting of the creative work and dissertation.

The combined volume of work of the creative works and dissertation for a doctoral thesis would be equivalent to approximately 80,000 -100,000 words.  For a masters degree, the combined volume of work would be equivalent to approximately 40,000-50,000 words.

Any thesis that exceeds the maximum limit requires permission to proceed to examination, which must be sought via the  Examinations Office prior to submission.

Relationship between the Dissertation and Creative Work

The dissertation and the creative work should be considered as complementary, mutually reinforcing parts of a single project.  You may argue, however, that the relationship between the two parts contributes to the originality and creativity of the whole.

The dissertation is required to do more than simply describe the creative work and how it was undertaken.

The dissertation must:

• present the research questions address, and
• contextualise the research as new knowledge within the field of its production.

The dissertation may:

• include information on the materials and methodology used,
• elucidate the creative work, and
• place the creative work in an artistic, intellectual, or cultural context.

The weighting given to the components of the thesis describes the proportion of the research which is demonstrated through the creative component/s and the proportion which is demonstrated in the written dissertation. The relative weighting will inform the examiners’ assessment of the work so must be clearly explained in your Preface.  When registering your intention to submit via the Thesis Examination System (TES), include the weighting in your 80-word summary.

The weighting of the dissertation and creative work, and the expected word length of the dissertation should be agreed at Confirmation. Check the Handbook description for your course to see if the weighting is specified for the course. If not, the minimum weighting for the dissertation that can be agreed at Confirmation is 25%.

Examination

When submitting your thesis through TES, you are required to include any creative components, such as multimedia files.  If your thesis file consists of multiple files, upload the main file as part of the thesis submission process and contact the Examinations Office to arrange a secure University SharePoint link to upload the additional files. Then add the shared link to TES as part of your submission.

Where the creative work includes a performance or exhibition of visual art works, the examiners may be required to travel to the site of the performance or exhibition. Your Chair of Examiners will make the necessary arrangements for your examiners to attend the viewing of the performance/exhibition. In this situation, if the dissertation is not submitted at or around the same time, you must provide an extended abstract of 1000-3000 words to your Chair of Examiners two weeks prior to the viewing. You must then submit your dissertation by logging into the Thesis Examination System (TES) no more than six calendar months after the performance/exhibition. The role of Chair of Examiners is normally undertaken by the head of department/school or nominee. To find out your Chair of Examiners, contact your supervisor or the Examinations Office .

If one or more components of your thesis is a live website or content hosted online, there should be no alterations made to the website or online content while the examination is in progress.

As graduate researchers submitting creative works in the form of a performance, an exhibition, an e-portfolio, or a website have an obligation to avoid identifying their examiners, the following  Creative Works: Examiner Confidentiality Declaration form should be completed and submitted along with your thesis. Once you have submitted your thesis via TES, return the signed confidentiality declaration to the Examinations Office .

Additional criteria are specified for examiners who are examining creative works.

Final archival version of your thesis

To meet the University's digital repository (Minerva Access) requirements, once examiner comments and amendments have been incorporated, you will need to deposit a durable record of all components of your thesis. Methods of capturing and providing this durable representation of your creative work component vary widely depending on the nature and presentation of your creative component.  It is important for you, in discussion with your supervisor, to decide and capture your desired best quality representation.

When submitting multiple files, you should upload them individually. You will be able to indicate the access for each file in Minerva access.  For large files, contact the Examinations Office to arrange a secure University SharePoint link or, alternatively, upload them to a cloud storage platform and email the shared link to the Examinations Office.

If your thesis included a website, you must provide a durable copy of the website as it was during the examination with any amendments requested by the examiners.  You may also provide a link to the live website and have readers directed to that while it remains available,  in addition to the archived copy.

You can find further information about requirements for deposit, as well as options and implications of choosing some options at My thesis in the library and  Depositing multiple files for your final thesis record . You can request technical assistance for submitting the thesis to  Minerva Access .

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A look at James Baldwin’s enduring influence on art and activism

Jeffrey Brown Jeffrey Brown

Lena I. Jackson Lena I. Jackson

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-look-at-james-baldwins-enduring-influence-on-art-and-activism

The legendary writer and activist James Baldwin would have turned 100 this month. He is best known for his novels and essays and as a moral voice addressing race, sexuality and the very fabric of American democracy. Jeffrey Brown looks at Baldwin's enduring legacy for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and for our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

This month, the legendary writer and activist James Baldwin would have turned 100 years old.

