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

LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

archive.wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 228 posts

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#81

Post by pmoriarty »

jarin wrote: post #68

I actually tried LSD a couple of times because of this article, back when it was written. It was a pretty enjoyable experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in trying it, with a few caveats. First, you need to have an experienced sitter with you. You're in for the full 8-10 hours, and on the off chance you start having a bad trip (things getting really dark and scary), you need someone to ground y…

If you didn't think it was a super transformative experience, you probably only took a low dose, and perhaps didn't have the proper set or setting.

Check out the Marsh Chapel Experiment,[1] "Varieties of Psychedelic Experience",[2] the "Psychedelics Encyclopedia",[3] and Erowid's trip reports[4] for examples of people who did have massively transformative experiences.

That said, from what I've read, it's relatively rare for LSD to radically transformative in the long run (for various, psychologically interesting reasons). However, short-term transformation is relatively common, given a high enough dose and the proper set and setting.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment

[2] - http://www.amazon.com/Varieties-Psychedelic-Experience-Class...

[3] - http://www.amazon.com/Psychedelics-Encyclopedia-Peter-Staffo...

[4] - https://www.erowid.org/

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#82

Post by sillysaurus3 »

jarin wrote: post #68

I actually tried LSD a couple of times because of this article, back when it was written. It was a pretty enjoyable experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in trying it, with a few caveats. First, you need to have an experienced sitter with you. You're in for the full 8-10 hours, and on the off chance you start having a bad trip (things getting really dark and scary), you need someone to ground y…

Third, go out into nature if you can. Preferably with just your friends and not a lot of people around. It's pretty cool.

LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia.

Here's another case of someone dying from drugs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._M._Turner

Turner died after injecting an unknown quantity of ketamine while in a bathtub, presumably drowning while incapacitated by the effects of the drug.

Before jumping down my throat that ketamine isn't related to LSD in any way, I know. It's true. But when you get into a mindset where taking LSD seems like a good idea, taking other drugs starts to seem like maybe-okay. It's no coincidence that the psychonaut I linked to was taking a ton of different drugs including LSD.

I know people are going to be upset with me sweeping LSD under the classification of "drugs." People die from heroin and other hard drugs, but nobody has ever died from an LSD overdose. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the mindset that you're tempted to get once you delve into this scene.

Let's talk about psychedelics. Here's a video of someone jumping out a window after taking a hit of salvia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v26zC-1eCo

People have near-religious experiences after taking LSD, and they'll espouse the wonders of psychedelics while downplaying the risks. But there are risks.

Before taking LSD, ask yourself: Are you sure you want to be a different person afterwards? People everywhere talk about the transformative nature of LSD, so that's what you'll be doing: transforming into a different person. Exploring land is fun because you get to go places you've never seen before. Exploring how chemicals affect your brain is fun if becoming a different person is fun. So don't do it unless you're sure you dislike yourself.

People have often credited significant breakthroughs to taking LSD, but your chances of getting rich from bitcoin are significantly higher than making a huge impact on the world by consuming LSD. It'll certainly have a huge impact on your personal life, though, for better or worse.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#83

Post by pyre »

anonbanker wrote: post #74
olefoo wrote: post #21

Is it the same six people that keep posting this every 6 to 12 weeks on here? The usual caveats apply: 1. lsd is illegal, so no quality control and no certainty that that is what you are ingesting. 2. lsd was and is a mythological drug in every sense of the word. Nothing you know about it is true either to the good or to the bad. 3. Just because there are 5 decades of propaganda about the evils of lsd does not mean t…

This bit of fear, uncertainty, and doubt was brought to you by the Institute For Armchair Psychonauts Who Never Use Drugs.

So advice like this:

> 4. Be skeptical, read the literature; understand the risks you are taking.

is bad? Is the idea that we should turn off critical thought and blindly accept pro-LSD arguments, while blindly rejecting the anti-LSD arguments? That seems backwards.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#84

Post by pyre »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #82
jarin wrote: post #68

I actually tried LSD a couple of times because of this article, back when it was written. It was a pretty enjoyable experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in trying it, with a few caveats. First, you need to have an experienced sitter with you. You're in for the full 8-10 hours, and on the off chance you start having a bad trip (things getting really dark and scary), you need someone to ground y…

Third, go out into nature if you can. Preferably with just your friends and not a lot of people around. It's pretty cool. LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia. Here's another case of someone dying from…

> LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I did read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, the idea of a "sitter" is someone that is not under the influence, so this could negate such effects if one fully follows the advice of the parent post.

> Before taking LSD, ask yourself: Are you sure you want to be a different person afterwards? People everywhere talk about the transformative nature of LSD, so that's what you'll be doing: transforming into a different person. Exploring land is fun because you get to go places you've never seen before. Exploring how chemicals affect your brain is fun for some because they become different. So don't do it unless you're sure you dislike yourself.

You could make the same philosophical arguments against "downloading your mind into a computer" or "using a Star Trek transporter." How do you know that the consciousness on the other end is still "you?"

