201–210 of 247 posts
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There's been scientific studies on whether people can get "machine elves" to tell them some actual factual information that they didn't already know. In all of the studied cases the things that were told by the "machine elves" was either something that got verified as false/made up or something the user already knew.
Que Scott Alexander's cute short story on the topic. https://slatestarcodex.com/2015/04/21/universal-love-said-th...
This article doesn’t give the relevant attention to risks of more serious, long term, psychiatric conditions. Responsible use is key. DMT and other common psychedelics have been linked to emerging schizophrenia, bipolar, etc. [1]. The link is particularly strong when “large-dose trips” are taken in quick succession or generally without weeks/months in between. I personally broke my brain with irresponsible use of psy…
Ayahuasca ceremonies are among the most profound, cherished experiences of my life. I prepare for months before partaking in them to make sure my emotional, physical, and spiritual health is in a good place. And I can't imagine taking this drug without being under the care of experienced guides. I also wouldn't recommend it for anyone except those who really desire to push the limits of their mind. Some trips have fe…
It doesn't seem far fetched to me that your own mind could've manufactured such a reaction - especially if the shamans all tried to convince you that the spirits are real, and you felt "guilty" that you didn't believe them. Your mind could simulate the reaction you'd have feared you'd get if you shared your thoughts with the shamans, perhaps? I am personally very skeptical of the "realness" of anything that happens d…
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"I don't know much about something, here's my opinion." The fact that you don't distinguish between categories of drugs is, no offence, a major indicator of ignorance in the subject matter. Hallucinogens are not stimulants are not depressants are not dissociatives are not alcohol. If you mean "illegal drugs", do you really think that the objective, scientific threshold between harmful and harmless is legality? You ar…
Whatever you recommend to take, I'm sure one of the people I know took it. Did it improve their already normal life? I highly doubt it. I'm not discussing that when you have an illness or mental problem that drugs might help (or which drugs). But just take it because somehow it would "enhance" your life... still need to see proof of that. Most of the "enhancement" that I saw went to other direction.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ve never taken psychoactive substances—caffeine, for example, is found naturally in enough foods that it’s hard to avoid. Many spices produce psychoactive effects—e.g. vanilla, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, saffron, etc. I suspect it’s not your opinion that these are all bad as well.
Your kids at some point will be exposed to some of these things, and if “drugs are bad” is what you’re teaching them then they will understand, as we do, that your opinion on this subject really isn’t helpful.
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You seeing something when on strong drugs that you can't see when not is not strong evidence for its existence.
"You seeing something when on strong drugs that you can't see when not is not strong evidence for its existence." This assumes that the sober state of mind takes precedence over the altered state of mind. But there's no evidence that the one is superior to the other. One could equally claim that things that one experiences when sober does not exist, and only things that one experiences while altered does. Which is th…
I believe the fact that people cannot drive a car properly while hallucinating seems to be a bit of evidence of "superiority" of the sober mind over the intoxicated, at least in the real world.
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"I don't know much about something, here's my opinion." The fact that you don't distinguish between categories of drugs is, no offence, a major indicator of ignorance in the subject matter. Hallucinogens are not stimulants are not depressants are not dissociatives are not alcohol. If you mean "illegal drugs", do you really think that the objective, scientific threshold between harmful and harmless is legality? You ar…
Whatever you recommend to take, I'm sure one of the people I know took it. Did it improve their already normal life? I highly doubt it. I'm not discussing that when you have an illness or mental problem that drugs might help (or which drugs). But just take it because somehow it would "enhance" your life... still need to see proof of that. Most of the "enhancement" that I saw went to other direction.
And in some cases that boost to creativity might've earned them a lot of money.
But yeah, I'd wager in vast majority of cases the outcome is neutral at best
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This shouldn't be so downvoted. I've taken a variety of psychedelics, and net effect on my life was never more than an entertaining and/or blissful and/or frightening hallucination. They certainly felt profound, even months or years after, but if I really look at my life, they amount to nothing more than an anecdote. I know plenty of people who take/took them very seriously. None of them are particularly wise, althou…
This maybe your conclusion but stating it as base truth is a pretty uninformed take. DNA was discovered on LSD, among countless other major works in math, science, literature, CS, and other fields. Just Google "things discovered on drugs" or "famous/accomplished people that took drugs", the list is loooong.
There is also no control, can't exactly tell if that was LSD that made someone discover something or that they just thought that it did. Hell, for all we know drug usage might've delayed the discovery.
Or it might've been as simple as "getting high together brought right people together at right time".
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"You seeing something when on strong drugs that you can't see when not is not strong evidence for its existence." This assumes that the sober state of mind takes precedence over the altered state of mind. But there's no evidence that the one is superior to the other. One could equally claim that things that one experiences when sober does not exist, and only things that one experiences while altered does. Which is th…
>This assumes that the sober state of mind takes precedence over the altered state of mind. But there's no evidence that the one is superior to the other. First, define "superior". Second, if you have 20 sober people looking at thing and reporting it looks the same, then you drug them and every one of them reports someone else, I'm giving that to the "sober mind", even when some tiny minority might be reporting in "s…
Ask people in a different state of mind and they can give you plenty of other criteria... such as that what they are experiencing is to them "more real than real", or that they're able to commune with their god in that state while they're unable to in a sober state, or that they're able to communicate with their dead relatives in the altered state, or that it's more spiritual, etc...
Why should some sober people's consensus trump the criteria of people in altered states of consciousness?
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"You seeing something when on strong drugs that you can't see when not is not strong evidence for its existence." This assumes that the sober state of mind takes precedence over the altered state of mind. But there's no evidence that the one is superior to the other. One could equally claim that things that one experiences when sober does not exist, and only things that one experiences while altered does. Which is th…
> But there's no evidence that the one is superior to the other. I believe the fact that people cannot drive a car properly while hallucinating seems to be a bit of evidence of "superiority" of the sober mind over the intoxicated, at least in the real world.
Why not pick love making, or singing, appreciating or making music, laughing, communing with spirits or gods, feeling empathy for others, or making art?
Ayahuasca ceremonies are among the most profound, cherished experiences of my life. I prepare for months before partaking in them to make sure my emotional, physical, and spiritual health is in a good place. And I can't imagine taking this drug without being under the care of experienced guides. I also wouldn't recommend it for anyone except those who really desire to push the limits of their mind. Some trips have fe…