Without rigorous science and licensed professionals it would be insanity to take these drugs. They can potentially PERMANENTLY traumatize your brain possibly even _literally_ ruining your entire life. I guess that risk is worth it for some people
Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
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Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#72Without rigorous science and licensed professionals it would be insanity to take these drugs. They can potentially PERMANENTLY traumatize your brain possibly even _literally_ ruining your entire life. I guess that risk is worth it for some people
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Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think with psychedelics it's fine. The problems you're talking about are with addictive stimulants.
With psychedelics the risk profile is very different. Firstly, people can do harmful things during the trip. Second, a more vague, difficult to measure and predict concern around long term psychological effects to some people.
Right, my pronoun is dangling here. "It" was meant to refer to the status quo of making them inaccessible without a lot of difficulty and breaking the law.
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#74I am on the fence with these topics because I have years of fear drilled into me. These topics are a taboo and I have rarely ever tried anything at all. The experiences did not ruin me, they made me more curious about my brain in a positive way. But the social taboo lingers. What surprises me the most is that we have accepted sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and a ton of mass manufactured food which are harming us. I am st…
Is there that much of a social taboo? Maybe it's just the people I hang out with and work with, but most people are open to psychedelic use and a lot have at least tried some.
Some people’s conception of “normal people” is people on the bus or train.
Some people’s conception of “normal people” is people at a church ice cream social.
Different perspectives, I think.
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#75Without rigorous science and licensed professionals it would be insanity to take these drugs. They can potentially PERMANENTLY traumatize your brain possibly even _literally_ ruining your entire life. I guess that risk is worth it for some people
Your concern is warranted, but a tad hyperbolic. Getting into a[n even minor] car crash, and thereafter recovery, can have equally devastating effects, as can being attacked by a dog.
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#76I'm skeptic about psychedelic. Is there enough unbiased research about these stuffs? I myself is interested in it too but so far it is in general illegal in Canada, and I don't consider myself knowledgeable enough to try it out.
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#77Related: Hypercard was inspired by an LSD trip which Bill explains in an interview ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdJKjBHCh18 )
HyperCard and Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror would be a match made in heaven!
Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror (1985) (usc.edu)
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/timothy-leary-software/index
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32578683
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oabRxvjf9k
I extracted all the text and data from the Apple ][ floppy disk:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37486524
https://donhopkins.com/home/mind-mirror.txt
https://github.com/SimHacker/lloooomm/tree/main/00-Character...
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#78I feel like someone is trying really hard to push public perception of psychedelics towards "acceptable". I don't know who it benefits, but this is a really weird Overton window. I wouldn't say a word if it weren't nth article about psychedelics that appears on HN frontpage. I was quiet the last n-1 times. If you google psilocybin right now, you can see articles that state how it "slows ageing" and "cures depression"…
That's something I'm really worried about, especially when SV is pushing it. And it is difficult to prove that research is unbiased.
One of the commenters of your post says "If we legalize it we can better research it". Allow me to be rude -- this is BS. If we follow this logic we should legalize pretty much everything!
I think it is polite to be rude to such dangerous thoughts. Downvote me as you see fit.
Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#79We need to push to make this stuff legal. I wouldn't go so far as to say lets sell it OTC vape pens at gas stations but a middle ground where you can go to a doctor to have this treatment performed. I personally have never taken DMT though from everything I've read and heard on podcasts it's not something to be taken lightly. I think having a sort of "DMT Clinic" that you can go to would be the best middle ground of…
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Re: Bill Atkinson's psychedelic user interface
#80Not 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.
The high horse of HN generally suggests that every person on the planet does empirical research on every step of their journey through life. I've personally seen several, otherwise normal people, one-shot their brain into purgatory with hallucinogens.