Baldwin is best known for his novels and essays and as a moral voice addressing race, sexuality and the very fabric of American democracy. Nearly 40 years after his death, his words are more relevant than ever.

Jeffrey Brown looks at his enduring legacy for our series Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy, and our ongoing Canvas coverage.

James Baldwin, Writer:

The inequality suffered by the American Negro population of the United States has hindered the American dream.

Jeffrey Brown:

James Baldwin, novelist, essayist, civil rights activist, public intellectual, here debating William F. Buckley Jr. at the University of Cambridge in 1965.

Eddie Glaude Jr., Princeton University:

He's engaged in this ongoing work of self-creation, in this sustained reflection on the power of the American idea. He's bringing the full weight of his intellect to bear on this project.

Eddie Glaude Jr. is a professor of African American studies at Princeton University and author of the 2020 book "Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own."

Eddie Glaude Jr.:

I think, if you read Baldwin closely, there is this underlying idea that we have yet to discover who we are, right, because the ghosts of the past in so many ways, not only blind us, but they have us by the throat.

James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924 and raised there by his mother and stepfather, a Baptist preacher. The oldest of nine children, he excelled in school and served as a junior minister.

A man on the margins, Black and queer, he spent years of his life abroad, much of it in France, beginning at age 24. He wrote novels, including "Go Tell It on the Mountain," an autobiographical book about growing up in Harlem, and "Giovanni's Room" about a tormented love affair between two men living in Paris, and powerful essays exploring race and American identity, including "Notes of a Native Son" and "The Fire Next Time."

He's one of the greatest essayists we have ever produced, the world has ever produced I think, and his subject is us. But his vantage point, it's not that of a victim. His vantage point is from those who've had to bear the burden of America's refusal to look itself squarely in the face.

He was also a playwright and poet, an activist who marched and spoke out for civil rights, including on television, here on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1969.

James Baldwin:

And the word Negro in this country really is designed, finally, to disguise the fact that one is talking about another man, a man like you, who wants what you want.

And insofar as the American public wants to think there has been progress, they overlook one very simple thing. I don't want to be given anything by you. I just want you to leave me alone, so I can do it myself.

Baldwin died in 1987, but he's remained a powerful cultural presence, one that's only grown in the past decade.

There are days — this is one of them — when you wonder what your role is in this country and what your future is in it.

In the 2016 documentary "I Am Not Your Negro," director Raoul Peck drew from Baldwin's own words. As he told me then:

Raoul Peck, Director:

He was already a classic, and he wrote those things 40, 50 years ago. And watching the film, you think that he would have — he wrote that in the morning, the morning before watching the film, because those words are so accurate, they are so prescient and so impactful, that you can't do it better.

In 2018, Baldwin's 1974 novel "If Beale Street Could Talk" was adapted by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins.

Barry Jenkins, Director:

Whether I had won eight Oscars or no Oscars, it's James damn Baldwin, you know? It's James Baldwin. That's pressure enough, in and of itself, because I wanted to honor his legacy in the way that I thought it should be honored.

And now a celebration of the centennial of his birth, including an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery called This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance, which takes its name from a short story he published in 1960, another at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture titled Jimmy: Gods Black Revolutionary Mouth, presenting Baldwin's archive of personal papers.

There's a new album by singer-songwriter and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello called No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, and reissues of seminal works with new introductions and artwork.

Cree Myles, Host, "The Baldwin 100": What is the best lesson you have learned being in the spiritual community that you are in with James Baldwin?

Along with a podcast, "The Baldwin 100," in which host Cree Myles talks with contemporary writers and thinkers.

What is his relevance today, especially when you think about younger people, younger readers, younger citizens?

Cree Myles:

Despite the time that has passed, his amount of truth is still relatively radical. When I think about his novels and "Giovanni's Room," and we're thinking about the ways that he grappled with, like, sexuality, those are things were still coming to terms with.

Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Toibin contributed the new book "On James Baldwin."

Colm Toibin, Author, "On James Baldwin": I'm interested in him as, I suppose, someone who really found ways of dealing with individuality versus community, with being an artist in a difficult time.

But more than anything, more than anything, he wrote well.

Toibin saw connections to his own upbringing and told us how Baldwin has influenced him as writer and man.

Colm Toibin:

It's a question of engaging with this great intelligence and with the sensuous intelligence, with someone sort of thinking brilliantly and glittering sort of way.

But it is also, of course, developing strategies, which he did in relation to his family, in relation to Harlem, in relation to Black America, in relation to exile, in relation to attempting to being an artist in a time of flux, and also in a way of being a gay artist, a homosexual artist coming out of a world which is very conservative and very religious, and attempting also to build strategies around that that give you energy, rather than ones that take you down.