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#85

Post by jafaku »

anonbanker wrote: post #74
olefoo wrote: post #21

Is it the same six people that keep posting this every 6 to 12 weeks on here? The usual caveats apply: 1. lsd is illegal, so no quality control and no certainty that that is what you are ingesting. 2. lsd was and is a mythological drug in every sense of the word. Nothing you know about it is true either to the good or to the bad. 3. Just because there are 5 decades of propaganda about the evils of lsd does not mean t…

This bit of fear, uncertainty, and doubt was brought to you by the Institute For Armchair Psychonauts Who Never Use Drugs.

I'd say the first point is kind of important, considering it's a synthetic drug and not a plant. I have no anecdotes for LSD, but a few people died in my city after only a normal dose of ecstasy (no alcohol).

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#86

Post by pnathan »

Shamanmuni wrote: post #40
xefer wrote: post #16

Well, I'm still waiting for the fellowship of LSD-fueled Übermenschen to emerge. Until then I'll just try to eat well, exercise more and get enough sleep. That seems to be the key for most elite developers I've encountered.

If you read "What the Dormouse Said" by John Markoff you could reach the conclusion that a fellowship of LSD-fueled Übermenschen existed during the 60's and 70's and we had the personal computer revolution as a result. And no, I'm not talking just about Steve Jobs and Apple, there were many people involved with the nascent computer industry who turned on, tuned in and dropped out at that time.

It's an interesting book. I think the author is too uncritical and not very good at providing the nuances of the ground reality. I do agree with at least a presupposition of the book, which is that the experimental mindset of the time allowed the personal computer industry to come into being.

It is absolutely vital to remember that the corporate computer industry (E.g., IBM, DEC, even the LispMs) were (i) alive (ii) vital, and (iii) doing things that were not to be replicated in PCs until the late 90s & early 2000s. So it'd be a bit interesting to consider the counterfactual "what if no Jobs hasn't been the marketer he was? what if Gates hadn't hustled the way he did?"

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#87

Post by pyre »

jafaku wrote: post #85
anonbanker wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This bit of fear, uncertainty, and doubt was brought to you by the Institute For Armchair Psychonauts Who Never Use Drugs.

I'd say the first point is kind of important, considering it's a synthetic drug and not a plant. I have no anecdotes for LSD, but a few people died in my city after only a normal dose of ecstasy (no alcohol).

To be fair, I think that you are more likely to get a bad batch of a "party drug" like ecstacy than LSD. Though I can't really talk from experience here, it would seem (to me) that party drugs are more popular and would attract more people to cut corners to turn a quick buck.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#88

Post by lappa »

anonbanker wrote: post #74
olefoo wrote: post #21

Is it the same six people that keep posting this every 6 to 12 weeks on here? The usual caveats apply: 1. lsd is illegal, so no quality control and no certainty that that is what you are ingesting. 2. lsd was and is a mythological drug in every sense of the word. Nothing you know about it is true either to the good or to the bad. 3. Just because there are 5 decades of propaganda about the evils of lsd does not mean t…

This bit of fear, uncertainty, and doubt was brought to you by the Institute For Armchair Psychonauts Who Never Use Drugs.

Are you proposing that one should do any drug without skepticism after reading a wired article about it?

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#89

Post by sillysaurus3 »

pyre wrote: post #84
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Third, go out into nature if you can. Preferably with just your friends and not a lot of people around. It's pretty cool. LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia. Here's another case of someone dying from…

> LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I did read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia. Unless I'm misunderstanding, the idea of a "sitter" is someone that is not under the influence, so this could negate such effects if one fully follows the adv…

the idea of a "sitter" is someone that is not under the influence, so this could negate such effects if one fully follows the advice of the parent post

Indeed. It's crucial advice. Doing LSD without a responsible sitter would be like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. It's very sad that LSD is both illegal and has a social stigma, because it's less likely that people will find LSD along with a responsible sitter. I'm a datapoint of one, but my experience was that people involved with getting LSD also tend to want to do it as a group. They're not very responsible. It's easy to imagine a friend trying to persuade you to do it with them, which is the situation I found myself in. But again, a datapoint of one isn't very useful.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug? (2006)

#90

Post by mod »

pyre wrote: post #84
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Third, go out into nature if you can. Preferably with just your friends and not a lot of people around. It's pretty cool. LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia. Here's another case of someone dying from…

> LSD impairs your ability to feel cold. People have died by taking drugs and then going out into snow. I sadly can't find the proof to back up my claim, but I did read about a case of a girl taking ketamine and then going outside and succumbing to hypothermia. Unless I'm misunderstanding, the idea of a "sitter" is someone that is not under the influence, so this could negate such effects if one fully follows the adv…

> You could make the same philosophical arguments against "downloading your mind into a computer" or "using a Star Trek transporter." How do you know that the consciousness on the other end is still "you?"

Yeah, which is going to keep me from using the Star Trek transporter until it's studied further.

Post reply on HN