Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 220 posts

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#71

Post by tpm »

koverstreet wrote: post #3

> The way [psilocybin is] being used is in a very controlled or guided setting. ... They don't just give you a pill and send you home; you're in a room. You're with two guides, one male, one female. You're lying down on a comfortable couch. You're wearing headphones listening to a really carefully curated playlist of music — instrumental compositions for the most part — and you're wearing eyeshades, all of which is t…

Well, the study took on about 20 people with treatment resistant depression and immediately helped about 80% of them, harming no one, so yes, they know what they are doing. The issue with nature is that you can't control the environment, which is critical in a pilot study when you are trying to legitimize a long forbidden research subject.

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#73

Post by komali2 »

some_account wrote: post #53
Jedi72 wrote: post #13

Im a stable, sane, not depressed or anything person. I once took LSD (mixed with other things aswell...) and had a trip during which I spoke to God, Satan and various other imaginary beings. It was not a fun experience - I'm a man of science, but the feeling/perception was so real, my entire world view was shattered. It stuck with me for months after. I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a materi…

You got it all backwards. What you think is a crack in sanity is actually a crack in the illusion that the physical world is all there is. But to each their own.

But drugs are a physical-world object exerting physical changes on a meat brain, causing perception shift.

How could something of the simulation let you "peek behind the curtain?"

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#74

Post by axiom92 »

Pimpus wrote: post #27
Jedi72 wrote: post #13

Im a stable, sane, not depressed or anything person. I once took LSD (mixed with other things aswell...) and had a trip during which I spoke to God, Satan and various other imaginary beings. It was not a fun experience - I'm a man of science, but the feeling/perception was so real, my entire world view was shattered. It stuck with me for months after. I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a materi…

> I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a material universe, to someone who deep down thinks there may be a God, and I may actually have to face some kind of hell for some kind of sins I may unknowingly commit in this life. Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know. As for the Hell…

>Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know.

What we know is that there is absolutely no proof that God exists. With that being the case, I don't see why being an atheist is not the most rational position to take.

Can I win a $100 million lottery someday? Sure. Should I be living my life believing that I'd win a lottery? No, that would be stupid.

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#75

Post by komali2 »

andrei_says_ wrote: post #49
tasty_freeze wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pollan makes the point that he isn't advocating that people score some mushrooms or tabs of acid then charge ahead. He says what he did, and what was done back in the 50s and 60s before it became illegal, was to have an experienced therapist check his mental health, describe what was likely to happen, and give him guidance on how to deal with what he experienced. He then took the substance(s) and was guided by this p…

> He says what he did, and what was done back in the 50s and 60s before it became illegal, was to have an experienced therapist check his mental health, describe what was likely to happen, and give him guidance on how to deal with what he experienced. He then took the substance(s) and was guided by this professional while he had his experience. Then there was a debriefing where they went over what he experienced. I c…

It's not helpful, if you want I guess we can start talking about Nixon and the drug wars and Iran contra and if we really wanna get into it light a joint cause before you know it I'll be ranting about the CIA selling coke in the streets and the American government's war on black people.

Fucking bullshit war on drugs man. Why doesn't our government have room for rationality?

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#76

Post by colordrops »

Jedi72 wrote: post #13

Im a stable, sane, not depressed or anything person. I once took LSD (mixed with other things aswell...) and had a trip during which I spoke to God, Satan and various other imaginary beings. It was not a fun experience - I'm a man of science, but the feeling/perception was so real, my entire world view was shattered. It stuck with me for months after. I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a materi…

Perhaps you should introspect and explore your subconscious further. Sometimes things like this follow a J curve - at first you regress and suffer before seeing benefit, like exercise. The experience on hallucinogens are a reflection of yourself, so this could be an opportunity to work through previously subconscious issues.

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#77

Post by komali2 »

empath75 wrote: post #11
stryk wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laying around on a couch sounds like a waste of a good shroom buzz. Shrooms are much more fun if you're with a medium-to-large sized group of people who all know and are comfortable around each other, all of whom are on around the same dose. They're so much more of a body buzz and less of a mindfuck than LSD/DMT. Then there's PCP... which is less of a mindfuck and more of a fuckyou.

There aren’t many drug experiences more entertaining than a half dozen people on mushrooms trying to have a conversation.

Reminds me of a reddit thread I saved a couple days after they decriminalized weed in Washington: https://i.imgur.com/9HQ2Si7_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&f...

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#78

Post by Pimpus »

xcvbxzas wrote: post #61
Pimpus wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a material universe, to someone who deep down thinks there may be a God, and I may actually have to face some kind of hell for some kind of sins I may unknowingly commit in this life. Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know. As for the Hell…

>Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know. I'm not sure why this argument shows so often (and it's not even limited to religion), but it's an incredibly bad one. The positions here are not a ternary matter. The options are not limited to 100% one way, 100% the other, or right in the middle. The 'most…

> There is no reason to believe intentionally screwing with it's functioning would somehow increase it's ability to perceive the world truthfully.

Right, my point is that psychedelics are great for exposing falsehood in your thinking, but not necessarily uncovering truth.

> The 'most rational' position lies somewhere in that continuum. When converting to the usual trinary labels, one extreme or the other may end up being the most rational position. The center is not automatically best.

What are you talking about? I think you're misrepresenting my position. I'm nowhere on the continuum, I'm agnostic.

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#79

Post by Pimpus »

axiom92 wrote: post #74
Pimpus wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a material universe, to someone who deep down thinks there may be a God, and I may actually have to face some kind of hell for some kind of sins I may unknowingly commit in this life. Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know. As for the Hell…

>Well, it sounds like you went from being an atheist to an agnostic. That certainly is a more rational and less dogmatic position to take, based on what we know. What we know is that there is absolutely no proof that God exists. With that being the case, I don't see why being an atheist is not the most rational position to take. Can I win a $100 million lottery someday? Sure. Should I be living my life believing that…

Yeah, I've people compare belief in God to wagers or lotteries or invisible unicorns. I find arguments like this to be intellectually lazy.

The universe had to be formed somehow, right? It's a mystery how. God is a possibility.

Re: Michael Pollan reluctantly embraces the 'new science' of psychedelics

#80

Post by djur »

Jedi72 wrote: post #13

Im a stable, sane, not depressed or anything person. I once took LSD (mixed with other things aswell...) and had a trip during which I spoke to God, Satan and various other imaginary beings. It was not a fun experience - I'm a man of science, but the feeling/perception was so real, my entire world view was shattered. It stuck with me for months after. I've gone from someone who 100% believed in evolution and a materi…

I had a series of psychotic episodes in my late teens where I experienced things like my food tasting like it was contaminated with bleach or gasoline, maggots writhing under my skin, spiders swarming out of the walls and biting me, and news anchors threatening sexual violence against my family members. It absolutely demolished my belief in a spiritual or supernatural world, because I became aware of just how powerful and convincing the mind can be in creating false experiences.
Post reply on HN