One deeply resonant thread through all the commemorations, Baldwin's focus on the fragility of democracy itself.

Baldwin's exposing the lie that is the source of the suffering, that defines this fragile project, it seems to me. He's committed to democracy. He's committed to America. After all, we are deeply American. But, by virtue of that commitment, he has to relentlessly critique it.

It comes as a great shock to discover the country, which is your birthplace and to which you owe your life and your identity, has not, in its whole system of reality, evolved any place for you.

A commitment, as Glaude puts it, to the complex experiment called America.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.

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In his more than 30-year career with the News Hour, Brown has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues, with work taking him around the country and to many parts of the globe. As arts correspondent he has profiled many of the world's leading writers, musicians, actors and other artists. Among his signature works at the News Hour: a multi-year series, “Culture at Risk,” about threatened cultural heritage in the United States and abroad; the creation of the NewsHour’s online “Art Beat”; and hosting the monthly book club, “Now Read This,” a collaboration with The New York Times.

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Disfraces Rebeldes : Reimagining Puerto Rican Identity Through A Practice-Led Project on the Interconnections between the Vejigante and Islam

A Master's Thesis by Amanda Raquel Dorval, 2023 – 2024

Documenting the creative process

I spent the summer of 2023 (in between my first and second years as a graduate student at NYU’s Kevorkian Center) carrying out the practice-led portion of my project.

My main goal for the summer was to complete the practice-led creative portion, which involves the creation of four vejigante costume/mask looks which I will then photograph myself wearing, culminating in a series of self-portraits overlaid with aljamiado writing. I wanted to make sure I spent the summer working on the masks and costumes, so that I could focus on just writing my thesis over the academic year. I mostly obtained this goal, as I was able to complete most of the four costumes and papier-mâché masks. The sewing and mask-making process has taken longer than I anticipated, particularly because I was called for jury duty in June, and I was chosen as a juror to serve on a four week-long criminal trial. I had hoped to complete all the looks and then rent a studio to take the photographs during the summer, but it looks like the photography portion will have to be done during the Fall. I am still quite happy with my progress, however, since I have completed about 90 percent of the costumes, and I consider this the most painstaking part of my project. I even had a bit of help painting the vejigante masks from my three-year-old son 🙂

Materials for the costumes include fabrics made from matka silk, organic cotton, and other natural fibers, which I purchased from boutique fabric shops. I decorated the costumes with sequins, beads, shells, metallic thread, gemstones, and hotfix crystals. To ensure a responsible practice, I avoid non-sustainable synthetic textiles and mega corporations as much as possible. After completing the costumes, I also brought all my discarded fabric scraps to FABSCRAP Brooklyn Warehouse to be recycled. 

The papier-mâché masks were made out of recycled cardboard, paper, masking tape, foil, and a flour-based glue I mixed myself (literally just flour, water, salt, and a drop of peppermint extract), then painted with acrylic paint and decorated with sequins, beads, rhinestones, and puffy paint. I also used raw black wool for the ponytail on the blue and red Guabancex-inspired mask.

Constructing and sewing the costumes:

Making the papier-mâché masks out of recycled cardboard, paper, masking tap, foil, and a flour-based glue I mixed myself:

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Building Adaptable Generalist Robots

  Over the past decade, advancements in deep robot learning have enabled  robots to acquire remarkable capabilities. However, these robots often strug gle to generalize to new, unseen tasks, highlighting the need for the devel opment of generalist robots. While existing research primarily focuses on  enhancing generalization through large-scale pre-training—providing robots  with vast datasets and extensive parameters and treating generalization as a  naturally emerging trait—this approach does not fully address the complex ities of the real world. The real world presents an infinite array of tasks,  many of which extend beyond the training scenarios previously encountered  by these robots. For example, in healthcare, robots must manage the partial  observability resulting from the diverse latent intents of patients, which are  not to be covered in the dataset. Similarly, autonomous vehicles must navi gate unpredictable traffic, weather, and road conditions, which may go beyond  the training data.  

This thesis contends that, alongside scalability, a strong adaptation capa bility is crucial for improving generalization in real-world applications. It  explores strategies for building robots that can adapt effectively at the time  of deployment, with a focus on data efficiency, parameter efficiency, and ro bustness. The study delves into various adaptive learning methods, including  in-context robot learning that conditions on a limited number of demonstra tions, unsupervised continual reinforcement learning that uncovers the struc ture of robot tasks, and the use of large foundation models for building embod ied agents. These methodologies demonstrate significant potential, enabling  robots to acquire new motor skills across diverse applications and solve com plex, long-horizon physical puzzles through creative uses of tools. 

