Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface • Hacker News Board

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#41

Post by lostmsu » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:34 PM UTC

zeta0134 wrote: post #8

demiters wrote: post #3

Not a big fan of the ongoing productisation of transcendental, possibly brain-scrambling experiences. Keeping them somewhat less accessible tends to filter out people who don't do their homework to understand the substance and who consider it just another novel experience to try on a whim, which increases the risk of negative outcomes.

I suppose this is a dangerous counterargument to make, especially as I'm not a substance user at all myself, but... what's wrong with wanting to seek out novel experiences? I'd much rather folks who wish to do this be able to do so safely, with good sources of information about those risks and with a support network that is allowed to talk about it. I feel like the taboo nature of substances in general causes folks w…

They are totally OK as long as healthcare is not socialized.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#42

Post by RamblingCTO » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:35 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #26

RamblingCTO wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's irrelevant. Doctors typically have no exposure, interest nor knowledge about these things. So they are not the ones to have an opinion about it.

We should fix that then. (Timothy Leary was in fact a doctor. Perhaps though his overly zealous enthusiasm for LSD makes him not the ideal example in this case though.)

Not sure tbh. This is still in its infancy and not "stable" enough for a bigger adoption rate. So while we're still researching I feel like it's ok that we don't get it out to the masses.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#43

Post by t-3 » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:39 PM UTC

demiters wrote: post #3

Not a big fan of the ongoing productisation of transcendental, possibly brain-scrambling experiences. Keeping them somewhat less accessible tends to filter out people who don't do their homework to understand the substance and who consider it just another novel experience to try on a whim, which increases the risk of negative outcomes.

I disagree. Every time I've seen someone get a "bad trip", they're people who read a lot and worked themselves into a state of anxiety over the fact that something could go wrong. If they had just approached it like "ooh lets get high and have fun" rather than "I have to do X, Y, Z or else it's going to be horrible!", they would have probably been OK. Hallucinogens have way too much gatekeeping and mysticalization around them for what they are.

Understanding the risks of buying potentially adulterated or counterfeit products is another thing entirely, which would be helped greatly by increased commodification and legalization.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#44

Post by Someone » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:39 PM UTC

demiters wrote: post #3

Not a big fan of the ongoing productisation of transcendental, possibly brain-scrambling experiences. Keeping them somewhat less accessible tends to filter out people who don't do their homework to understand the substance and who consider it just another novel experience to try on a whim, which increases the risk of negative outcomes.

It also makes doing your homework a lot harder. If I want to buy alcohol, I can go to a shop and can get something that’s correctly labeled with an alcohol percentage and is highly unlikely to contain methanol.

If I go buy some psychedelic, chances are it is diluted or laced, so I would have to know how to test that what they sell me is what I asked for.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#45

Post by Gravityloss » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:40 PM UTC

lostmsu wrote: post #41

zeta0134 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose this is a dangerous counterargument to make, especially as I'm not a substance user at all myself, but... what's wrong with wanting to seek out novel experiences? I'd much rather folks who wish to do this be able to do so safely, with good sources of information about those risks and with a support network that is allowed to talk about it. I feel like the taboo nature of substances in general causes folks w…

They are totally OK as long as healthcare is not socialized.

There's angles to socialization. If a person with brain issues gets free doctor visits and a medicine, that is at cost to society.

If they are safe to be around and are able to hold a job or have children, then there's societal benefits gained. One could consider the treatment costs as investments.

If that person was untreated and they did something unpleasant or bad in public, or ended up in prison, that also has a cost to society though it might be more complex to quantify.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#46

Post by nonelog » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:42 PM UTC

While DMT definitively has its merits (and is produced naturally in the human body), know also that Psilocybin allows for an increases of the human lifespan of over 50%, which is absolutely massive. [0]

It's entirely natural, easy to do, has no side effects, costs next to nothing, and can even be "fun". As usual, the media will not talk about this discovery, as it is too much of a game-changer for our current systems.

[0] https://neurosciencenews.com/psilocybin-longevity-aging-2942...

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#47

Post by athenot » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:42 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #22

demiters wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right. I'm all for across-the-board decriminalisation btw. But I don't really know where a responsible balance would be for psychedelic availability, my intuition is we shouldn't be aiming at OTC disposable DMT vapes etc.

Perhaps administration of the drug from a professional? Make the treatment an affordable and legal option.

The difficulty here is professional skill entails money, money entails risk management, risk management entails legalities.

The only way in the US is to have a powerful lobby that can fight to ensure broad waivers stand up in court, like the NRA: you can buy a gun and literally shoot yourself in the foot.

But if transaction, money, service, profession are all removed, then under a co-op / non profit this might work. Of course, those structures are also vulnerable to well-funded legal opponents.

Some European countries do provide a framework for this but it's more from a public health perspective and to eliminate the raison-d'être of criminal drug organizations.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#48

Post by gehwartzen » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:43 PM UTC

gavinray wrote: post #27

Euphorbium wrote: post #19

I have not used 5-meo, but for n,n DMT the vape is without a doubt the most convenient method.

I've done it a few times. Unlike DMT, you don't have to vaporize it. It's active intranasally and well as buccally/sublingually. Effects-wise, it feels roughly identical to DMT but with a longer duration.

To me it feels like a completely different drug compared to nnDMT. 5-meo-DMT also feels very different depending on the roa from my experience (vaped vs IM)

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#49

Post by dtj1123 » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:43 PM UTC

lostmsu wrote: post #41

zeta0134 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose this is a dangerous counterargument to make, especially as I'm not a substance user at all myself, but... what's wrong with wanting to seek out novel experiences? I'd much rather folks who wish to do this be able to do so safely, with good sources of information about those risks and with a support network that is allowed to talk about it. I feel like the taboo nature of substances in general causes folks w…

They are totally OK as long as healthcare is not socialized.

Does that line of reasoning extend to things like fast food and motorcycles in your eyes? Not trying to undermine your point, just genuinely curious.

Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface

#50

Post by ashalhashim » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 1:44 PM UTC

nonelog wrote: post #46

While DMT definitively has its merits (and is produced naturally in the human body), know also that Psilocybin allows for an increases of the human lifespan of over 50%, which is absolutely massive. [0] It's entirely natural, easy to do, has no side effects, costs next to nothing, and can even be "fun". As usual, the media will not talk about this discovery, as it is too much of a game-changer for our current systems…

I assume this comment is trolling. But to be clear to readers, the link states psilocybin 50% increase in lifespan of human skin etc. not human lifespan.