131–140 of 170 posts
I wonder if intelligent machines will infect themselves with severely disruptive but temporary algorithms (viruses) and believe they too understand the meaning of life the universe and everything.
A better analogy might be giving the machine a quick peek at it's debugger.
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I did this through the path of meditation, but I know others who have used psychedelics to similar ends. Based on what I've read and observed, the people who get real benefit out of psychedelics are those who are already fairly meditative people, who use them in reasonable settings (with people they trust) and know what they are doing. There clearly are people who are able to make good use of these chemicals, but the…
Who's talking about using LSD as a party drug? It's certainly not even slightly suggested in the posted article or this response.
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Thank you for this very interesting post, but I would like to point out a few things. Most currently used anti-depressants are serotonin (some also norepinephrine and/or dopamine) reuptake inhibitors , not agonists . Tetracyclic antidepressants even act as antagonist (inverse agonists). Buspirone (more an anti-anxiety than AD medication) functions as a serotonin receptor partial agonist, but that is selective (5-HT1A…
Right--I probably shouldn't have even mentioned anti-depressants; X-monoamine reuptake inhibitors don't have much at all to do with X-monoamine agonists in terms of effect.[1] I was mostly just trying to connect the discussion to something people would more commonly have actual experience with. So, to reinforce the parent: serotonin syndrome is very dangerous for precisely that reason of "neurological gain" mentioned…
To others who are interested in psychoactive drugs I would like to suggest following book (you are probably already familiar with it):
A Primer of Drug Action by Robert Julien ( http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Drug-Action-Robert-Julien/dp/14... )
It contains concise and objective information about various psychoactive substances, their effects and mechanisms of action.
The chakra model is a common map of these vibrations:
http://www.grdn.cc/energy-slash-quality-slash-organ-slash-ac...
Personally I'm finding some of these levels are achievable without the use of drugs. I used to work with micro-doses of LSD, 1 day dose 10ug / 2 days off, but quickly found I can achieve the states through meditation.
Here's a section from Ram Dass book "Be Here Now". He travels to India seeking answers to what LSD could be all about. He eventually encounters a very advanced yogi:
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He looked at me and extended his hand. So I put into his hand what's called a "White Lightning". This is an LSD pill and this one was from a special batch that had been made specially for me for traveling. And each pill was 305 micrograms, and very pure. Very good acid. Usually you start a man over 60, maybe with 50 to 75 micrograms, very gently, so you won't upset him. 300 of pure acid is a very solid dose.
He looks at the pill and extends his hand further. So I put a second pill - that's 610 micrograms - then a third pill - that's 915 micrograms - into his palm.
That is sizeable for a first dose for anyone!
"Ah-cha."
And he swallow them! I see them go down. There's no doubt. And that little scientist in me says, "This is going to be very interesting!"
All day long I'm there, and every now and then he twinkles at me and nothing - nothing happens! That was his answer to my question. Now you have the data I have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Here_Now_(book)
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I take psychedelics on a regular basis. Usually a couple of times a month. Although I've done several hundred micrograms (there is really no way of knowing) of LSD at once, I also really enjoy experimenting with smaller doses and casually micro-dosing on work days. I happen to be a software engineer and try to apply my knowledge of "machines" to the psychedelic experience. While I don't believe in anything supernatur…
> I would speculate that LSD turns on System 2 where normally my System 1 brain would give me an immediate response. As far as I've read, LSD is, surprisingly, just a serotonin agonist, similar to anti-depressants or MDMA. (Technically, it's a non-selective serotonin agonist, and it does this by reversing the chemical reactions that take serotonin apart, to basically "un-use-up" serotonin you've already spent--which…
I don't find this claim insane at all.
A substance that changes how the mind functions (at whatever level) is also likely to help one see abstractions, connections and solutions that he normally bypasses.
Heck, even the morning coffee helps a lot of people to tackle some problems they would otherwise have difficulty in tackling.
LSD is an intense drug that alters ones brain chemistry. We are those neurons and synapses. When they change, we change. LSD will alter one's perspectives. Maybe the correct statement is, add more perspectives.
we are neurons and synapses? is it not perhaps the case that neurons and synapses are simply arbitrary inputs into our true selves? which, like any input, could be configured, removed, or entirely replaced.
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If I recall the story correctly, they gave the elephant other drugs, too (to counter the effects of LSD after some hours/time into the experiment), and some of those countering drugs had associated known LD-50 (probably not measured for elephants, though..) - would need to reread the original text.
Yes, I don't have a link to the original article, but iirc they gave the elephant a gigantic dose compared to its body weight (the amount needed per kg of body weight goes down dramatically as body weight increases). The elephant started having what looked like seizures (faire enough, after basically eating the human equivalent of a full thimble of LSD), so they gave it a whole bunch of other drugs to try and stop th…
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One wonders, for example, if the Beatles or Steve Jobs, notwithstanding their hard work, could ever have become what they did if they hadn't also taken LSD at some point. Honestly? I think that people who start using these drugs end up giving them too much credit. At some point, they start attributing all interesting or creative thoughts they have to the use of drugs when, while the drug experiences played a role, th…
"At some point, they start attributing all interesting or creative thoughts they have to the use of drugs" . i have never met anyone like this. i've also never heard of someone taking it to this extreme. i'm inclined to call it a straw man. what Steve Jobs for instance, actually said, is that LSD is "one of the two or three most important things [he had] done in [his] life". rather than responding to a generalized an…
I've met quite a few.
I've also met people who use psychedelics regularly and remain very level-headed and balanced. There is a spectrum.
I don't understand the negativity in this thread... haven't taken LSD myself, but Steve Jobs was a fairly smart individual, and described taking LSD as a profoundly important action in his life. Perhaps there's something to it beyond the ramblings of "burn-outs" and "hippies."
So.. yeah..