Degree Type

• Dissertation
• Mechanical Engineering

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• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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FOSTERING EPISTEMIC JUSTICE: THE JOURNEY OF A SECRET NINJA YOGA TEACHER IN INTEGRATING ARTS AND ENGINEERING INTO CURRICULAR DESIGN

In contemporary engineering education landscapes, integrating the arts and engineering often adopts a utilitarian lens, emphasizing the enhancement of engineers' creativity or the aesthetic embellishment of final solutions. However, this narrow perspective overlooks the profound potential of the arts in co-creating meaningful solutions, perpetuating epistemic injustices by relegating the arts and other ways of knowing to mere complements of technical knowledge. In this seminar, I present the findings of an autoethnographic inquiry aimed at disrupting traditional disciplinary boundaries within engineering design education. I explore novel educational paradigms by integrating arts and engineering to challenge the notion of engineering as the exclusive owner of problem-solving knowledge.

Through the lens of autoethnography, I engage in reflective analysis of my role as a curriculum and instructional designer endeavoring to integrate the arts and engineering in pursuit of epistemic justice for the arts. Four distinct curricular initiatives are studied: the Compassionate Engineering course for undergraduate engineering students, the Shadow Puppetry Box activity for middle-school students within a summer camp setting, the Elegance in Engineering module for graduate-level engineering education, and the Social Justice and Civil Engineering module designed for undergraduate civil engineering students. By crafting autoethnographic artifacts such as video reflections and video art, I embrace reflexivity and introspection, elucidating the critical considerations and obstacles encountered in designing for epistemic justice through arts-engineering integration. Additionally, I explore how the learning design process facilitated the development of comprehensive and impactful curricula. I also examine the outcomes and implications of implementing these emergent curricula on pedagogical approaches and student learning experiences.

This study provides a space for reflection, inquiry, and inspiration, inviting participants to challenge conventional disciplinary boundaries, interrogate prevailing engineering paradigms, and envision transformative approaches to interdisciplinary education. By embracing the complexities of arts-engineering integration, I endeavor to forge new pathways toward inclusive and equitable educational practices, reshaping the education landscape for the better.

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• Engineering Education

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• West Lafayette

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Olympic Breakdancer Raygun Has PhD in Breakdancing?

Rachael gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the paris 2024 olympic games., aleksandra wrona, published aug. 13, 2024.

About this rating

Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: a B-girl's Experience of B-boying," did cover the topic of breakdancing. However ...

... Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies. Moreover, a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline.

On Aug. 10, 2024, a rumor spread on social media that Rachael Gunn (also known as "Raygun"), an Australian breakdancer who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a Ph.D. in breakdancing. "This australian breakdancer has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture and was a ballroom dancer before taking up breaking. I don't even know what to say," one X post on the topic read .

"Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture," one X user wrote , while another asked, "Who did we send? Raygun, a 36-year-old full-time lecturer at Sydney's Macquarie University, completed a PhD in breaking culture and is a lecturer in media, creative arts, literature and language," another X user wrote .

The claim also spread on other social media platforms, such as Reddit and Instagram . 

"Is she the best break dancer? No. But I have so much respect for going on an international stage to do something you love even if you're not very skilled at it," one Instagram user commented , adding that, "And, I'm pretty sure she's using this as a research endeavor and will be writing about all our reactions to her performance. Can't wait to read it!"

In short, Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying," indeed focused on the topic of breakdancing. However, Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies, not in breakdancing. Furthermore, it's important to note that a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline. 

Since Gunn's research focused on the breakdancing community, but her degree is actually in the broader field of cultural studies, we have rated this claim as a "Mixture" of truths.

Gunn "secured Australia's first ever Olympic spot in the B-Girl competition at Paris 2024 by winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, NSW, Australia," the Olympics official website informed . 

Gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and clips of her routine went viral on social media, with numerous users creating memes or mocking dancer's moves. "As well as criticising her attire, social media users mocked the Australian's routine as she bounced around on stage like a kangaroo and stood on her head at times," BBC article on the topic read . 

The website of the Macquarie University informed Gunn "is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking" and holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, as well as a bachelor of arts degree (Hons) in contemporary music: 

Rachael Gunn is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music (2009) from Macquarie University. Her work draws on cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media, and ethnography. Rachael is a practising breaker and goes by the name of 'Raygun'. She was the Australian Breaking Association top ranked bgirl in 2020 and 2021, and represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021, in Seoul in 2022, and in Leuven (Belgium) in 2023. She won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.

