LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
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LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
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Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#2Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose.
After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was filled with ideas. Now all I see is a blank piece of paper." After he won the bet, he promptly resumed his amphetamine use.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#3In college I lived with artists. A few of their artist friends come over with big sketch pads, pencils and whatever else artists use. They all drop acid while telling me they can't wait to see their amazing creations once their minds are opened. I went out for a few hours and came back to find them all sitting around the living room.
One sketch pad had a long black squiggle on it, the same design you'd make if you fell asleep while holding a pen to paper, and the rest had even less (One was literally two 1" lines forming a 90 degree angle). The next day they described the night as a huge success even though they never really attained any of their stated goals.
I don't doubt they had a good time, but seeing them utterly fail to use the drug as a tool kinda makes me skeptical of the productive benefits.
As a side note, if you want your ego stroked then ask a student artist for his opinion of your work. In the two years I lived with artists not a single negative comment was spoken by a student of anyone else's work. It was a guaranteed self-congratulatory feedback loop.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#4Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose. After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was f…
Amphetamines did help him become arguable the most productive mathematician (in terms of papers) of all time. Although I think LSD is completely different and more of a creativity unleashing type drug. Either way the potential for psychedelics are incredible and it's a shame the drug war (thanks to Reagan in particular) have draconian laws that inhibit its responsible use. LSD is one of those in particular that can turn people into a healthier and more peaceful mental state if used correctly, even just through one use (think enlightenment through ego death).
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#5This article doesn't do a very good job explaining what it is that makes psychedelic drugs so intellectually interesting. I'd recommend listening to Terence McKenna talking about his childhood and how he discovered psychedelics.
http://matrixmasters.net/archive/TerenceMcKenna/215-McKennaT...
Alternatively, listen to Alicia Danforth's amazing talk on giving psilocybin to terminal cancer patients to ease end of life anxiety:
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#6Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose. After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was f…
The difference is that amphetamines, though potentially addictive and dangerous, can actually help you do math or programming. I'm skeptical that people can code better (if at all) while on LSD.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#7In college I lived with artists. A few of their artist friends come over with big sketch pads, pencils and whatever else artists use. They all drop acid while telling me they can't wait to see their amazing creations once their minds are opened. I went out for a few hours and came back to find them all sitting around the living room. One sketch pad had a long black squiggle on it, the same design you'd make if you fe…
There's a major difference in the way the mind of a scientist or engineer works versus the mind of an art student. Whenever I take mushrooms, I usually follow a "schedule" of things to do and try. Others I know will literally lay on a couch for 10 hrs.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#8Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose. After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was f…
The difference is that amphetamines, though potentially addictive and dangerous, can actually help you do math or programming. I'm skeptical that people can code better (if at all) while on LSD.
It's not that you code better or write math equations better... It's a temporary change in the state of your mind which helps you see things from a different perspective. Think of a time when you were stuck on a really hard problem and then went away from it for a while only to have the solution pop in your head... It's kinda like that, but on an entirely different level.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#9Reminds me of Paul Erdős, who used amphetamines (think Adderall) for a similar purpose. After 1971 Erdős also took amphetamines, despite the concern of his friends, one of whom (Ron Graham) bet him $500 that he could not stop taking the drug for a month. Erdős won the bet, but complained that during his abstinence mathematics had been set back by a month: "Before, when I looked at a piece of blank paper my mind was f…
The difference is that amphetamines, though potentially addictive and dangerous, can actually help you do math or programming. I'm skeptical that people can code better (if at all) while on LSD.
The problem with your line of thinking (and many others that condemn the use of psychedelics) is that you clearly have never tried LSD. Your absolute bias is one of the many reasons its potential is hindered.
Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug
#10I predict that LSD will become much more popular in the near future due to services like The Silk Road and Bitcoins. While other drugs can be detected quite easily in mail with scanners and such, LSD in plotter form can't be detected without actually opening every letter.