Gunn's biography further revealed that she is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Reasearch Centre, and has a range of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels "across the areas of media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning." 

Moreover, it informed her research interests included, "Breaking, street dance, and hip-hop culture; youth cultures/scenes; constructions of the dancing body; politics of gender and gender performance; ethnography; the methodological dynamics between theory and practice."

Gunn earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Music, Communications, and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. Below, you can find the abstract of her paper, shared by the official website of Macquarie University:

This thesis critically interrogates how masculinist practices of breakdancing offers a site for the transgression of gendered norms. Drawing on my own experiences as a female within the male-dominated breakdancing scene in Sydney, first as a spectator, then as an active crew member, this thesis questions why so few female participants engage in this creative space, and how breakdancing might be the space to displace and deterritorialise gender. I use analytic autoetthnography and interviews with scene members in collaboration with theoretical frameworks offered by Deleuze and Guttari, Butler, Bourdieu and other feminist and post-structuralist philosophers, to critically examine how the capacities of bodies are constituted and shaped in Sydney's breakdancing scene, and to also locate the potentiality for moments of transgression. In other words, I conceptualize the breaking body as not a 'body' constituted through regulations and assumptions, but as an assemblage open to new rhizomatic connections. Breaking is a space that embraces difference, whereby the rituals of the dance not only augment its capacity to deterritorialize the body, but also facilitate new possibilities for performativities beyond the confines of dominant modes of thought and normative gender construction. Consequently, this thesis attempts to contribute to what I perceive as a significant gap in scholarship on hip-hop, breakdancing, and autoethnographic explorations of Deleuze-Guattarian theory.

In a response to online criticism of her Olympics performance, Gunn wrote on her Instagram profile: "Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you":

We have recently investigated other 2024 Paris Olympics' -related rumors, such as:

• Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?
• Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?
• 2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?

Gunn, Rachael Louise. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

---. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lifeguards-paris-olympics-swimming/.

"Olympic Breaking: Criticism of Viral Breakdancer Rachael Gunn - Raygun - Condemned by Australia Team." BBC Sport, 10 Aug. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/c2dgxp5n3rlo.

ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1069-4021. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Paris 2024. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/-raygun_1940107. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

Saunders, Grant Leigh, and Rachael Gunn. "Australia." Global Hip Hop Studies, vol. 3, no. 1–2, Dec. 2023, pp. 23–32. Macquarie University, https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00060_1.

Wazer, Caroline. "2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?" Snopes, 1 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/paris-olympics-lowest-rated-games/.

---. "Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/olympics-hobby-lobby-ads/.

By Aleksandra Wrona

Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.

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Essay Ai 17+

Creative essay writer ai, syed abdullah arif, designed for ipad, screenshots, description.

Unlock the power of AI to craft compelling essays effortlessly with EssayAI! Whether you're a student, writer, or just someone in need of a well-written essay, EssayAI is your go-to tool for generating high-quality essays on any topic in seconds. Key Features: Instant Essay Generation: Simply enter a topic, and let our advanced AI model create a detailed and coherent essay for you. Easy to Use: Designed with simplicity in mind, EssayAI offers a clean and minimalistic interface that makes essay generation quick and straightforward. Versatile Output: Generate essays on a wide range of topics, from technology and science to arts and humanities. Tailor the output to your needs. Powered by OpenAI: Our app leverages the power of GPT-3.5-turbo, one of the most advanced language models, ensuring that the essays are well-written and relevant. Time-Saving: Skip the writer’s block and get started on your writing tasks instantly. Perfect for brainstorming, study aids, or simply getting inspired. Safe and Secure: Your data is private and secure with us. We do not store any of your personal information. Why Choose EssayAI? Efficient: Save time and effort by letting AI handle the heavy lifting. Inspiration on Demand: Get creative ideas and structured content in moments. Accessible: No need for complex tools or software—just your phone and a topic. How It Works: Enter Your Topic: Type in the subject or theme you want the essay to cover. Generate: Tap the "Generate Essay" button and let the AI do the work. Read & Use: Instantly view the generated essay, perfect for your needs. Whether you need help starting an essay, want to explore new ideas, or need a full essay on short notice, EssayAI is here to help. Download now and experience the future of writing!

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Quantum ChatAi

15 Things You Can Do With ChatGPT

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What is chatgpt.

• Quickly Write a Customized Resume and Cover Letter
• Create Original Jokes and Memes
• Explain Complex Topics
• Solve Tricky Math Problems Step-by-Step
• Write Music In Almost Any Genre
• Write, Debug, and Explain Code
• Create, Edit, and Modify Media Files
• Decide What to Watch Next
• Get Cooking Help
• Improve Your Health
• Translate and Learn In Multiple Languages
• Prepare for a Job Interview
• Write Essays on Almost Any Topic
• A Chat Companion

Key Takeaways

• ChatGPT is a versatile tool that can help with tasks like writing customized resumes & cover letters.
• The AI can generate original jokes and memes, as well as explain complex topics in an easy-to-understand manner.
• ChatGPT can assist with mathematics, music composition, coding, media file manipulation, and health improvement.

Artificial intelligence tools have seen a meteoric rise within the last few years. We've been wowed by AI writing tools, AI image generators, and even AI self-portraits. Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has gotten a lot of attention for its numerous uses. To help you leverage this tool, here are 15 ways you can also use ChatGPT.

If you've somehow missed the whole ChatGPT buzz, or you're not exactly sure what it's all about, let's help you get up to speed. ChatGPT is a conversational artificial intelligence chatbot that can answer just about any question you throw at it.

You can think of it as a supercharged Google Search. Rather than just providing links or snippets, ChatGPT generates thoughtful, conversational responses to queries. It synthesizes information from diverse sources into cohesive answers on nearly any topic, similar to how a knowledgeable human would respond.

While not infallible, ChatGPT demonstrates an impressive ability to understand natural language questions and offers nuanced explanations in a lot of fields.

ChatGPT is more than just hype—it has practical uses. Here are some cool day-to-day uses for ChatGPT you can try right now.

1. Quickly Write a Customized Resume and Cover Letter

If you're currently job-hunting, one of the most tiring parts of the job application process is writing a personalized resume and cover letter for every job you apply for. You need custom-made copies for each job to increase your chances of getting hired. ChatGPT can help you create a customized resume or craft professional cover letters in minutes.

We asked ChatGPT to write a resume for a content marketing role at a fictional SaaS company, and it was near perfect.

We also prompted it to prepare a cover letter for the same role, and the first result wasn't bad.

Notice how detail-rich and well-formatted the resume and cover letter are? How did I do it? I pasted my LinkedIn profile details, and then asked ChatGPT to write a resume for the target role "using LaTex." I copied the result, pasted it in a free latex editor like Overleaf , and compiled it.

2. Create Original Jokes and Memes

What's life without a bit of fun? Whether you're looking for a good laugh or to create some hilarious jokes to impress your friends, ChatGPT can come in handy. Sure, AI chatbots aren't exactly known to be great comedians, but ChatGPT shows some potential. We asked ChatGPT to tell us a joke about Apple and foldable smartphones; we'll let you judge the results:

ChatGPT can also create images, so you can also play around with meme ideas. Here's one to try: Ask ChatGPT to create a meme about the grind of 9-to-5 jobs.

3. Explain Complex Topics

Sometimes, simply Googling a topic doesn't give you a clear understanding. Think of topics like wormholes, dark matter, and all those head-spinning theories. Or maybe it's a weird sport you don't understand.

ChatGPT could be useful in explaining them in layperson terms. We prompted ChatGPT to "Explain wormholes like I'm 5," and here's the result:

We also prompted it to explain the internet similarly. It wasn't too bad, either.

4. Solve Tricky Math Problems Step-by-Step

Whether you're looking to tackle complex algebra problems or simple math problems that are too tricky to piece together, ChatGPT is particularly strong at handling math. You'll need to present your problems clearly and concisely for the best results. We prompted ChatGPT to answer a tricky math problem, and here's the result:

5. Write Music In Almost Any Genre

One of the most exciting things you can do with ChatGPT is writing a song. It might sound like a bad idea at first, but it's really a fun thing to try. The results can be amazing when you get the prompts right. The key to getting the best result is to provide as many details as possible about how you want the song to be. Need a mix of English and some Spanish with a touch of Afrobeat style? Just say it.

If you really want to find out how good your lyrics would sound in an actual song, you'll need to head over to a tool like Suno.ai to turn the lyrics into music. Just paste the lyrics into the tool, make some tweaks and listen to what ChatGPT could make.

6. Write, Debug, and Explain Code

Whether you're an experienced programmer or a newbie, you're bound to run into a few bugs in your code from time to time. ChatGPT can help you narrow down the problem within your code, saving you hours looking for a misplaced comma. You can also write entire blocks of functional code snippets from scratch or analyze existing code bases to figure out the best ways to use them. There are endless ways you can use ChatGPT in programming .

We prompted ChatGPT to write a simple to-do list app using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and here's the result:

We also got the AI chatbot to write us a simple Tetris game, snake game, pong game, and even code a complete chat web app from scratch . ChatGPT is a very useful programming tool.

7. Create, Edit, and Modify Media Files

With ChatGPT, you can create, edit, modify, and read from a wide range of media files. The feature which is available on the ChatGPT Plus plan provides an interface to programmatically create images, modify videos, adjust audio tracks, and retrieve crucial metadata from media files with ease and precision.

To learn more about manipulating media files with ChatGPT, read our guide on how to use the ChatGPT Code Interpreter feature .

8. Decide What to Watch Next

ChatGPT is one of the most powerful movie recommendation tools on the internet if you know how to use it. While there are dozens of powerful movie recommendation tools you can get your hands on, ChatGPT stands out because of the accuracy and precision you get from simply describing the kind of movies you want using simple natural language prompts.

We asked ChatGPT to give us some movies that are similar to "The Walking Dead" and here's the result:

Not sure how to use ChatGPT as a movie recommendation tool? We've previously put together a detailed guide on how to use ChatGPT to decide what to watch next .

9. Play Games

Looking for a fun activity? ChatGPT has some creative game ideas to try with friends or by yourself. You could play classic games like tic-tac-toe or trivia with new twists that ChatGPT can suggest to make it more engaging. Whether you want a competitive game against ChatGPT or a cooperative game you can all play together, ChatGPT can provide unique game suggestions tailored to what you're looking for.

So if you're bored and want to try something new, ask ChatGPT to invent a fun, customized game—it's a great way to liven up your day! Not sure which games you can play with ChatGPT? Here are some interesting games you can play with ChatGPT right now .

10. Get Cooking Help

A robot help in the kitchen? ChatGPT and cooking seem like a weird combination, but it works excellently if you know the right prompts to use. You can use ChatGPT to explore new recipes, prepare shopping lists, brainstorm new flavor combinations, learn new cooking tips, or explore healthier ways to cook popular meals .

Fancy testing ChatGPT's culinary skills? Here are some interesting ways you can use ChatGPT as a cooking assistant .

11. Improve Your Health

With its vast wealth of health information, you can leverage ChatGPT to improve your health in several ways. It can help you create personalized workout and meal plans tailored to your unique needs.

You can also use it to develop healthy habits like sleep routines and mindfulness practices or even use it as a medical symptom checker. Although ChatGPT has its limitations in the field of health, it is still an immensely useful tool you can utilize to improve your health. We've put together a guide on how to use ChatGPT to improve your health .

12. Translate and Learn In Multiple Languages

ChatGPT is a great tool to have around if you need to work in multiple languages. It is fluent in dozens of languages. If you're a content creator who would love to reach a wider audience, ChatGPT could be incredibly useful for creating content in multiple languages.

Sure, there's Google Translate, but writing in one language and translating to the other means context and language-specific tones could be lost. When we compared ChatGPT to Google Translate in translation tasks, ChatGPT was noticeably better in several metrics.

With ChatGPT's latest voice mode, the tool has become even significantly more powerful for those trying to learn a new language or communicate with someone that speaks a different one.

13. Prepare for a Job Interview

With its wealth of knowledge across several fields, ChatGPT is one of the best AI tools to help you prepare for a job interview. With a few intelligent prompts, ChatGPT can help you get your dream job . You can use it to generate hypothetical scenarios in a job interview, possible questions, intelligent replies to possible questions, and many other useful interview prep tips.

We created a hypothetical situation during an interview and asked ChatGPT for help. Here's the result:

14. Write Essays on Almost Any Topic

While we strongly advise you to write your essays yourself, ChatGPT can compose amazing essays on a wide range of topics, even the most complex. If the tone of the resulting write-up doesn't suit your test, you can teach ChatGPT how to write like you so you can get the chatbot to replicate your writing style.

15. A Chat Companion

When all is said and done, ChatGPT is an AI chatbot. Despite its almost endless use cases, ChatGPT is a very accommodating companion when you need someone (or a robot) to talk to.

Despite ChatGPT's impressive capabilities, the AI chatbot is not infallible. Consequently, exercising caution with ChatGPT's information is highly advised. Always strive to verify any critical data from ChatGPT before applying it, especially for important health or financial choices. While ChatGPT is a game-changing tool, it is still a work in progress, and human oversight remains essential.

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Our data shows that 80% of people with scores similar to you reported increased creativity in their first month. The most common benefits reported are increased confidence, feeling inspired, improved verbal fluency.

KSM-66® Ashwagandha

KSM-66® Ashwagandha has been shown to significantly reduce stress and anxiety.

Motivation: Low

Memory: low, creativity: low.

(  8,205 Reviews )

One month supply

• Spark your creativity and find ease in social settings
• Convenient daily-dose packets for a month's supply of nootropics
• Feel the effects within 60 minutes
• Allow ideas to flow smoothly while talking, writing, and brainstorming
• 3rd party lab tested for purity and potency

24 daily doses delivered monthly

Creativity formulation will help you spark your innovation, reduce stress and enhance verbal fluency.

• Spark inspiration
• Support verbal fluency
• Manage stress

Select preference:

• Caffeine free

Subscribe & Save $40 Skip or Cancel Anytime.

One Time Purchase

Monthly Delivery Billed monthly

$79/Mo 34% off

Ships in 1-2 business days

• Take one packet in the morning on days you need to perform your best and remain calm, even in stressful conditions.
• Take one packet 30 minutes before starting a task that requires elevated focus.

The effects vary based on genetics and experience. It can take as little as 30 minutes to feel the impact, but some may need a few days of consecutive use.

Taking on an empty stomach with glass of water after waking up is most effective.

Trusted by experts

Dr. gabrielle lyon.

Functional Medicine & Nutritional Sciences

“I work with CEOs, celebrities, and other top performers in my practice. Thesis is what I recommend and take personally for focus and cognition. I even used it to help me nail my first TedX talk.”

Gabrielle’s blends

Professional Basketball Player & Mental Health Advocate

“With a busy life on and off the court, Thesis gives me energy and focus to get through the longest days and keep me sharp.”

Kevin's blends

Ultra-endurance Athlete & Nutrition Advocate

"Thesis has provided a substantial benefit to my ability to focus. Creativity works best for me — I take it 30 mins before a podcast or writing and it helps get me into the zone."

RICH’s blends

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Customer satisfaction

(  8905 Reviews )

All reviews are from real customers. Read more about our review policy ^

Wed Aug 14 2024

Creativity helps flesh out my problem solving skills while allowing me to think in an expansive way about projects.

Creativity has been the best one I’ve tried so far. I feel fresher and my cognitive elasticity increases noticeably unlike some of the products I’ve tried.

Creativity was possibly my favorite formula. The verbal fluency, social confidence and overall sense of ease it gave me was what made it my favorite.

I always feel ready to get up and go do stuff in the morning, when I take Creativity. I also feel that problems that arise are easily resolved. I feel like this is my favorite blend just because of how well my body responds to it.

I am neurodivergent, so I am already creative, excessively so. I was curious to see what this would do to my brain since I respond to nootropics differently than a neurotypical person would. I found that for my neurotypical husband, it caused a subtle expansion of his mind. For me however, it did the opposite. It took all of the shrapnel from the daily explosion of unregulated creativity, and pulled it back in. I was more focused and intentional in my daily activities. I found that I didn't feel as mentally chaotic as I normally would. I love it.

Showing 1 to 5 of 7955 results

Frequently Asked Questions

You will receive our Creativity formulation to help spark your innovation, reduce stress and enhance verbal fluency.

This order includes a four week supply of nootropics, an instructional booklet, and access to our team of experts and wellness coaches to help you set and achieve your goals!

You will also receive email messages with additional instructions to make the most of this exploratory month.

We offer the most advanced nootropic system available, to find the exact compliment for your specific brain chemistry and desired areas of focus.

Our innovative Starter Kit allows you to experience multiple formulations, and determine what works best. Our process is complex because we’ve found that it yields the best results in the shortest amount of time.

If we could formulate one pill that would work for everyone, we would! Because the human brain is deeply complex, that is just not possible.

Depending on your genetics and experience with nootropics, the effects can be felt in as little as 30 minutes after taking each blend.

Nootropics have the most impact when taken on an empty stomach, just after waking from a normal night of rest.

Some people may need a few days of consecutive use to feel the effects of the nutrients.

Thesis is shipped from our headquarters in New York City, via First Class Mail through the USPS, and takes about 1-3 business days to arrive within the continental US. Orders will be shipped same-day whenever possible.

If you are in need of priority shipping, email us ([email protected]) as soon as your order is placed, and we will upgrade it for you!

30-Day Money Back Guarantee

Try Thesis risk-free for 30 days, or your money back on your first order.